Mary and the infamous Martha: I've long pondered these two sisters. It's always seemed so unfair of Jesus to rebuke Martha for her busy-ness. I confess, I've taken it personally. I'm very practical. I see what needs to be done, I do it. I like life to be orderly and organized, and with a house full of guests, just like Martha, I'd be in the kitchen. Why should she be rebuked?
I'm not a Bible scholar, and I don't know this for a fact, but I think Mary and Martha are mentioned by name in the gospels of Luke and John more than any other individuals besides the twelve apostles. That has to mean something, right? Like maybe "pay attention to these stories, they're important!"
The other day I began reading John 11. It's the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. I'm reading along: Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped His feet with her hair. Whoa! Back up! It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped His feet with her hair. What?! The Mary of "Martha and Mary" was the "known sinner" from Luke 7:37?
Instantly, the picture of this family came into focus:
Lazarus, the bachelor brother, the man of the house in the absence of their father.
Martha, the responsible sister. She kept the house in order. She cooked and cleaned, did the laundry, ran the errands. She denied herself pleasure for the sake of the family. She suffered the original martyr-syndrome, and her bitterness toward her sister was evident.
Mary, the sister who was known throughout the city for her sins, the party-girl, perhaps a prostitute. She was loose, carefree, irresponsible, always looking for a good time.
Can you imagine what the townspeople had to say about the two sisters: "That Martha - she does so much for her siblings, while Mary (shaking their heads) runs around doing whatever she pleases with whomever she pleases (eye roll). What a disgrace! Poor Martha - to carry the weight of running their household all by herself AND to suffer the embarrassment of a sister like that! My heart goes out to her. Poor thing."(don't we say (or think) the same thing of today's Mary's and Martha's?)
Jesus' tenderness toward Mary is obvious, but He also loved Martha (John 11:5). The difference between the two sisters is that when Mary met Jesus, she fell in love. Her life changed. She changed. She wanted to be wherever He was, to be close to Him. When Martha met Jesus, she simply upped her serving. She believed He was the Savior. She even invited groups of people to come to their house to meet Him, to listen to Him, but she herself kept her distance. She stayed in the kitchen. She didn't let herself fall in love with Him as her wild sister had. She was respectable and responsible. She wouldn't give herself over to such a luxury.
Yet it was Mary, and not Martha, whom Jesus commended, wild, promiscuous, sinful, Mary, who fell in love with Him and wouldn't leave His side.
I don't think the Mary/Martha debate is either/or - you're either Mary or you're Martha. I think it goes
much deeper than that. I think it's a matter of the heart. Martha was bitter toward her sister - all those years that she'd held down the fort while Mary did her own thing had paid its toll. She couldn't forgive Mary and her unforgiveness kept her in the kitchen, away from Jesus.
I'm practical. It's who I am. I doubt that's going to change, but it's not a life-sentence to be lived out in the kitchens of this world, away from Jesus. Being Mary or being Martha isn't about your personality. It's about your heart, and I believe we can have a Mary heart - a desire to always be with Jesus - even in the midst of serving and taking care of practical needs.
By His grace, may I...may you...always choose the good portion.
I'm not a Bible scholar, and I don't know this for a fact, but I think Mary and Martha are mentioned by name in the gospels of Luke and John more than any other individuals besides the twelve apostles. That has to mean something, right? Like maybe "pay attention to these stories, they're important!"
The other day I began reading John 11. It's the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. I'm reading along: Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped His feet with her hair. Whoa! Back up! It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped His feet with her hair. What?! The Mary of "Martha and Mary" was the "known sinner" from Luke 7:37?
Instantly, the picture of this family came into focus:
Lazarus, the bachelor brother, the man of the house in the absence of their father.
Martha, the responsible sister. She kept the house in order. She cooked and cleaned, did the laundry, ran the errands. She denied herself pleasure for the sake of the family. She suffered the original martyr-syndrome, and her bitterness toward her sister was evident.
Mary, the sister who was known throughout the city for her sins, the party-girl, perhaps a prostitute. She was loose, carefree, irresponsible, always looking for a good time.
Can you imagine what the townspeople had to say about the two sisters: "That Martha - she does so much for her siblings, while Mary (shaking their heads) runs around doing whatever she pleases with whomever she pleases (eye roll). What a disgrace! Poor Martha - to carry the weight of running their household all by herself AND to suffer the embarrassment of a sister like that! My heart goes out to her. Poor thing."(don't we say (or think) the same thing of today's Mary's and Martha's?)
Jesus' tenderness toward Mary is obvious, but He also loved Martha (John 11:5). The difference between the two sisters is that when Mary met Jesus, she fell in love. Her life changed. She changed. She wanted to be wherever He was, to be close to Him. When Martha met Jesus, she simply upped her serving. She believed He was the Savior. She even invited groups of people to come to their house to meet Him, to listen to Him, but she herself kept her distance. She stayed in the kitchen. She didn't let herself fall in love with Him as her wild sister had. She was respectable and responsible. She wouldn't give herself over to such a luxury.
Yet it was Mary, and not Martha, whom Jesus commended, wild, promiscuous, sinful, Mary, who fell in love with Him and wouldn't leave His side.
I don't think the Mary/Martha debate is either/or - you're either Mary or you're Martha. I think it goes
much deeper than that. I think it's a matter of the heart. Martha was bitter toward her sister - all those years that she'd held down the fort while Mary did her own thing had paid its toll. She couldn't forgive Mary and her unforgiveness kept her in the kitchen, away from Jesus.I'm practical. It's who I am. I doubt that's going to change, but it's not a life-sentence to be lived out in the kitchens of this world, away from Jesus. Being Mary or being Martha isn't about your personality. It's about your heart, and I believe we can have a Mary heart - a desire to always be with Jesus - even in the midst of serving and taking care of practical needs.
By His grace, may I...may you...always choose the good portion.
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