by Rev. Canon David B. Tabo-oy
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.” – Luke 10:38-,42 NIV,
When Jesus comes to Bethany, Martha demonstrates hospitality by welcoming Jesus into the home she shares with her sister Mary and brother Lazarus. She then busies herself with the tasks of serving their guest (diakonian). Although we are not told precisely what those tasks are, a good guess is that she began preparing a meal. Meanwhile her sister Mary sits at Jesus’ feet, listening to his words. Rather than assuming the role expected of women in her culture, she takes her place at the feet of Jesus. She assumes the posture of a student learning at the feet of a rabbi, a role traditionally reserved for men.
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Most of us at one time or another have experienced the fret and fuss of a Martha and Mary clash of temperament in the home. The hardworking Martha gets to irritated with the idling Mary and on the spur of the moment says out straight what is in her mind. She thinks that her sister should be engaged in something more important than listening to Jesus. The problem with this gospel story is that we are not all at ease with Christ’s comment; Mary’s behavior seems unfair. She gets the praise and is commended by the Lord for having chosen the better part. It comes across as a picture of blatant injustice and our sympathy is with the long suffering Martha. St. Teresa said: ‘If Martha had imitated Mary, Christ would have gone without dinner.’ We are left wondering just how does Martha-Mary story fit into our lives and what exactly the Lord is saying to us though it?(Desmond Knowles)
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Many who read or hear this story may cheer for Mary in her inversion of traditional roles. Many may also empathize with Martha’s resentment of her sister for leaving her to do all the work. Jesus’ response to Martha seems less than empathetic, chiding her for her distraction and worry, and praising Mary: “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” (10:41-42).
The problem with Martha is not that she is busy serving and providing hospitality. Certainly Jesus commends this kind of service to the neighbor many times, notably in the parable of the Good Samaritan that immediately precedes the story of Mary and Martha. The problem with Martha is not her serving, but rather that she is worried and distracted. The word translated “distracted” in verse 40, periespato, has the connotation of being pulled or dragged in different directions.
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Martha’s worry and distraction prevent her from being truly present with Jesus, and cause her to drive a wedge between her sister and herself, and between Jesus and herself. She has missed out on the “one thing needed” for true hospitality. There is no greater hospitality than listening to your guest. How much more so when the guest is Jesus! So Jesus says that Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.
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Perhaps we might get a better insight into the incident if we remember that at this time Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem and, with the cross before him, all he wanted was a break from the crowds. He calls in to his friends Martha and Mary, not to avail of lavish hospitality, but for a brief rest, to leave behind his cares and concerns. Mary chose the better part because she took time to listen and to give her undivided attention to Jesus. She understood his needs at that moment, realizing that time spent in the Lord’s company was more important than fussing around making comfortable. The problem with us is that we are often so busy doing the work of the Lord in the good deeds which we perform for our neighbor that we forget the Lord of the work – who is the motivation for acts of Christian charity.
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In a culture of hectic schedules and the relentless pursuit of productivity, we are tempted to measure our worth by how busy we are, by how much we accomplish, or by how well we meet the expectations of others. Many people in our congregations likely identify with Martha. Feeling pulled in different directions, feeling worried and distracted by many things — these seem to be common threads of life in our fast-paced world. And yet, as Jesus says in Luke 12:25, “Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?” We know that worrying does no good, and that much of what we worry about is not so important in the larger scheme of things, and yet we cannot seem to quell our anxious thoughts and frantic activity.
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It is true that much of our busyness and distraction stems from the noblest of intentions. We want to provide for our families, we want to give our children every opportunity to enrich their lives, we want to serve our neighbors, and yes, we want to serve the Lord. Indeed, where would the church be without its “Marthas,” those faithful folk who perform the tasks of hospitality and service so vital to making the church a welcoming and well-functioning community?
And yet if all our activities leave us with no time to be still in the Lord’s presence and hear God’s word, we are likely to end up anxious and troubled. We are likely to end up with a kind of service that is devoid of love and joy and is resentful of others.
Both listening and doing, receiving God’s Word and serving others, are vital to the Christian life, just as inhaling and exhaling are to breathing. Yet how often do we forget to breathe in deeply? Trying to serve without being nourished by God’s word is like expecting good fruit to grow from a tree that has been uprooted.
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The gospel is telling us that no matter how busy we are we should take time to sit quietly and find the Lord in our world of work and to be guided by him. It is easy to get our priorities wrong because all our working moments are busy ones with little time for sitting at the feet of Jesus, reflecting on our lives. The danger is that if we do not take time to listen to the word of God and to pray, we become slaves of our duties. We rush about and yet the important to things can be forgotten and remain undone. One of the great difficulties in life is that we neglect people because we do not have the time to sit down and listen to them. Our approach is often based on what we can do for others; how we can smother them in kindness, whereas, what they are really looking for is our company. Time spent visiting a lonely soul in a home for the aged can also be time spent in the company of God. For what we do to others we do to Christ. All the everyday happenings of life are part of our religious lives and provide an opportunity for working out our salvation (Desmond Knowles).
Let us pray.
Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom, you know our necessities before we ask and our ignorance in asking: Have compassion on our weakness, and mercifully give us those things which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our blindness we cannot ask; through the worthiness of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Proper 11 Collect, BCP)
