Two Sisters

Two Sisters

July 17, 2022

Luke 10: 38 - 42

Unlike the fictional Good Samaritan parable of last week, today’s story about Martha and Mary is an embellished recounting of people who actually lived and interacted with Jesus.  The author, Luke, may have added words that were not said, implied unproven motives, and/or deleted interactions they did not witness; but the story that has come down to us, and speaks to us, is important.  But only if we listen.

These sisters of Bethany were hospitable and gracious to many.  They kept house for their brother Lazarus.  They were competent women, not giddy teenagers, efficient housekeepers and members of a close-knit family.  Martha, the elder sister, served as the family’s homemaker and seemed to assign tasks to Mary.  Nothing is revealed about Lazarus’s occupation or community status, but later in the narrative we learn he lived with serious health problems.

While Jesus and his disciples were traveling through Bethany, they met Martha and Mary who offered them hospitality and lodging.  I’m sure there were polite interchanges and repartee before all agreed.  The visitors may have said: 

“ 1    Are you sure you have room?”

“  2   There are so many of us.”

“ 3     We have all this stuff. Will it be all right to just pile it in the yard?”

Martha spent time preparing food and preparing accommodations for the guests and family.  When Jesus and company were initially settled, I’m sure Martha assumed Mary was working in tandem with her as usual.  When she discovered this was not the case, she continued on task, all the while trying to listen to the Teacher’s words.  We are told that Mary sat at Jesus’ feet while Martha worked.  Frustrated, Martha finally did ask, [pause] I’ll say ‘ask’, but it sounds more like ‘demand’ of Jesus that He direct her younger sister help with preparations.  The Lord essentially replied, “No.”  But He gave a reason.

Martha continued to prepare the meal - stirring the pots, smoothing the table linens, setting out the plates and utensils - while Mary continued to sit at Jesus’ feet.  Imagine with me, some of Martha’s unvoiced words and dagger eye messages she sent to her sister:

·         “This is a family and we have been doing things the right way since our parents were alive.  Unmarried women do not sit at the feet of a man. You are out of line thinking you can sit there like a Rabbinical student and do things your way without considering other’s needs.  My needs.” 

·         “I just heard that Jesus will be explaining the meaning of summer fruit from the scroll of Amos.  I really, really want to hear that.  Perhaps I can ask the Lord to explain it to me after dinner.”

·         “Mary, you can see me signaling to get in here and help.  She’s turning her back to me … I don’t believe it!”

·         You know, sister, you agreed to invite this whole bunch for food and respite, so you should be helping me prepare and serve.

·         Oh shoot. There’s not enough olive oil. Now I will have to go out and ask a neighbor for some.

·         Get over here and watch the pot while I run next door.  Mary, you know what these hand gestures mean.”

I was raised in a house of four females, one boy.  Housekeeping was apportioned to Saturday mornings.  Each of us had an assigned room and we were expected to ‘clear our calendars’ until we finished.  It did not matter how late we were out Friday evening.  Breakfast was postponed until all the mops and pails were stowed away for another week. 

If I’m truthful, one of the reasons I enjoy the mild rebuke our Lord gave Martha for her complaint might be because I am the youngest sister, and both my older sisters seemed to disappear before the work was completed. 

Perhaps this family’s household had the same system of shared responsibilities as mine.  Certainly, sharing workloads inside and outside the home is not a novel concept!  It’s possible Mary thought her responsibilities should be limited to focusing on Jesus, letting Martha do ‘her thing’ as efficiently as usual.  Mary may have been surprised when Martha requested Jesus rebuke her for not helping.  I know Martha was surprised when He commended Mary instead:

“My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details!  There is only one thing worth being concerned about.  Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.  The part Mary has chosen is better”.  I hope Mary didn’t smirk.

Martha’s generosity was not minimized by Jesus’ words.  In Luke 14:12-14, Jesus said, “When you are having a party for lunch or supper, do not invite your friends, your brothers, or other relations, or your rich neighbors; they will only ask you back again and so you will be repaid.  Ask the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind and so find happiness.  For they have no means of repaying you, but you will be repaid on the day when good men rise from the dead.”  This group in Mary’s home was one such group, as they appeared to have no immediate means to reciprocate.  The invitation, the food and drink, the lodging were good things.

Over the years, this story has often suffered dubious interpretations - with Martha becoming the poster child for all that is wrong with the life of busyness.  Mary is seen as near angelic for choosing the monastic-type life, represented by a woman submissive at her Lord’s feet.  I don’t think I’m alone in rejecting these quick interpretations.  Nor am I alone in asking: When Jesus said “Mary had chosen the best part”, exactly what part did Mary choose, and why was it better?”

Biblical scholars suggest this story should be read against the whole of Luke’s Gospel, where hospitality - which is seen as a vital form of generosity in the ancient Near East - is also one of the chief signs of love in God’s kingdom.  This story may have even influenced St. Paul to say, “Be doers of the word, not just listeners, thereby showing Love.”

We are all like Mary and/or Martha.  Do we regularly ask ourselves if we have our priorities in order?  Are our priorities in order?  Jesus’ admonition was because Martha was worried and upset, not because her sister was behaving improperly.  Are we worried or upset?  When I prayed, “What was that ‘one thing’ Mary did?”, I received a familiar answer.  An answer I’ve heard for decades, but one which I don’t always follow: “Seek God’s presence first and listen well as He speaks.”  When I don’t see God in all things, it’s because I didn’t look past the first glance.

So, what is it that Mary chose?  What part is better?

Mary chose that “One Thing”.  It is the number one requirement for every Christian – not service, but sitting at the feet of the Lord Jesus.

Cathie Duffy                Lk10_38-42.7c22