Luke 10:38-42 (NIV)
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
At first glance, this story seems pretty simple. It looks like Martha wants to be a good hostess. I mean, between Jesus, his disciples, and Mary, you know there are at least 13 people in her house. Math isn’t my strong suit, but either way, there are a lot of people in Martha’s house. Could you imagine what she is going through? Just preparing enough food would be hard enough, let alone everything else that had to be done. And it’s not like she could just give up and order pizza. The only Little Caesar they had in her day was a king! It’s a wonder to me that Martha didn’t come at Mary a little more like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BPLR9l0CYA
Making thirty to thirty-four pounds of old tallow into candles; cutting out fourteen shirts, jackets or trousers for the slaves (whom she always called “the people” or “our family”); knitting stockings; washing; dyeing and spinning wool; baking mince pies and potato puddings; sowing wheat or reaping it; killing farm animals and salting the meat; planting or picking fruits and vegetables; making jams, jellies, and preserves with her fruit; helping whitewash or paint walls; ironing; preparing for large parties; caring for the sick family and slaves.”
Martha of scripture like Martha Forman, had her hands full with responsibility. At first glance, it would be easy to say that Mary should get off her bum and help Martha. After all, Martha is up to her eyeballs in things that need to be done. And yet, there is her sister in the other room sitting at Jesus’ feet. In verse 40 of this passage, Martha asks for help. She approaches Jesus and says, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” In the end, Jesus responds with, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Most of us walk away from this passage thinking something along the lines of “we should never be too busy to learn from Jesus,” or “our relationship with Jesus should be the number one priority above everything else,” or any other number of “life-changing one liners” we use to wrap up this story with a pretty little bow on top. We are quick to cast our stones at Martha, pat Mary on the head, and walk away with only an ounce of the weight that this story carries.
In the book Surprised by Scripture by N.T. Wright he says, “Most of us grew up with the line that Martha was the active type and Mary was the passive or contemplative type, and that Jesus is simply affirming the importance of both and even the priority of devotion to him. That devotion is undoubtedly part of the importance of the story, but far more obvious to the first-century reader, and to many readers in Turkey, the Middle East, and many other parts of the world to this day, would be the fact that Mary was sitting at Jesus’ feet in the male part of the house rather than being kept in the back rooms with the other women. This, I am pretty sure, is what really bothered Martha; no doubt she was cross at being left to do all the work, but the real problem behind that was that Mary had cut clean across one of the most basic social conventions. It is as though, in today’s world, you were to invite me to stay in your house and, when it came to bedtime, I were to put up a camp bed in your bedroom. We have our own clear but unstated rules about whose space is which. So did they, and Mary has just flouted them. And Jesus declares that she is right to do so. She “sat at the master’s feet,” a phrase that doesn’t mean what it would meant today- the adoring student gazing up in admiration and love at the wonderful teacher. As is clear from the use of the phrase elsewhere in the New Testament (for instance, Paul with Gamaliel), to sit at the teacher’s feet is a way of saying you are being a student and picking up the teacher’s wisdom and learning; in that very practical world, you wouldn’t do this just for the sake of informing your own mind and heart, but in order to become yourself a teacher, a rabbi.”
Having this information changes things a little bit. We still have Martha who is overwhelmed with all the things she wants to get done. But Mary, we don’t see her as just sitting in the other room on her bum all googly eyed at how wonderful Jesus is anymore. Suddenly, our view of Mary has taken a turn in a different direction. A woman sitting in the male part of the house? BA HUMBUG! A woman learning about the Son of God in order to make him known to others? DOUBLE BA HUMBUG!
When I look at Martha’s heart, I see a woman who wants to be a good hostess, prepare a good meal, and serve Jesus and his friends. When I look at Mary, I see a woman who despite what the culture tells her she should do, she says, “I want to know Jesus and make him known to others.” And then I see Jesus respond with, “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
I think the most important thing we can do with our lives, with our time, with our energy, with anything we have really…is knowing Jesus and making him known to others. And despite what the rest of the world may tell us we should be doing; what the world thinks our priorities should be, knowing Jesus and making him known is truly better. And that is something that can never be taken from us. And I think that is what is being communicated in Luke 10:38-42.
Maybe I’m wrong about all this though. Maybe somewhere along the way, I came to the wrong conclusions. Maybe I missed something. What do you think?
