(Luke 10.38-42)

38Now as Jesus and his disciples went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. 40But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.’ 41But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; 42there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.’

This Mary, Martha's and Lazarus's sister is the same person who put lotion on Jesus' feet. Mary and Lazarus lived in a household headed by Martha, their sister, in the village of Bethany, about 2 miles outside of Jerusalem. There are three onion layers of interpretation each of which get closer than the last to the truth of this passage. The first layer is a glib caricature. Martha is criticised as the nervous, pushy type of activist and Mary is praised as the quiet, contemplative demure, submissive, “feminine” type. For centuries, Mary, especially men have praised the sister of Martha, because she was thought to be quiet and submissive, listening to the words of Jesus. This is a glib and unfounded reading of the passage

The second onion layer of interpretation is that the contrast is not really between Martha's doing or service and Mary's listening, but between "hearing the word" (namely, discipleship) and "anxious" behaviour (namely, the antithesis of discipleship). Jesus doesn't criticize Martha for her "service," but for her compulsion, worries and anxieties. After all, Martha is only doing what Jesus asked of her. Jesus told the disciples, they are to stay and eat in people's homes. Sometimes they and their message will be welcomed (10:5-8), sometimes not (9:52-53; 10:10-12). Martha "opened her home to Jesus,” she is fulfilling the role assigned to her by her society of providing food for the guest. This makes the challenge of the story for us to be both non-anxious and present. It makes the point of the story prioritising our time. It is a good application but it does not touch the heart of what the story is about.

The final onion layer is that Mary is the radical one of the two because she is taking the role of the disciple. Jesus encouraged Mary to study, think and learn (as if she were a disciple); this was a privilege reserved for very few women in his time. Mary is not the submissive woman sitting doe eyed at Jesus’ feet. She is the unusual one of the two sisters because she has taken the opportunity to step outside the traditional woman’s role so that she can take up a position as one of Jesus’ disciples. Mary has been idealized because most men want women to be submissive. In fact, quite the contrary, Mary was a rebel! How do we know? First, Mary demonstrated her refusal to do so-called “women’s work” as a slave to men. Next, consider Mary's posture: she sat at Jesus’ feet. In Luke 8.35 and Acts 22.3, to sit at someone’s feet means to be a disciple of that person. This unexpected act of Mary’s was a request to be given status as a disciple of Jesus, a status other teachers limited only to men. What did Jesus say to this? He said, “Mary has chosen the good part and it shall not be taken away from her.” He affirmed Mary’s desire to become one of his disciples!

Material taken from www.pcusa.org/peacemaking/pubs/session2.pdf (accessed 04/07/07)