this is understood) from thee, that which thou hast chosen shall be taken away. But to thy
blessedness shall it be taken away, that that which is better may be given. For labour shall
be taken away from thee, that rest may be given. Thou art still on the sea, she is already in
port.
4. Ye see then, dearly Beloved, and, as I suppose, ye understand already, that in these
two women, who were both well pleasing to the Lord, both objects of His love, both disciples;
ye see, I say (and an important thing it is which whosoever understand, understand hereby,
a thing which, even those of you who do not understand ought to give ear to, and to know),
that in these two women the two lives are figured, the life present, and the life to come, the
life of labour, and the life of quiet, the life of sorrow, and the life of blessedness, the life
temporal, and the life eternal. These are the two lives: do ye think of them more fully. What
this life contains, I speak not of a life of evil, or iniquity, or wickedness, or luxuriousness,
or ungodliness; but of labour, and full of sorrows, by fears subdued, by temptations dis-
quieted: even this harmless life I mean, such as was suitable for Martha: this life I say, examine
as best ye can; and as I have said, think of it more fully than I speak. But a wicked life was
far from that house, and was neither with Martha nor with Mary; and if it ever had been, it
fled at the Lord’s entrance. There remained then in that house, which had received the Lord,
in the two women the two lives, both harmless, both praiseworthy; the one of labour, the
other of ease; neither vicious, neither slothful. Both harmless, both, I say, praiseworthy: but
one of labour, the other of ease: neither vicious, which the life of labour must beware of;
neither slothful, which the life of ease must beware of. There were then in that house these
two lives, and Himself, the Fountain of life. In Martha was the image of things present, in
Mary of things to come. What Martha was doing, that we are now; what Mary was doing,
that we hope for. Let us do the first well, that we may have the second fully. For what of it
have we now? How far have we it? As long as we are here, how much of it is there that we
have? For in some measure are we employed in it now, and ye too when removed from
business, and laying aside domestic cares, ye meet together, stand, listen. In so far as ye do
this, ye are like Mary. And with greater facility do ye do that which Mary doeth, than I who
have to distribute. Yet if I say ought, it is Christ’s; therefore doth it feed you, because it is
Christ’s. For the Bread is common to us all, of which I too live as well as you. “But now we
live, if ye, Brethren, stand fast in the Lord.” 3338 I would not that ye should stand fast in us,
but in the Lord. “For neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth; but God
that giveth the increase.”3339
3338 1 Thess. iii. 8.
3339 1 Cor. iii. 7.
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Again, on the words of the Gospel, Luke x. 38, etc., about Martha and M…