Referring
to Jesus’ friendship with Mary and Martha, Brennan Manning Writes, “Exhausted
from the hurly-burly of ministry, heavyhearted with the intrigue of the
Pharisees and the pettiness of the apostles, longing for female companionship,
he seeks out his 2 dear friends.”
But
when Martha seems more interested in preparing his supper and criticizing her
sister Mary for not helping, Jesus responds: “Cool it Martha. We’ll have the trout almondine later. I’m worn out, lonely, empty and frightened.”
Jesus
continued, “I’m heading to the Holy City and as you know, a prophet must die in
Jerusalem. So Martha, drop the frying
pan, come over here, sit beside your sister Mary and hold my hand. I need you, Martha. Mary’s got a grip on where I’m at. She knows that I’m fully human, have a
sensitive human heart and long to be treated as a man who is human.”