Season of Kaitha
KAITHA THIRD SUNDAY
LUKE 10:38-42
MARTHA AND MARY
INTRODUCTION
Though Martha and Mary were sisters, they were of
distinct personalities and represented two essential components of
Christian life. Martha was the head of the family and was hospitable to
Jesus and his disciples whenever Jesus came to their house at her
invitation. While Jesus was preaching at her house, she skipped
listening to Jesus and kept busy preparing meals for everyone. Mary, the
younger sister of Martha, expressed her devotion to Jesus by sitting at
his feet to learn from him. She disagreed with Martha’s approach of
neglecting to learn from Jesus for household work. Martha considered,
according to the Jewish custom, it was men’s role to discuss with the
guest while the ladies should prepare the meal and make it ready by the
time the master ends his preaching. Lazarus was the youngest in the
family and he became famous because Jesus rose him from the tomb on the
fourth day after his death. Today’s gospel passage shows the relevance
of listening to the word of God without forsaking the Christian charity.
BIBLE TEXT (LUKE 10:38-42)
(Lk 10:38) As Jesus and his disciples were
on their way, he entered a village and a woman called Martha welcomed
him to her house. (39) She had a sister named Mary who sat down at the
Lord’s feet to listen to his words. (40) Martha, meanwhile, was busy
with all the serving she had to do, and at last she said, “Lord, do you
not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Tell
her to help me.” (41) But the Lord answered, “Martha, Martha, you worry
and are troubled about many things, (42) whereas only one thing is
needed. Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken away
from her.”
Martha, along with her sister Mary and
brother Lazarus, lived in the same house in Bethany, a small town near
Jerusalem. Since the Bible does not mention any other member in that
family, scholars assume Martha was the eldest and was a widow. Mary and
Lazarus must be single and below 20 years of age because the Jews used
to marry before that age. Both were living with their elder sister,
Martha. All the three had a high reverence for Jesus. Martha welcomed
him to her house whenever he passed through Bethany enroute Jerusalem.
The gospels document three of Jesus’ visit to her house that were
significant.
1. While teaching at Martha’s house, Jesus
justified Mary for learning from him when Martha complained against Mary
for not helping her to prepare meals for Jesus and other guests (Lk
10:38-42)
2. Jesus visiting Martha’s family after the
death of Lazarus followed by raising him from the tomb (Jn 11:1-44).
3. Mary anointed Jesus’ feet when he came to
their house six days prior to his final Passover observance (Jn 12:1-8).
Martha’s family must be above average in
financial status because they had a house large enough to accommodate
guests for stay and discussion. Mary could buy “costly perfumed oil made
from genuine aromatic nard” (Jn 12:3) worth “three hundred days’ wages”
to anoint the feet of Jesus (Jn 12:5). Their source of income is
unknown.
The names of the three siblings suggest their
role in the events presented in the gospels. Martha is the feminine form
of Mar (Lord). So, her name means mistress or head of household. The
name Mary originates from the Hebrew word Miriam that means "bitter,
beloved, or drop of the sea." When Miriam, the sister of Moses, was
born, the Israelites had the bitter destiny to throw their children into
the River Nile because of Pharaoh’s order. However, when the Israelites
crossed the Red Sea, Mariam was also known as Mara Yam, meaning
“Mistress of the Sea.” The Greek name Lazarus derived from the Hebrew
word Eleazar, meaning “God has helped." Thus, Martha was the head of the
household, Mary was the beloved disciples of Jesus, and the Son of God
helped Lazarus by raising him on the fourth day after his death.
The Catholic church used to celebrate Martha’s
annual feast on July 29. Pope Francis combined this feast with that of
Mary and Lazarus on the same date from July 29, 2021. Formerly, there
was a wrong identification of Mary of Bethany with Mary of Magdala,
whose annual feast falls on July 22. The present understanding is that
they are different, and so in 2021, Pope Francis liturgically affirmed
the separation of the two. Hence, the Catholic church celebrates Mary of
Bethany’s feast on July 29 along with her siblings, Martha and Lazarus.
During his public ministry, Jesus had no permanent
residence because he was constantly on the move, preaching the gospel
and helping the less fortunate. He ministered in the synagogues and
public places of various villages and towns. The close disciples,
especially the apostles who left everything to follow Jesus, accompanied
him. They stayed at the houses of generous people who welcomed them to
their residence. When Jesus sent his apostles to preach the neighboring
villages during his public ministry, he instructed them, “Wherever you
enter a house, stay there until you leave from there” (Mk 6:10).
