Jesus calls us friends not servants...
Martha was the home owner probably; certainly she was the home manager. Her name means “mistress” (i.e. not a lover but the female version of “master”) A woman of some energy, drive, ability, determination. She had the presence of mind to recognise something special about Jesus, the desire to honour him, and the generosity to welcome him into her home. Martha had a mission statement. She had an agenda. She wanted to honour the Rabbi Jesus. She was going to host the Rabbi for a meal. She had a project; she had a programme...
Don’t fall for the lie that Mary was this weepy, emotional, lassie swooning at Jesus' feet. Mary was smart too. She had a mission statement. She was going to be a Rabbi's disciple at least for a day. She recognised a teacher of quality; and she revelled in the rare privilege of sitting at the feet of a Rabbi, something that as a first century Jewish woman she would have no chance of doing, humanly speaking. But here she was, being Jesus' student, his disciple. To listen to someone is probably the simplest way we can honour them. (Incidentally, here is Jesus honouring women and challenging the accepted norms of what women could do!)
Now Mary's mission statement didn’t fit with Martha's mission statement... she was distracted (the Greek word means “pulled in different directions” possibly hoped to hear what Jesus had to say but couldn’t concentrate) by her much serving. She was getting stressed, I imagine Martha banging pots and pans, getting more and more irate. She was developing a sense of injustice at the situation; getting cross at Mary and at Jesus. So made an entrance. The Greek is quite clear – she stood over Jesus, and had this wee rant... “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” Tell her to grasp with opposite me, to take her share of the work. To co-operate with me. It's the sort of word I would have liked to be able to use when trying to get my boys to help fold up a tent! “Get hold of it with me – opposite me. Take the other end of this... "
Now to be fair to Martha, a Rabbi’s student was supposed to be willing to do the menial tasks for the master. Such was the humble nature of he relationship between Rabbi and student, that the student was also expected to serve – and could be expected to untie the Rabbi's sandals. Martha felt she was kind of justified to suggest, “Order your student to get up and help in the house!”
It certainly wasn't Martha's finest moment. You can imagine the embarrassed silence... some are thinking “Poor Mary... Poor Jesus”, others are thinking “Quite right, Martha”, and others “Perhaps we better be going!” It was unjust that Martha should cook all the food while Mary had a good time listening to Jesus. But it was a self inflicted injury. Why should Mary be deprived of her once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sit at the feet of Rabbi Jesus, just because her sister had set the agenda to produce a fantastic feast for Jesus.
But Jesus, lovingly, gently, challenges Martha. Now Jesus isn't saying to Martha “Martha, you're wearing yourself out making a spread when a sandwich is really all I need....” He's not rejecting Martha and what Martha has offered to do. He's not actually suggesting that the contemplative life and the activist life are opposites and it’s better to choose the contemplative.
But what he does say goes a lot deeper. “Martha, Martha (There's tenderness, and maybe a hint of firmness, too, in the use of Martha's name twice.) you are careful, (The Greek word means to take thought or care, from root word to divide or part: it suggests the lady with the eye for detail: you know, the salad perfectly arranged in the dish...) thinking about every detail, thinking about so many things all at once... and troubled (The Greek word means to be disturbed, in an uproar... ) as a result. There's only one thing we really need in life...”
What is the “one thing? What made Mary's choice so good? What was Jesus teaching? We don't actually know what Jesus was saying in his teaching time... But we can guess it was about the Kingdom of God – that was Jesus' regular theme: to announce that the Kingdom was at hand; to define the characteristics of the Kingdom and describe its demands; or to refer to the ultimate cost of bringing the Kingdom through his death on the Cross... Mary certainly had a deep appreciation that Jesus was going to suffer and die (John 12. 7) And that is the most important thing; the one thing we really need. Jesus said “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” (Mt 4. 4) The Word of God not just teaching and more teaching but teaching put into practise, the living word that births the reality of the Kingdom of God. The Word, experienced in the Kingdom, its simplicity, its justice, its compassion, its power. is what we need: “Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Mt 6. 33)
The Kingdom was there, among them in the person of Jesus. But up to that point in the meal the kingdom has passed Martha by. Mary has chosen the Kingdom. That's the thing we need. That's the point Jesus was making.
But we need that to have arms and legs; otherwise we are left with the choice between "contemplative Mary" or "activist Martha". But in this story, the medium is the message... although I don't know what Jesus said about the Kingdom in his teaching: I do know what Jesus said about the Kingdom in his actions and his response to Martha. Because Jesus is modelling the new wine of the Kingdom and Martha is modelling the old wine of conventional, organised religion.
Organised religion
- Puts people in boxes
- values Programmes and Projects
- Expects compliance to achieve success
- activities matter so relationships feed activities
- Can depend on manipulation and coercion
- challenges mistakes harshly
- Trusts in man
Kingdom approach
- Sets people free
- Values people and “presence”
- Encourages growth towards fruitfulness.
- Relationships matter, so activities build relationships (including working together!)
- avoids manipulation and coercion
- challenges mistakes lovingly and gently,
- Trusts in God
Now Luke finishes the story right there: he doesn't tell us what Martha did, how Martha responded. To do that would have been to take the focus away from Jesus and back onto Martha. The focus remains on Jesus and the main point that shouts at us as we read Luke's story. Luke was a careful historian, an eminent theologian and a skilful story teller... Here he unashamedly tells the story in such a way as to teach theology... Choose the most important thing – choose the Kingdom, choose the relational way – and win!
...But I wonder how you and I are going to respond?
© Gilmour Lilly April 2012
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