The story of Jesus at the home of Martha and Mary is rich in meaning. One way of looking at the story: Jesus reminded Martha that who we are is more important than what we do. St. Paul knew that instinctively. After his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus he didn’t immediately start preaching but spent a three year “novitiate” in Arabia getting his own life in order. St. Francis several centuries later is supposed to have said, “Surely we are to preach at all times. When it is absolutely necessary, use words.” Pope Paul VI put it more recently, “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.”