Similarly, when he sent out his seventy-two disciples to preach, he told
them, “Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you,
for the laborer deserves his payment. Do not move about from one house
to another.” (Lk 10:7). Jesus also followed the same policy. Wealthy
families had upper rooms in their houses for guests to stay and meet.
Though Luke did not specify the name of the
village, according to John, it was Bethany where Martha and her siblings
lived (Jn 11:1; 12:1). Bethany was near Jerusalem in Judea to the south
of the Mount of Olives. John reports it as the village of Mary (Jn 11:1)
since Mary, the sister of Martha, became popular in the early church
because of her devotion to Jesus and her anointing of Jesus six days
prior to his passion (Jn 12:1-8).
Since Martha was the eldest in the family, she was
the head of the house. So, Luke reports it as Martha’s house. She
invited Jesus to her house and took the responsibility as the host to
set up the rooms and feed Jesus, his disciples, and others who gathered
to listen to his teachings. Her initiative and leadership are clear from
her approach to meet and greet Jesus when he came to Bethany on the
fourth day after the burial of Lazarus. “When Martha heard that Jesus
was coming, she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home. Martha said to
Jesus, ‘Lord if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But
even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you’” (Jn
11:20-22). Later, when Jesus came to her house for dinner, Martha served
while Lazarus reclined at the table with Jesus and Mary anointed his
feet with perfumed oil (Jn:1-3). Hence, Martha was an active,
responsible, and hospitable woman with leadership qualities.
Hospitality was an important Jewish practice. “You
shall treat the alien who resides with you no differently than the
natives born among you; you shall love the alien as yourself; for you
too were once aliens in the land of Egypt. I, the LORD, am your God”
(Lev 19:34). The residents of Jerusalem used to open their homes for
free to the pilgrims who came from faraway places to the Temple for
worship during the three prominent pilgrim feasts. “Do not neglect to do
good and to share what you have; God is pleased by sacrifices of that
kind” (Heb 13:16). People like Martha offered a warm welcome to Jesus
and his disciples to their houses, and Jesus accepted such invitations.
When Jesus arrived at a house as a guest, the news
would spread and people from the neighborhood gathered to see Jesus and
to get favors from him. So, besides the synagogues and public places,
Jesus preached the gospel and healed the sick at the houses where he
stayed. The families considered it as a privilege for them to have such
a dignitary as their guest. They were happy that Jesus was making use of
their house as a place of blessing for the public.
Examples of Jesus helping the public at houses are
the following.
1. While Jesus was at Simon Peter’s house in
Capernaum, people brought all the sick people. He cured them all,
including Peter’s mother-in-law (Mt 8:14-17; Mk 1:29-34; Lk 4:38-41).
2. After calling Matthew as his disciple, Jesus
dined at his house with other publicans. There he justified on his
mingling with the sinners (Mt 9:9-13).
3. At the invitation of Simon the Pharisee, he went
to his house as a guest and forgave the sins of a woman who anointed his
feet (Lk 7:36-50).
4. Jesus went to the house of Zacchaeus and facilitated his conversion (Lk 19:1-10). :p>
5. Towards the end of his ministry, Jesus went as
guest at the house of Simon, the leper in Bethany. He let a woman anoint
his head with oil and justified her action when Judas Iscariot
criticized for spending money for it (Mt 26:6-13).
There were also other houses where Jesus visited
preaching and resolving the issues of people who were in distress. The
houses were places of intimacy compared to synagogues and public places.
Visits of Jesus at Martha’s house involved preaching, raising Lazarus
from the tomb, and allowing Mary to anoint him before his death.
While Martha, as mistress of the house, was hectic
with the household works of hospitality, her younger sister Mary was
engrossed in listening to the inspiring words of Jesus. Sitting at the
feet of the dignified guest as a disciple to learn from him was an
excellent sign of hospitality. Like Mary, there were other women devoted
to Jesus. “Accompanying him were the Twelve and some women who had been
cured of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary, called Magdalene, from whom
seven demons had gone out, Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza,
Susanna, and many others who provided for them out of their resources”
(Lk 8:1b–3).
