Logos -- Luke 10: 38-42

One of the lectionary readings for this week is Luke 10:38-42. It's the story of Mary and Martha.

Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him 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."But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her."

One of the speakers at SPLAT talked about this scripture. His talk gave me a new perspective on this passage. He siad we often don't notice that Martha invited Jesus into "her home." How unusual for her day and time that she owned the house. She also approached Jesus and comlained about what her sister was doing. I would think in that culture that a woman would not approach a man -- a rabbi -- with a complaint such as that. Martha doesn't seem to fit the mold of the women of the day. I always thought that Mary was the one who was bold. I now think that Martha was, too. I also think that this supports the idea that both of them were friends of Jesus.

Compare this passage to Luke 7:36-50. This is the story of Jesus' visit to Simon's house. The 'sinful woman' pours perfume on his feet, and dries them with her hair. Simon had not bothered to do anything in the way of hospitality to welcome Jesus.

In the Luke 7 story, Jesus praises the woman for her acts of hospitality, while pointing out that Simon did not provide any welcome into his home. In the Mary/Martha story, it is the almost the opposite. It occurred to me today, as I compared these two stories, that it wasn't what Mary and Martha were doing. It was instead what was in their hearts. Martha was more concerned with pointing out what she perceived to be her sister's flaws, and her mistakes in judgement. Jesus wanted Martha to be transformed, as he knew Mary had been.

Focus on Jesus -- that is the better way.