Meister Eckhart, the fourteenth century Dominican mystic, had an interesting take on the Martha and Mary story. In his read, Martha was the more advanced in the spirtual life since she was a woman of service. When she confronts Jesus, he asks her to be patient with Mary. She is at the beginning of her religious formation and not ready to reach out in loving service to others. She is a novice and needs to learn how to be a disciple before she can be a missionary! St. Paul has a parallel development since he spent three years in Arabia for his “novitiate” before beginning his missionary journey. Our story is the same. We must be followers of Jesus before we can become apostles.
