“Are You A Mary Or A Martha?”
Text: Luke 10:38-42
7-17-2022
Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Reading through today’s Gospel lesson, a very practical question jumps out at us. “Considering the two personality types we see here, are you a Mary or a Martha?” In other words, which of these two women are you more like when it comes to your faith in Jesus? Oh, the knee-jerk response is to say, “I’m a Mary-type.” And the reason why a majority of folks would say that is because in many minds, Martha is the one who gets chewed out by Jesus while Mary is the pious, dedicated follower who gets patted on the head like a good little girl. As a result, Martha gets stereotyped as being in the wrong because of her industrious, busy-bee nature. Anyone who follows that pattern is mildly chastised for being “A Martha” as if that’s a negative label.
I’m guilty of that. My wife’s middle name is Martha and she sometimes lives up to that stereotype. After of hosting a wonderful evening with dinner for our guests, my dear wife cannot lay her head down on the pillow until all the dishes are done and everything is back in its place. She cannot rest knowing that this unfinished work is waiting for her. I, on the other hand, can go to bed and sleep peacefully. And so, I often tease her in these situations by calling her “Martha.” That’s not fair. It’s not fair to Gayleen or any of the rest of you who operate like Martha did. But it’s also not fair to the Martha in our Gospel reading, because it wasn’t her industriousness or busyness that was the problem. Rather it’s her attitude.
Before we delve deeper into that, let me dispel any false assumptions that Mary was just being lazy. It’s not like she sat down to listen to Jesus as an excuse to get out of work. Although this account is brief, St. Luke never gives us the impression that Mary had ulterior motives. She simply was drawn to Jesus by her hungry heart that desired to hear His wonderful words of salvation. Had she asked Jesus a question? Or was Jesus elaborating on an earlier teaching that Mary heard from Him? We don’t know, and it really doesn’t matter. All we do know is that Mary was intently focused on what Jesus had to say, so much so that she seems oblivious to the flurry of Martha’s work nearby. Oh, Mary knew that her sister was busy preparing things because in Martha’s complaint to Jesus she says that Mary “has left me to serve alone.” But now that Jesus had begun to teach, Mary couldn’t draw herself away from Him, which Christ commends her for.
So what really was the problem with Martha’s attitude? Well, first of all, there’s her martyr-syndrome. Here she was, slaving away all by her lonesome and nobody seemed to care, including Jesus. In fact, nobody seemed to notice or appreciate it (at least in her mind they didn’t.) And she felt the need to point that out. I can recall a time when my mother was evidently feeling like Martha and she tried a risky tactic to inspire us kids to help her. I think there was a pile of dishes or something that required a lot of work in the kitchen. So within earshot of us 7 kids she said, “Well! I guess I’ll just have to clean up this mess by myself!” It backfired because we all just smiled and seconded the motion. As you might imagine, she didn’t find it funny. That’s when Mom resorted to her parental authority (and justifiable threats) and began assigning duties to get the job done.
That tactic didn’t work for Martha either. And it highlights for us where Martha’s real problem was. Let me ask you: Where was her focus? Was it on Jesus or on herself? I’m afraid it was on herself. Martha was focused on what SHE was doing for Jesus and others. And it became almost like a chip on her shoulder. Kind of like a badge of honor that she proudly wore. In fact, she was focused so much on her actions that she missed the opportunity for Jesus to serve her! As one Bible commentator put it, “You can’t really serve Jesus unless He first serves you.” Which is what He came to do anyway, isn’t it? In Matthew 20:28 Jesus tells His disciples, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Jesus gently corrected Martha by saying, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary.” She was missing out on what her hungry soul needed and what Jesus was graciously offering. She was missing out because she was distracted and disturbed by so many other things. There’s nothing wrong with multi-tasking. It would’ve been entirely possible for Martha to work and listen to Jesus at the same time. But she was so focused on herself and the many things that she was doing that it wasn’t possible for her to tune in to what Jesus was saying. Christ tenderly invited her to put all that aside and let Him fill her troubled mind with His divine words of forgiveness, love, and peace.