Sitting at the feet of a teacher was the ancient
posture of a disciple expressing submissiveness and humility (Deut 33:3;
2 Kgs 4:38; Lk 2:46; Lk 8:35). Paul’s education was “at the feet of
Gamaliel” (Acts 22:3). It implies the receptivity of the teaching with
due respect and submission to the instructor. In a male-dominant
society, Mary was behaving like a male disciple sitting and learning
from the master, thus breaking the traditional practice of study
reserved only for male. She preferred to make use of the excellent
opportunity to gain knowledge directly from Jesus than keeping herself
busy with the works Martha was engaged in. Jesus supported Mary’s act is
clear from his response to Martha’s complaint against Mary.
While Jesus was teaching on the kingdom of God,
which was essential for Martha also to listen, she ignored it. Her
concern was how she could feed the people who came as her guest. Since
everyone present was sitting at the feet of Jesus and learning from him,
Martha was alone and busy with preparing food and setting up the dishes.
She was impatiently waiting for her sister Mary to help her. But Mary
disregarded Martha’s demand to assist her at that time. Jesus also might
have been thinking that his host Martha was not caring for his teachings
that are vital for her also to inherit the eternal life.
Martha became impatient after long hours of arduous
work by herself to prepare the meal. She had the good intention to offer
the best treat possible for all the people gathered at her house with
Jesus. She was hesitant to interrupt Jesus’ discourse. She might have
given signs to Mary to leave from the master’s feet to join her in the
work. However, Mary was disregarding it because of her keen interest in
the Jesus’ teaching. Martha was upset even Jesus who might have noticed
her worries was not sending Mary to help her. That was why she said,
“Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving
alone?” Thus, she took a bold step to complain Jesus interrupting his
discourse after a long and impatient wait.
Martha’s demand was reasonable. According to the
traditional way of treating the guests, men were supposed to discuss
with the guest while the women prepare the meal. Jesus’ concern was not
the food, but the spiritual nourishment he was serving for all present.
He wished Martha also to halt her work and listen to the life-giving
word of God.
The two-fold calling of Martha’s name was
expressive of Jesus’ tenderness in addressing her. Jesus had the
practice of calling the name twice elsewhere. During the Last Supper,
Jesus addressed Peter, calling his name twice: “Simon, Simon, behold
Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, but I have prayed that
your own faith may not fail” (Lk 22:31-32a). At the conversion of Saul,
Jesus addressed him, asking, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”
(Acts 9:4).
Jesus was not criticizing Martha, but was teaching
her how to prioritize the Christian virtues. Jesus also promoted charity
and hospitality. However, it should not take precedence over listening
to the word of God. Though Jesus appreciated Martha’s hospitality, she
failed to listen to what Jesus was teaching. Her concern at that instant
was feeding Jesus and his followers respectably. Since Jesus was
teaching serious matters on spiritual nourishment, Martha also must have
sat at the feet of Jesus along with Mary and learn from him. Jesus made
use of that opportunity to teach Martha and all the listeners the
importance of listening to the word of God as a part of their devotion
and then put into practice the commandment of love.
Jesus taught, “As for you, do not seek what you are
to eat and what you are to drink, and do not worry anymore. All the
nations of the world seek for these things, and your Father knows that
you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these other things will be
given you besides” (Lk 12:29-31). “Do not work for food that perishes
but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man
will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal” (Jn 6:27).
The message of Jesus to Martha and the listeners
was that the worries of worldly needs should not prevent them from their
loyalty to God. There is a time for everything: a time to listen to the
word of God, a time to do praise and worship, and a time to serve others
on behalf of the love of God. Martha was doing an exemplary service, but
at a wrong time. She had to listen to Jesus while he was preaching at
her house.
By sitting at the feet of Jesus, Mary was becoming
a disciple of Jesus. Martha missed that precious opportunity because of
her anxiety about hospitality. Complying to her urge for Mary’s help
would cause missing such as an opportunity for Mary also. So, Jesus
said, Mary has taken the better part, and he did not want to take that
away from her. Jesus appreciated the hospitality of Martha, but she
could wait for that until Jesus ends his discourse, so both the sisters
could actively take part in the discourse of Jesus and then do the food
service. Contrary to the Jewish tradition, Jesus was promoting women's
discipleship.
There are worldly people who do fantastic service
to their family and community with lack of faith in God. The Christian
charity should be based on the love of God and teachings of the church.
Other services are humanitarian but not Christian. At the last
judgement, Jesus would say to those who are at his right, “Amen, I say
to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you
did for me” (Mt 25:40). So, Christian service should be an outcome from
the love of God, seeing His image in the people we serve.
