The title of this piece is somewhat different from the common Latin phrase “Ora et Labora”, which means “Pray and Work”. It is one of the basic premises of Christian spirituality. Unfortunately, we are sometimes confronted with a corrupted version “Ora o Labora”, which means “Prayer or Work”. Is there a choice? Some over zealous clergymen would have us believe so.
I am writing this piece on Sunday 22nd July, shortly after attending mass and hearing the usual “ratta-pitta” sermon. On what? The different roles of Martha and Mary. Whenever I have heard this Gospel passage (Lk 10:38-42), the ensuing sermon has blindly repeated Jesus’ words that Mary has chosen the “better” part. The message is unambiguous. It is “better” to sit at the Lord’s feet, than to engage in mundane activities like cooking. The inference is again clear – that those who pray and meditate on God’s word are “better” than the worldly worker. The conclusion then drawn is that clergy and religious (who are contemplating God’s word) are superior to the laity (who are busy going about their business). I consider this a gross misinterpretation of the Bible, a travesty of truth, and one more instance of the celibate clergy anointing themselves as superior beings, vis-à-vis the married laity.
If readers think that my averments are preposterous, let them read on. I firmly believe in the dictum “A text without a context is a pretext”. That is, any statement must be contextualised, to arrive at truth. Seen out of context, a statement can be used to reinforce pre-set notions or prejudices. And the Catholic Church has for centuries (till Vatican II), looked at the laity with a jaundiced eye.
So let us first examine the controversial text. When Jesus visits Martha and Mary’s house, it is Martha who takes the initiative to welcome them. She is reprimanded (not rebuked) by Jesus for being “distracted and worrying and fretting about too many things”(cf Lk 10:38-42). Probably at that point Jesus was more concerned about the urgency of his message, than eating pakoris and rasgullas! So he was not deriding normal work. He was just trying to prioritise things in the specific circumstances. This incident cannot be stretched to absurd limits, to arrive at pre-determined positions.
There are two other occasions when Martha and Mary simultaneously interact with Jesus (Jn 11:1-46 and 12:1-8). The second occasion is that of their brother Lazarus’ death. Here again Martha takes the initiative to rush out, while Mary remains sitting inside. The third instance is the anointing at Bethany, just before Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, for his climactic death. Martha serves Jesus dinner, and Mary anoints his feet. From these three instances it is clear that Martha and Mary, though sisters, are two different personalities. Martha, like Peter, seems to be the more impetuous and impulsive of the two. Peter was also reprimanded on several occasions by Jesus. It does not detract from the “primacy” of his discipleship. I would therefore conclude that the roles/ vocations of Martha and Mary are diverse, rather than hierarchical. Ironically, that same Sunday, the first reading was from Genesis (18:1-8); the apparition of Yahweh to Abraham at Mamre. Abraham and Sarah’s response is quite natural. They don’t sit at Yahweh’s feet to listen. They rush off to prepare a sumptuous meal for their three visitors. Far from being reprimanded and rebuked, they are actually rewarded by Yahweh, with the promise of a child in their old age. It is therefore abundantly clear that normal human activity, if done in the right spirit, is pleasing to God.
Several of God’s chosen ones heard their call (vocare) – vocation- while they were busy at work. Count Moses, David, Peter, Andrew, James, John and Mathew among them. Jesus himself laboured with dignity as a carpenter for nigh thirty years. Was he wasting his time in ungodly activity? Perish the thought. St. Paul, despite his great missionary vocation, spent time in tent making, his profession (cf Acts 18:3) so as not to burden his followers. His exhortations to the disciples in Thessalonica are an eye opener: “We urged you not to let anyone eat if he refused to work. Now we hear that there are some of you who are living lives without any discipline, doing no work themselves but interfering with other peoples! In the Lord Jesus Christ we urge and call on people of this kind to go on quietly working and earning the food that they eat” (2 Thes 3:10-12). And again: “Make a point of living quietly, attending to your own business, and earning your living, just as we told you to, so that you may earn the respect of outsiders and not be dependent on anyone” (1 Thes 4: 11-12).
The Book of Proverbs is full of rebukes against those who do no work. Let two quotes suffice: “Slothfulness casts one into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger (Prov 19:15). “The sluggard will not plough because of winter; therefore he will beg during the harvest and have nothing” (Prov 20:4).
The Vatican Council teachings, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, give a correct understanding of the dignity and fruit of work. The Vatican II document “The Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World” has this to say: “Throughout the course of the centuries men have laboured to better the circumstances of their lives through a monumental amount of individual and collective effort. This point is settled: considered in itself, such human activity accords with God’s will “(GS 34). “When a man works he not only alters things and society, he develops himself as well. He learns much, he cultivates his resources, he goes outside and beyond himself” (GS 35). “It is ordinarily by his labour that a man supports himself and his family, is joined to his fellow men and serves them and is enabled to exercise genuine charity and be a partner in the work of bringing God’s creation to perfection” (GS 67).
The Catechism echoes similar sentiments. “Work is a duty. Work honours the creator’s gifts and the talents received from him….Work can be a means of sanctification and a way of animating earthly realities with the Spirit of Christ… Work is for man, not man for work. Everyone should be able to draw from work the means of providing for his life and that of his family, and of serving the human community” (CCC 2427-8).
In the words of Vatican II, “The point is settled” Let not over zealous pastors then give unsettling sermons on which is “better” – ORA O LABORA? Let us rather follow the old adage, “Work as though everything depends on you, and pray as though everything depends on God. Ora et Labora. This point is settled!
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