Martha and Mary
Luke 11:38-42
By Marilyn Lopez
What a wonderful scripture story, familiar,
I believe, to many of us. How many interpretations have we heard
preached about this brief, intimate story of Jesus and his friends?
Ironically for me this week, this classic narrative arrived in
my life twice. Upon going on-line on day, I received one of those
circulating email jokes entitled something akin to 'the other
Martha'. Thinking it was about the biblical Martha, I hastily
opened it, but was disappointed to find that it was merely a satirical
look at another popular 'Martha' of the day. I expected something
more meaningful. Then just a few days later as I was sitting in
the pews at church, guess what the Gospel reading was? You guessed
it, Luke's Martha and Mary! Two times in one week for me means
pay attention; an opportunity for growth is readily available.
God means work when He is trying to get my attention. That means
more needs to be done than simply analyzing with my head; I need
to engage the heart as well. What an interesting contrast of events
-email and then a gospel reading! What do I do with this coincidence,
oops, I mean, God-incidence? Do I compare real world personalities
with biblical characters? I think not. Worldly and material 'things'
are temporal and fade away. Divine wisdom, however, remains eternal.
The divine is the direction chosen.
To refresh our minds on this narrative,
Martha and Mary, sisters, welcome Jesus to their home for a meal.
Martha is running around preparing dinner and Mary remains at
the feet of Jesus listening. In her anxiety and frustration, Martha
asks Jesus to tell Mary to help her serve. Jesus responds saying
that Mary is doing her part (some versions say "better part")
and she will not be denied that privilege. The classic construal
of this narrative is that Mary represents the contemplative servant
and Martha the active. Each of us can relate to both I hope, yet
each of us has a dominating slant towards one or the other style.
My own personal, heady 'mis-construal' of this story supports
my own rationalization of laziness, thus siding with Mary! We
need to go beyond our own amateur interpretations and dig deeper.
Which figure do you sympathize with, relate to or understand?
Do you (we) ever choose to pick up a commentary on the Gospels
to understand more? Do you allow our ministers to be the sole
interpreters and quit there? Do we take the easy road and accept
a simplistic interpretation or rationalization and forget about
it all? Ultimately the Bible is God talking to us. What we need
is to prayerfully read and ask the Holy Spirit for guidance in
understanding what a particular passage is saying to my soul,
now, today, in the particular circumstances of my life.
A bit of historical background helps.
One of the central themes intertwined in many of Luke's narratives
is that of Jesus' compassion and respect for women. It was unheard
of at the time for a woman to be seated at the feet of Jesus or
any teacher. That position was reserved solely for disciples,
men to be exact. In the culture of the day, women were considered
second class citizens. Yet, Jesus holds no barriers for gender,
race, class, age or health. He loves all souls. His message is
for all - women, men, young, old, outcasts, aliens and even sinners.
How refreshing! Do we understand the
depth of His love for our individual soul? Is it clear in our
minds that each one of us was created as a disciple with a mission?
As parents, it is imperative that we connect to what our duties
are here in this life. Do we take seriously the proverb 'train
up the child in the way he should go'? Ultimately, our spiritual
life and that of our children is all that matters. We are not
alone on our walk; the Holy Spirit is accessible to teach us.
We need to embrace both styles of service illustrated in this
wonderful narrative. Like Mary, we need to continue in silence
and prayer, beckoning and listening to the Holy Spirit's guidance
as we journey onward. As with Martha, we need to remember to take
time to foster the silence as a part of the ever active responsibility
of raising His children.
| Taken from: Volume I, Issue 5 of Infinite
Grace, Moms E-Grace In Cyberspace (free ezine) Author: Marilyn
Lopez, publisher of VineToBranch.com (c) 2001 ALL RIGHTS
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