I agree that the old Abba was rather sharp in his reply, and perhaps Jesus would have been more gentle, as He was with Martha. And yes, the visiting brother was judgmental in the way that he viewed the reasonable work that the brothers had to do in order to be able to eat (to the glory of God). He made the very mistake that Ben was talking about: He categorized life into righteous prayer and unrighteous (or less righteous) work. The point of the old man was that we can't enjoy sitting at Jesus' feet or living the contemplative life without someone doing some work so that we can eat and have the strength to worship and pray. And yes, I agree that Mary was praised for her heart, and Martha was criticized lovingly for her judgmental spirit (not for doing work). Jesus Himself said that worship is "better." But the old man's point is that you can't read and pray ALL of the time. I think that's about all I can get from it.
-ker