Martha and Mary – 19 July 2013

Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.  She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying.  But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.”  But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing.  Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”  [Luke 10: 38-42]

But neither the church nor the world is neatly divided into Marthas and Marys.  Of course there are different personality types, and different people express themselves, gain their satisfactions, make life meaningful, in very different ways.  There is nothing new or insightful about that.  Through contemplative eyes this story is much deeper – it is about any one of us.  (Incidentally, it is interesting to read this story while substituting male names for Martha and Mary – Martin and Malachi, perhaps...)

If the Martha within us is predominant, then of course we are pretty good at being busy.  We may feel guilty if we are not busy.  We may even be pleased if someone tells us we are overdoing it.  We are good at hospitality and enjoy it – and as we know, hospitality is a major obligation in the Bible and in Middle-Eastern culture.  So we as Christians know how to generate food, and how to tidy up, how to preside at the barbecue and how to make people feel at home.  Sometimes it can be quite a burden and a worry – especially if others are not pulling their weight, as they were not, it would seem, in the home at Bethany.. 

Try reading this story as a personal analogy.  The home in a certain village is your personal life or mine.  Jesus arrives, as it were -- in some way and at some stage becomes a factor and a challenge in my life.  The Martha in me is very receptive and excited.  I am hospitable, appreciative, busy for Jesus – all those things and 15 others.  I may even get involved in the church, more and more, and become quite important.  I hear a lot in the church about using the talents God has given me.    But if one day you take away the things that I do, or somehow they are removed from me, what is left?  Whom does Jesus then meet in my home?  Is anyone else home?  Mary’s first priority is different, it is to encounter the guest, to be taught by the teacher.  I am sure she helps with the chores – after all, in this culture, you do need to have “team player “on your CV.  But that is not where her heart is, and she is hopeless in committee work. 

Perhaps the Martha in me eventually, in maturity, finds ways to let go of the activism from time to time, to be still, to learn to listen, to cease trying to impress or need stroking all the time.  Mary is able to listen to the teacher within.  And the teacher points out what is obvious after all – that Martha one day won’t be able to do all these things.  Who is she then?  But what Mary has chosen can’t be taken away from her.