7
Disunity in the family Martha and Mary. They were responsible for what we can call the most famous family row of all time.2 Martha was preoccupied with the serving, while Mary was busy - with sitting and listening to Jesus. Martha was not impressed with her sister’s negligence, and she asked Jesus to intervene. Jesus, though, wasn’t interested in addressing the disagreement in any direct fashion. Rather, he pointed out that an awareness of his presence in their home was more important than anything else. Treasure in a field Quarrels in the home are certainly a common difficulty in family life. Is there any way to avoid the anger, temper, malice, abusive language, dirty talk or lies that so often accompany them?3 Well, St Paul has something of an answer in his famous fifth chapter of Ephesians. In relation to the morals of the home as a whole, St Paul says: “Give way to one another in obedience to Christ.” (Ep 5:21) Rather than suggesting that a wife should just do what her husband tells her, St John Paul identified in this teaching of the apostle a call to a mutual subjection between husband and wife. If a husband and wife were to give way to each other out of reverence for Christ, then marriage would be easy. But is
Facing Difficulties in Christian Family Life.indd 7
03/12/2014 11:50