That was the “one thing” which was necessary. Mary had graciously accepted the invitation of Jesus to have her soul fed by the Lord. That didn’t make her better than her sister. Rather, she was a hungry sinner who was receiving from her Savior the “good portion” of God’s saving Word. I don’t know if you caught it, but there is a beautiful word-play going on in verse 42. Try to visualize the scene. Martha is rushing back and forth from the kitchen, setting the table, preparing the food, and beginning to place it on the table. Mary is sitting quietly at the feet of Jesus, listening to Him. With portions of food being set out, Jesus says that Mary has chosen the “good portion.” Jesus is basically saying to Martha that He has set a portion of spiritual food before Mary which will not be taken away from her. Did you get the word-picture there? Let’s say you’re having Thanksgiving dinner and one of your guests at the table loads up their plate with a variety of the good food you’ve set before them. But your spouse then takes it away because they didn’t help with the cooking or other preparations. That would be rude behavior by a not-so-gracious host. Jesus says that Mary’s portion of soul-enriching food that He has set before her will NOT be snatched away.
Knowing all that, let me ask the opening question again: “Are you a Mary or a Martha?” If you were paying attention then you would have to say that at times you have behaved like a spiritual Martha. It wasn’t her industriousness that got her into trouble, but a misguided attitude. Likewise, with us in the family of God. I won’t deny that it’s tiring and troublesome when we need volunteers to serve on a board or committee, or yes, even when we need Sunday School teachers, ushers, etc., and no one new will step up. Like Martha, the temptation is to say, “Lord, don’t you care that those other people have left a small group of us to serve all alone?!? Tell them to help us!” Should more people be involved in serving in the Church? Certainly! But this kind of thinking betrays a misguided attitude. When my daughter, Elizabeth, used to hear this kind of talk {yes, even from her Dad} she’d say, “Would you like help filling out your martyr papers or can you handle it by yourself?” Ouch!
Like Martha, we can get distracted by “many things”... many good things I might add. Serving in the Church, being a good, Christian spouse and parent, being a good citizen, being a hard worker, and having some good, clean fun besides are all wonderful endeavors. But not if they’re distracting you from the “one thing” which is necessary and that is: sitting at the feet of Jesus and being fed by His Word and Sacrament. I’ll go ahead and say this, even though I know someone will probably get offended. Recreation time with your family is great, but don’t let camping or parties or vacations or work distract you from that “one thing” Jesus speaks of.
But even in our worship, we can become a misguided Martha if we’re not careful. Remember how her focus was on her serving? So much so that she failed to be served by Christ? The same can be true of us when we come to Church. If you get a chip on your shoulder saying, “Look Jesus; look at how I am serving YOU by being here!” Then you’re focus is all wrong. We come here to God’s House to be served by Him. If we’re distracted by focusing on what we’re doing then we may very well miss the wondrous opportunity to sit at the feet of Jesus and have our souls fed by Him. That is what prepares us to go out and serve the Lord by serving our fellow man. Not the other way around. You must first be served by Christ through His Word and Sacrament before you’ll be ready to go and be an industrious servant of Christ. You must first receive that “good portion” of His love and forgiveness before you can go out and share it with others. On the cross, Jesus served us in a way that no one else could. He suffered and died to clean up the mess of our damnable, condemning sins. He died and rose again so that He could serve us the “good portion” of His saving grace which will not ever be taken from us. Sitting at the feet of Jesus, listening to His words of life and salvation, and being fed with His very body and blood bring a calming peace to our souls.
So, “Are you a Mary or a Martha?” Actually, I would hope that you could see the benefit of being like BOTH of these women, but in a positive way. Like Mary, we accept the invitation to sit quietly at the feet of Jesus as He feeds our souls and fills us with heavenly peace. Then, like Martha, we can go out and be industrious servants for Christ, sharing His free gift of love, forgiveness and salvation with the world around us. May God fill us with the desire to be fed by Him and the ability to be energetic, joyful servants for Him. May God grant it for Jesus’ sake. Amen!
Soli Deo Gloria!