St. Michael and All Angels
We seek to be a light of Christ in the community, where all are welcome to experience God's love and blessings.

July 17, 2022 - Sixth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 11)

Today’s Gospel story often attracts interest because it is one of a limited number of stories that offer an obvious integration of women in the participation of all facets of Christian discipleship. A woman sits and learns at Jesus’ feet — possibly in the process breaking down cultural expectations — and Jesus approves. This implies that all dimensions of sharing in Jesus’ ministry are open to women and men alike. And yet, further reading might make us think that the celebration of Mary’s activity would require us to look down upon Martha’s activity. We cannot assert the superiority of the contemplative life over active service, and we must reject the implication that Martha fails by embracing the roles that society assigns her (diligent service), while her sister Mary succeeds by acting like a man (learning).

Little can be said about these two sisters; this passage from Luke marks the only place that either sister appears in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and in John’s Gospel, Jesus raises Lazarus of Bethany from the dead and interacts with him and his sisters, Martha and Mary, but neither Luke nor John reveals a clear awareness of the events depicted by the other. Their importance in Luke is clearly about their devotion to Jesus, seen in Martha’s hospitality; Mary’s interest in Jesus’ teaching; and Martha’s calling Jesus “Lord.”

In preparing a meal, Martha fulfills her socially appropriate role. Mary, in assuming the role of a student at Jesus’ feet, challenges culturally prohibited boundaries. According to a literal translation of the Greek words in verse 39, Mary “sat down beside her master’s foot, listening to his word.” Other texts within the Gospel of Luke commend listening to the word of God. So it should not be entirely surprising to us that Jesus speaks supportively about Mary, who seems to have taken the initiative to sit with him as a sign of her devotion to him. Mary certainly isn’t the first woman to have become a pupil of a male religious figure, but her sister’s comment indicates that she is expected to perform other tasks at this particular occasion.

The scene pivots midway through the middle verse when Martha makes her comment. In complaining that her sister has left her alone to serve as host, Martha breaches her hospitality. Instead of addressing Mary, she puts her guest on the spot. And her frustration — certainly not her desire to offer hospitality through service — is the problem that Jesus addresses in the remainder of this Gospel passage.

The Gospel of Luke applauds those who provide service to Jesus, indicated by the verb diakoneō. This term, along with the noun diakonian (διακοvίαν), refers to food preparations and table service, as it appears to do in this passage. But in Luke’s writings and outside the New Testament, it can also indicate service and ministry more broadly; in fact, it’s the source of the term “deacon” that we use in the church today. Jesus refers to himself as “one who serves” in chapter 22 of Luke. He therefore can’t criticize Martha because she chooses to offer diligent service in the many tasks that need to be done to provide for her guests and household. These tasks are manifestations of discipleship. Her problem lies, here, in succumbing to distraction while performing them. 

The verb that is translated as “distracted” is comprised of the Greek words for “to draw” and “away or around”, and it refers to diverting something. Criticizing Mary (and Jesus) for leaving her alone, Martha applies value judgments upon the various activities that the sisters choose to perform. This reveals that her practices of hospitality are eclipsing their purpose. Hospitality that is “anxious and troubled” loses its focus, which is Jesus, who is Lord and guest.

I think Jesus was probably smiling when he said, “Martha, dear friend, you are worried and distracted by many things.” He is not going after busy Martha, but worried and distracted Martha, who has worked herself into a state of anxious distraction over the meal she wanted to have for him. She has focused her frustration not only on her sister, but also on her friend and guest, and lost sight of the one she significantly calls “Lord.” Jesus is gently calling to her to refocus, because hospitality is not primarily about the food — more important is the focus.

For years, this story was interpreted to prioritize the contemplative life over the active life. The “better” life was thought to be the life of prayer and contemplation. The “quiet” life was seen as “more perfect” than the active. Recently, the interpretation has shifted to a possible way in which the early Christian community attempted to remove women from the active sphere of service within the church. Now, I don’t think either of these interpretations is right. The story doesn’t affirm the contemplative over the active life, and it should not be used to deny anyone created in the image of God their own gifts and calls to ministry. In saying that Mary has chosen the “better part”, the Greek word is actually “good”, referring to her choice of connecting to God, who is good. So this story is imploring us to the realization that God is both inside and outside, sustaining us while still urging us to work, and through our service, bring about a world of justice, mercy, and peace. This message is not about either/or, but rather both/and.

We don’t need to reject Martha in order to understand Luke’s point about Mary, who is portrayed as a disciple sitting at the feet of Jesus and listening to him. She violates the cultural expectations in ways that Martha doesn’t. This is the sort of thing that Jesus does, breaking the cultural constraints and setting people free for the kingdom. That’s necessary if we are actually going to love our neighbors and love God. It has happened (and must continue to happen) in the face of slavery, and racism, and sexism, and homophobia. The church needs to be set free for such faithful listening and discipled violation of cultural assumptions so that we can love the strangers and sojourners among us, so that we can love our Muslim and Hindu and atheist neighbors, so that we can sit at the feet of Jesus and hear what he has to say to us.

Is it possible that this story of two sisters offers us an ongoing plea from Jesus to focus on God, to give God our full attention — some continuous full attention — like that we often give to our devices or our closest friends? At least, this is what we do if we want to stay close friends. Our Savior calls us to focus on God when we gather on Sunday. Jesus calls us to move from our place of being “worried and distracted by many things” to one where we are in touch with the one thing needed that will not be taken away. In that place, we will connect with the source of all being that brings peace and energy to all of our undertakings.

So what is it that each of us is called to do in the coming week to turn our week to Jesus, to God, and experience the relationship that we have with the Creator as one similar to a close friend?