The only times that the “Martha” nickname came out was whenever I was complaining about some tasks like washing the dishes or having to clean the living room. With such tasks came moaning, groaning, and epic complaining on my part. In the midst of my complaining my mother would bestow me with the “Martha” label.
It was in one of my New Testament classes in seminary that the revelation of who “Martha” was struck me like an epiphany . . . and we heard her story this morning. Martha was the complaining sister in the story. She was the sister who felt as if she got stuck with all the work . . . that she was doing everything while her sister sat around doing nothing at the feet of Jesus. So, she complained.
What did Martha get for all her complaining? Not much. Jesus’ response to Martha is a simple chide and invitation: “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” In the story Martha comes across as a busy worry wart . . . Mary is a sluffing lazy bum . . . and, Jesus as unsympathetic to Martha’s complaint while enjoying the company of Mary. As cut and dry as that explanation seems, the real story is much different. If we can accept the real meaning and purpose of the story, we see it all in a new light.
This is a story about hospitality. Hospitality is exceedingly important in the biblical world in general and in Luke’s Gospel in particular. Jesus shows up in Bethany. Martha invites him and disciples to come join them. Mary is practicing hospitality as she welcomes them all into the house. From that moment on, Martha becomes the perfect host. She runs to the kitchen and begins all the preparations for a meal . . . cooking for a crowd. In the meantime, her housemate—her sister, Mary—hightails it straight to Jesus, plops herself right down at his feet, stares up, and listens intently to what Jesus is saying. She is giving Jesus her undivided attention.
Who is at fault here? Which of the sisters is not practicing hospitality?
Despite what you might think, both sisters are practicing hospitality. The problem is that they are doing it differently. The tasks that Martha is doing is hospitality . . . she is preparing a big meal for her guests. This is certainly behavior that Jesus would commend. It is busy work. Mary, on the other hand, is also being hospitable . . . she is giving gracious attention to the guest. Again, this is something that Jesus would commend. Both are displaying hospitality, but only one is displaying what Jesus calls the “better”.
Hospitality is to acknowledge the presence of another . . . to receive the guest with some amount of goodwill. Martha shows hospitality by doing something for her guests and in this case, it is serving a back-breaking, time-consuming meal that actually separates her from her guests. Her actions receive her guests, but they do nothing in acknowledging the guests. She is too busy to give them any personal attention. Mary takes a different route. She decides to give the guests her attention and acknowledge them for who they are. Mary listens to them . . . in fact, she hangs on Jesus’ ever word. Martha is too busy to come into relationship with Jesus whereas Mary takes the time to know Jesus. For this Jesus commends Mary as he speaks to Martha: “. . . you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Martha’s response to the opportunity to be hospitable is to be busy. She is about the noble business of providing for the needs of others . . . and, aren’t we all like Martha? We want to provide for our families, we want to give our children and grandchildren every opportunity to enrich their lives, we want to serve our neighbors, and yes, we want to serve the Lord. Where would the church be without all the “Marthas”—those faithful folk who perform the tasks of hospitality and service so vital to making the church a welcoming and well-functioning community?
Yet if all our activities leave us with no time to be still in the Lord’s presence and hear God’s word, we are likely to end up anxious and troubled. We are likely to end up with a kind of service that is devoid of love and joy and is resentful of others.
The fact is that both listening and doing . . . receiving God’s word and serving others . . . are vital to the faithful life, just as inhaling and exhaling are to breathing. How often do we forget to breathe in deeply . . . to allow ourselves to be nourished by the presence of God’s love and grace? To enter into that intimacy that grounds us and brings us into relationship with God and one another. When we allow ourselves to get caught up in the tasks of busyness, we lose the real sense of hospitality of welcoming the other . . . of acknowledging their presence . . . of learning who they are, what they are about . . . of being gracious and accepting . . . of truly welcoming them into our lives. This is what feeds us. This is what sustains us. This is the “better” part.
The writer of Luke’s Gospel does not tell us how the story ends. We don’t know if Martha’s complaining put a dent in their relationship. We don’t know if they reconciled the strain in their relationship. We don’t know how the meal went . . . was it tense or was it enjoyable? We don’t know if Martha was able to relax and enjoy the meal and company? We don’t know.
What we do know is that Jesus invites all of us to step out of the busyness of our lives . . . to move beyond our worries and distractions of life . . . and sit down, relax, and just “be” in his presence. To just “be” who God created us to be and to hear his truthful words of love and grace . . . to know that we are loved and valued as children of God . . . and, to be renewed in faith and strengthen to serve God and others.
In the end it turns our that there is need of only one thing: attention to our guest. As it turns out, our guest is also our host, with abundant gifts to give. Amen.
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