It is never a good idea to disagree with Jesus but we have to dig a little to understand some of his sayings. For example, he says to Martha who is trying to put food on the table: “There is need of only one thing.” The traditional interpretation of that saying is that we should imitate Mary to make our one desire and choice always and only to concentrate on Jesus and his teaching. However, Jesus was a human being and at some point he was going to be hungry and Mary sitting at his feet was not going to do him much good. There is a need to eat! Martha would be ready to supply something that Jesus’ needed. All of which suggests a different interpretation of the “one thing” necessary. The problem was not that Martha was preparing supper but that she was “burdened, anxious, worried.” She was not focused on serving her guest but on doing her chores correctly. The one necessary thing is being open to and receptive of the guest. Instead of worrying over what she wanted to give she needed to be attentive to what he wanted to receive. What is necessary is treating the people we encounter in life as worthy of our attention and care, as precious images of God.
