There are two gospel choices on this date, which is the feast day of Saints Martha, Mary and Lazarus. 

Siblings Martha, Mary and Lazarus of Bethany belong to one of the few families that we know very much about in the New Testament, with a few exceptions. We do know some about siblings among the 12 apostles, and we know of a few other familial links. But other than a couple of conversations between Jesus and his family and those between Jesus and his followers, we don’t have many glimpses into everyday exchanges and relationships at the dawn of Christianity in the ancient Holy Land.

The insights we gain include conversations we can relate to today: Dealing with the stress of a friend and his 12 companions coming to visit… Food and drink needing to be prepared and served… Exasperation with one sibling over the unfairness of it all… Grief over the loss of a loved one... Frustration with a friend who didn’t do what you expected.

The fact that the three were “friends “of Jesus is special to us as well. Surely they were followers also, but they were different from the apostles. They were first of all friends and they no doubt spent much time together and enjoyed many social situations.

We have to ask why the gospel writers wanted to give us so much insight into these three siblings. Of course they are important because of the significant miracle Jesus performs by raising Lazarus from the dead, but is there more? Can we learn anything about how to relate to Jesus from them?

These two readings emphasize Martha's comfort with speaking her mind with Jesus. She does not hesitate to complain, to show her exasperation. She also is quick to affirm her faith in him. I think from this we can learn to not hold anything back in our interactions with Jesus. We should tell him exactly how we feel. But like Martha, we should also always remember the great love he has for us. We also see that Mary was eager to listen to him. Are we eager to do that? Or do we just want to tell God our needs, our desires? 

We have to have a balance. Sometimes, in fact, often, we need to just sit and listen to Jesus. Whether that is just being still so we can experience his spirit within us or reading and reflecting upon his actual words, we don't have to always say something. We can just take it in, let it nestle inside of us, and then eventually let what we learned influence our everyday lives and interactions.

(The excellent TV series The Chosen has produced its fourth season and has an episode devoted to Martha, Mary and Lazarus that truly brings their story to life.)