The Mary /Martha Dilemma Feb. 18 2018 Luke 10;25-28,38-42 Doesn’t everyone know the story of Jesus’ visit to the home of Mary and Martha who by the way were the sisters of Lazarus. Mary sits at Jesus’ feet and listens to Him teach while Martha bustles about in the kitchen preparing a meal. The fateful phrase the kind of condemns Martha to a lesser spiritual realm is when Jesus says, “Only a few things are necessary, really only one for Mary has chosen the best part.” What was the best part? Letting her sister slave away in the kitchen while she lounges around listening to Jesus? Maybe what Jesus is addressing is Martha’s complaint “Lord do you not care that my sister has let me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.” Jesus does not say, “Well you should be here too with Mary, we can eat later.” He would appreciate that if all 12 apostles and some of the women who supported Jesus' ministry were traveling with him, fixing the meal would have been a major job. Martha, like many hostesses, became anxious over impressing her guests. Welcoming Jesus and his entourage into her house implied the fullest form of hospitality and involved substantial generosity. Jesus gently admonished Martha for being "worried and upset," not for serving. Even still, Martha was a remarkable woman and deserves considerable credit. It was quite rare in Jesus' day for a woman to manage her own affairs as the head of the household, and especially to invite a man into her home. Martha appears to be the eldest of the family, and head of the sibling household. When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, both sisters played a prominent role in the story and their contrasting personalities are evident in this account as well. “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered by so many things; but only a few things are necessary, really only one. I wonder if Jesus is saying, “You know, this is an open concept design. You are practically in the same room. If you stopped being distracted by your resentment, you could still listen in while you are working.” It would seem that we are dealing with two very different personalities here. Martha is very outgoing, while Mary seems to be more reserved. It is Martha who welcomes Him into her home. Martha is all about hospitality, which in those times was a necessary and expected thing. Martha was a remarkable woman and deserves considerable credit. It was quite rare in Jesus' day for a woman to manage her own affairs as the head of the household, and especially to invite a man into her home.

1 Later, in the gospel of John, after Lazarus had died, it was Martha who had come out to meet Jesus while Mary still sat in the house. Martha confronts Jesus, “Lord if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” She knew all about what Jesus could do. She also makes a great theological statement “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” She knows her stuff! Then she goes to fetch Mary “The teacher is here and is calling for you. when Mary did finally go to Jesus, she fell at his feet weeping. Later after, Lazarus has risen they are back in the house, 6 days before the Passover. They made Him a supper and guess what? Martha was serving. But quiet Mary anointed Him with the expensive spikenard. Martha has been compared to the Apostle Peter: practical, impulsive, and short- tempered to the point of rebuking the Lord himself. Mary is more like the Apostle John: reflective, loving, and calm. For centuries people in the church have puzzled over the Mary and Martha story, knowing that someone has to do the work. The point of this passage, however, is about making Jesus and his word our first priority. Today we come to know Jesus better through prayer, church attendance, and Bible study. Some of us tend to be more like Mary in our Christian walk, while others resemble Martha. It's likely we have qualities of both within us. Wendy has both. She can teach, preach, loves to pray and is great in the kitchen. I would have been great in the kitchen too, but my mother told me when I offered to help that the best way I could help was to stay out of the kitchen. I always obeyed my mother. I must say though that if there is anything that Wendy doesn’t want to do, I get to do it, like BBQing in the rain. I can wash dishes quite well though. Remember, it's significant to note, though, that Jesus gently admonished Martha for being "worried and upset," not for serving. Service is a good thing, but sitting at Jesus' feet is best. We must remember what is most important. If you are worried and upset about many things, perhaps studying the word where Jesus does address worrying. Getting together with friends to learn from each other, to support each other in learning how to cope with the frustrations of life would be very helpful. Do you know how many congregations do not even offer an opportunity for prayer and study other than Sunday mornings? Some have short studies during Advent and/or Lent. Our daughters church has almost the same attendance for Wednesday evening Bible Study as Sunday morning plus a Sunday afternoon service. There has been a Tuesday morning study here even before I came. We have covered a lot of topics, looked at a lot of books of the bible and now we are going through the whole bible book by book. We have discussed a lot of questions that

2 you might be asking, but I would estimate that depending on our size at any given time that maybe ¾ of this congregation have never participated. I have heard that we are considered to be a very busy church. Doing a lot of good things, no question about that as long of course that all these good things include the best part. We may be inclined at times to let our busy lives of service distract us from spending time with Jesus and listening to his word. The key word is balance. One of the important functions of the Spiritual Life Committee is the help us all keep the balance. Mary and Martha had two very different personalities but both we very engaged in a relationship with Jesus and isn’t that the most important thing? Good works should flow from a Christ-centered life; they do not produce a Christ- centered life. When we give Jesus the attention he deserves, he empowers us to serve others. AMEN?

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