The little story we heard from Luke’s Gospel is the classic example of an age-old clash of temperaments. The Marthas and the Marys of this world just don’t understand each other—they never have, and probably never will.
People are different. Everyone knows that! So, if everyone knows it, why is so hard to deal with our differences?
The Church is sometimes troubled by people’s inability to understand each other. This is true from the big theological questions, right down to everyday matters of church life. All too often, we elevate one kind of person over another, and all too often, the people we honour look a lot like ourselves—and we struggle with people who don’t.
“I know you’re not like me… but couldn’t you just try?”
Marthas are important. Everywhere we go, we need people who get things done. Someone has to get the dinner on the table. Someone has to pay the bills. Someone has to take the garbage out. Life becomes very difficult without people attending to the “stuff” of life. Our society tends to give special honour to the Marthas, and the same is true in church life.
Let’s look at the Gospel story. Martha is welcoming a special guest into her home, and clearly wants to set a good feast before this traveling rabbi. Her sister Mary sits at Jesus’ feet and listens to him. Martha gets exasperated at her sister—rightly so, most of us would think. She tells Jesus to tell Mary to get off her backside and help. But no, Jesus tells Martha that her sister has “chosen the better part.”
We can only speculate about Martha’s reaction, but I can easily visualize Martha standing dumbstruck at Jesus’ words. What Mary is doing is not appropriate—only men were supposed to “sit at the feet” of rabbis to learn. And, as the younger sister, Mary should be following her elder’s lead. She is way out of line—doesn’t know her place in life—should be busy in the kitchen.
Jesus has seemingly rebuked Martha for over-attention to the household tasks, telling her gently,
…you are worried and distracted by many things;
there is need of only one thing.
Many people have read that to say that Jesus is telling her not to get too fancy with the meal, because something simple will do. However, note the second part, which could also be read:
…but of one thing there is need.
What is that one thing? Surely we find it in Mary’s choice of “the better part,” the choice to sit at Jesus’ feet to hear the Word of God. Some interpreters have stretched this point to make it an endorsement of the contemplative life, but that is almost certainly going too far. Rather, we should hear it as a call to get our priorities right.
What comes first for the disciple of Christ? While Martha’s attention to ordinary needs is essential, Mary’s attention to the Word gives meaning and context to life. As individual Christians, we are called to live “in Christ,” giving glory to God in all we do, founding our lives on hearing the Word. The same is true for the church: all that we do is just so much noise if it is not founded on the Word of God.
Beautiful and historic as it is, this building is merely the tool which allows us to gather week by week to listen at Jesus’ feet. The building is secondary: the Word comes first.
The prophet Amos spoke harsh words, denouncing some of the doers of ancient
Shall not the land tremble on this account,
and everyone mourn who lives in it,
and all of it rise like the Nile,
and be tossed about and sink again,
like the Nile of
Amos used harsh words. Jesus used gentle ones. The message is the same: put God and God’s Word first in your life and everything else will fall into place.
Amos’ hearers reacted with anger. They tried to expel him from the land, and stop him prophesying, but they would not repent, and they could not stop God’s judgment.
Martha came to Jesus in anger, wanting Mary to stop wasting time. Jesus turned her anger aside, speaking gently and lovingly, approving both women, and inviting Martha to see the good in Mary’s choice.
May we in the Church accept each other in Christ’s name, valuing and celebrating our differences, having confidence that together we are helping to build God’s Kingdom
Of one thing there is need—God’s Word.
May Christ’s church, here and everywhere, be founded ever more surely on a commitment to hearing God’s Word—and, hearing, may we go forth to respond to the needs of a hurting world.