Good morning,
We can rightly assume that Jesus must love common people, because He made so many of them. He loved to spend time with ordinary people like Mary and Martha of Bethany. As Luke told the story, Jesus set his face toward Jerusalem (Luke 9:51). For the rest of Luke's Gospel, Jesus steadfastly headed toward his death and resurrection. He twice told his disciples that he will soon die. We can feel the shadow of Jerusalem hanging over this story.
The way Luke told the story, Jesus' visit in this home would have been shocking to his contemporaries in many ways. First of all, the woman Martha is presented as the homeowner and as the person in charge. There is no indication at this point that her sister Mary, nor her brother Lazarus, lived with her. Verse 38 says simply, "…a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home." It is surprising that Martha seems to have owned the home - it was "her home," not "their home." Luke did not mention Lazarus at all; and we are not told that Mary lived there either.
Many questions come to mind about this scene. How did this woman become the head of the household in a patriarchal society? Why did she own the house when she clearly had a brother? Luke's account does not answer all our questions, but clearly makes a statement in the way Luke told the story. He apparently loved to defy social expectations.
The next shocking aspect of the story involves the actions of Mary. Social expectations would place Mary in the traditional female activities around the home. (Martha clearly expected Mary's help with the household chores, as well.) The last place we expect this women to be is at the feet of Jesus, listening to his teaching. For most people of the time, that seems to have been a man's place. The Jewish Mishnah says, "Let thy house be a meeting-house for the Sages and sit amid the dust of their feet and drink in their words with thirst… (but) talk not much with womankind." While Martha busied herself with many tasks (a traditional female role), Mary sat at the Lord's fee and received his teaching (a traditional male role).
Then Luke turned his attention to Martha and said, "But Martha was distracted by her many tasks…" . The literal translation says she was distracted by many tasks, and the word used for "tasks" is diakonian. It is the root word for deacon. It is commonly used for "waiting tables" and essentially means "service."
The story is told with such brevity that we can only guess at the reasons behind the behaviors of the two women. William Barclay has suggested that there may have been a difference in the temperament between the two women. That often happens in families. One sister may have been more compulsive about the housework than the other. One sister may have been more interested in the spiritual than the other. Whatever her activity, Martha was clearly disturbed that Mary was not helping her. She was shouldering the responsibility of caring for her guests, and felt she was carrying more that her fair share of the burden. We can hardly blame her for getting upset at her sister.
Martha was so upset that she decided to take the matter directly to Jesus. It is interesting that she did not confront Mary directly, but interrupted Jesus' teaching to ask him to intervene on her behalf. In verse 40, Martha says, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me." She addressed Jesus as "Lord," but in the same breath rebuked him. "Do you not care?" Then, in her frustration she appealed Jesus to "Tell her then to help me". Martha, focused on her own agenda, asked Jesus to align himself and Mary to that agenda. Martha is seen trying to tell Jesus what he should do, while Mary listened as Jesus tells her what to do.
In verse 41 Jesus responded, "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." Jesus repeated Martha's name as a gentle rebuke, then noted Martha's distraction rather than her hospitality. He did not say the many things were wrong. Certainly he welcomed food, but he encouraged discipleship even more. On the road to Jerusalem and the cross, this was his final visit recorded by Luke to the home of these dear friends. Martha and Mary needed Jesus, and Martha's busyness distanced her from him. Jesus needed Martha and Mary, too. He knew what awaited him in Jerusalem, and he needed good friends in His dark hour more than He needed good food.
Mary chose the better part, because she chose the "Chosen One." Jesus added that this "will not be taken away from her." Mary was the kind of person who keeps her priorities straight. Apparently, She was like the man who takes a week off from work to attend a conference on spiritual growth. She was like the woman who devotes an hour every week to leading a Bible study at a homeless shelter. She was like the family that makes a commitment to be in worship every Sunday morning … even on a Sunday in the middle of the winter.
Some scholars say that it is no accident that this story immediately follows the parable of the Good Samaritan. The point of the Samaritan's story is to "go and do likewise." There is a time to go and do; there is a time to listen and reflect. Knowing which time we are in is a matter of spiritual discernment.
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8HgAVenbUU
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment