"Christ in the House of Martha and Mary" by Vermeer
Has this subject been done to death?
In case it hasn't, here's the Scripture:
38 Now it happened as they went that He entered
a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha
welcomed Him into her house.
welcomed Him into her house.
39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also
sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word.
40 But Martha was distracted with much serving,
and she approached Him and said,
“Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?
Therefore tell her to help me.”
41 And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha,
you are worried and troubled about many things.
42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part,
which will not be taken away from her.”
Luke 10:38-42
I think we've all heard the story of these sisters and we know which one is supposed to be the "good" sister. But honestly, something about this has always bothered me a bit.
Maybe it's the number of sermons I've heard on this subject from (male) preachers who still expect the ladies of the church to have the coffee and doughnuts ready in the fellowship hall after service.
I mean, it's all very well to sit at the Lord's feet and listen, but when Jesus and the disciples had gotten hungry, they probably would have been annoyed if Martha had said, "Oh, I'm sorry. Did y'all want food? I was too busy listening to the teaching."
Let's be realistic here. Martha had a job to do, and she was doing it. There were (at least) thirteen men in the house who needed supper and beds for the night. Not to mention breakfast the next day. No wonder she was distracted!
So I don't think Jesus was chastising her for being "too busy." In fact, I'll go out on a limb and say I don't think He was chastising her at all. He wanted His dinner, same as everyone else.
I think He was reminding her to adjust her attitude a little, and remember Whom she was serving.
Anytime people came to Jesus and asked Him to resolve some dispute between them and another person, or tried to get him to "take sides" on something, He refused to do so. He always brought it back to the person who asked the question, telling them to take a look at themselves first.
Luke 12:13-15
13 Then one from the crowd said to Him,
“Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
14 But He said to him, “Man, who made
Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?”
15 And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness,
for one’s life does not consist
in the abundance of the things he possesses.”
In this example, He could have asked the guy and the brother to come up and each give their side of the story. After all, there was a code in the Hebrew Law about inheritances. Jesus could have pointed out who was right and who was wrong and who owed money to whom.
But that was not what Jesus was about. He loved all of God's people and did not take the side of one over another.
So I think Jesus' reply to Martha's accusation of her sister was this: He simply wasn't taking sides, either Martha OR Mary's. He wanted to remind them that love for each other was the most important thing.
And, it may be pointed out, He knew that His time with this little family, and their time with each other, was limited. The next time He came to visit, their brother Lazarus would be dead, albeit temporarily. After that it wouldn't be too long before Jesus Himself would be condemned to die.
Jesus was reminding Martha that relationships were the most important thing, that being embittered with her sister would only hurt her, Martha, in the long run.
Not a bad lesson. And one you can still have a doughnut after hearing.
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