Though Martha was offering service for Jesus and
his followers out of her love, she was disrespecting him by ignoring his
teaching at that time. She missed the valuable time to listen to Jesus
by involving in worldly hospitality. When Mary chose the better part,
Martha opted the less significant action. Her priority must be affection
to Jesus at that time and service must evolve later as a result of that
devotion.
Jesus was reminding what he taught during the
sermon on the mount. “So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or
‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’ All these things the
pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek
first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things
will be given you besides” (Mt 6: 31-33). Mary had chosen that part by
seeking the kingdom of God through Jesus. Christian charity should
develop out of faith formation and devotion to God. Paul wrote to
Timothy, “Avoid profane and silly myths. Train yourself for devotion,
for, while physical training is of limited value, devotion is valuable
in every respect, since it holds a promise of life both for the present
and for the future” (1 Tim 4:7-8). Mary had accepted the nourishment for
eternal life from Jesus, which neither God nor anyone else will take
away from her.
Service out of devotion to God along with
willingness to listen to the person we serve is the best approach. We
should see the face of God in the suffering people and serve them out of
the love of God. Humanitarian service is of temporal value, whereas the
service out of devotion to God is worth eternal reward. God had assigned
time for worship and time for service. There were God-assigned Sabbath
observance, scripture study time, religious feasts, and periods of
fasting. Neglecting them for service is baseless for a religious person.
Mary chose the better part by sitting at the feet of Jesus. Indirectly,
Jesus was presenting Mary as a role model for Martha and inviting her to
sit at his feet to learn from him. Martha was behaving like a host
occupied only in serving food for the guest without listening to the
dignitary who had important matter to share with her. Jesus would want
Mary to help Martha after his important discourse at that critical time.
Jesus was not criticizing Martha but helping her and his listeners to
understand the priority they should have to relate with God and then
express the devotion through the service of those in need.
Because of Martha’s hospitality, she is the patron
saint of cooks, homemakers, and restaurant servers. Martha, Mary, and
Lazarus are patron saints of siblings.
MESSAGE
1. Martha, Mary, and Lazarus were siblings who were
hospitable to Jesus and made friendship with him. They offered their
home for Jesus and his disciples for temporary stay and teaching. Jesus
favored them with his great miracle of raising Lazarus from the tomb. Is
Jesus the Lord and friend of our family?
2. Mary represents devotion to Jesus and interest
in scripture study. Martha exemplifies Christian charity. While
appreciating both, Jesus preferred Mary’s approach of giving priority to
devotion without neglecting the service that Martha offered. Christian
charity should develop from devotion to God. Unlike secular people who
do humanitarian services without faith in God, let us devote time for
worship, scripture study, and charity.
3. Martha welcomed Jesus to her house whenever he
passed through Bethany. Along with her siblings, Martha offered
hospitality to Jesus and his companions. Let us invite Jesus to our
lives through the reception of Holy Communion during the Holy Mass and
attend every opportunity to study the Bible like retreats, Bible
courses, and personal study of the Bible.
4. Like Martha and her siblings, who served those
who accompanied Jesus, let us serve others in need out of our devotion
to Jesus.
5. Though Martha thought she was right, and Mary
was wrong, we might also misjudge ourselves and others. Like Martha
learned from Jesus that Mary was right, and Martha was the one to
change, let us also be careful in our assumptions. Often, we judge
people with our worldly values. God will teach us the best Christian
approach by listening to the word of God.
6. When there was a shortage of wine at the wedding
of Cana, Jesus helped the host by his first miracle. When the audience
of Jesus was hungry and there was lack of sufficient food, Jesus
multiplied the available food to feed them all. Let us seek the kingdom
first, and then God will work wonders with our limited resources.
7. A combination of the personality of Martha and
Mary will make us a perfect Christian. Let us keep a balance of both
devotion to God and service to others in our lives.
8. Let us evaluate our life based on what Mother
Teresa said and practiced: “Faith is a gift of God. Without it, there
would be no life. And our work, to be fruitful, and to be all for God,
and to be beautiful, has to be built on faith — faith in Christ, who has
said, I was hungry, I was naked, I was sick, and I was homeless, and you
ministered to me. On these words of His, our work is based.” She added,
“The work we do is nothing more than a means of transforming our love
for Christ into something concrete.”