Luke 10:38 42 - Martha

     Martha and Mary are often depicted as symbols of two opposite life styles. Martha is the active life and Mary is the contemplative or spiritual life.
     Martha is best remembered for the time she complained to Jesus because her sister, Mary, wasn’t helping with the housework. Jesus admonished her, saying that Mary had chosen the better part, which would not be taken away from her.
     This story tends to evoke strong feelings. People have wondered if Martha’s hard work and desire to provide Jesus and the disciples with good hospitality was not appreciated or valued. It has also been questioned where would the world be if no one did any of the work but only lived the contemplative or spiritual but otherwise inactive life.
     Jesus was responding to a specific situation. Martha was a good friend. Her generous hospitality must have been a rare pleasure to Jesus who had spent so much time traveling, and sometimes surrounded by enemies. Jesus and his disciples may well have stayed with her during the last week of Jesus’ life. Bethany was only a few miles from Jerusalem. It would have been a convenient place to stay during a time when accommodations would have been almost impossible to find, the city being crowded with pilgrims who’d come for the Passover. The donkey that Jesus rode in the Palm Sunday parade could have come from Martha’s household.
     While Mary has been lauded for her spirituality, Martha has often been portrayed as fussy, ill tempered, finicky, and distinctly unspiritual. This portrait would be incorrect. Certainly she wasn’t perfect. Obviously she had a temper and knew how to use it. If she had a disagreement with her sister, she should have spoken to her directly and privately. She shouldn't have talked to Jesus about Mary.
      It is important to understand that the Middle Eastern culture places a high value on generous hospitality. As a woman and mistress of the household, as part of that culture, it would have been very very difficult for Martha to say to her guests: "We'll just be having bread for dinner tonight." No doubt she would have enjoyed just sitting and listening to Jesus the way her sister was doing. Yet Martha also knew that he and his disciples were tired from their journey, they were hungry, and she wanted them to be comfortable in her home.
       The words Jesus spoke to Martha may have been as much for the sake of his disciples. They spent too much time worrying about what they were going to eat or wear or what was going to happen tomorrow.
     Other stories indicate that Martha was intelligent and theologically astute.
     When their brother, Lazarus, was sick, the sisters sent word to Jesus, but he was delayed in coming and Lazarus died. They were mourning in their home, when they heard that Jesus was approaching.
     Mary seems to have been prostrate with grief, something that fits with her more passive character. But Martha rose immediately to meet him on the road. She greeted Jesus with a stunning proclamation of faith: "If you had been here, Lord, my brother would not have died! But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask for."
     She and Jesus proceeded to have a short theological conversation concerning life, death, and resurrection. There is quite a contrast between their talk and those Jesus often had with other people, which must have been exercises in frustration for him.
     Martha was intelligent and spiritual and Jesus responded to her accordingly. Then, when Martha probably would have rather stayed right there at Jesus' side, she left him. She went back and got her sister. That way Mary could also be with Jesus and be comforted by his presence.
     When Mary came, she collapsed weeping at Jesus' feet. She managed to tell him that if he had been there Lazarus wouldn't have died, but that was all she could get out between her tears. Obviously, Mary had faith also, but she didn't have Martha's intelligence or backbone.
     Martha's practical nature sometimes did collide with her spiritual insights. When Jesus said to roll the stone away from the tomb, she very prosaically suggested it might not be a good idea because the smell would be bad. After all, Lazarus had been dead for four days.
     While Martha's faith told her Jesus could do anything, she still briefly stubbed her toe on her practicality.
     But Martha was not so practical as to resent the costly gift Mary made Jesus. You remember Mary broke an alabaster jar full of expensive oils and used them to bath his feet.
      You might expect the practical Martha to have stopped her, but it was Judas who suggested the gift might better have been sold to give the proceeds to the poor, not Martha.



How many would prefer getting remembered for their best and most noble moment in life?

How many would enjoy being remembered only for our worst moments?

What can Martha teach us?

Philemon & Archippus

Philemon & Archippus



     The letter begins: “From Paul, a prisoner for the sake of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy--To our friend and fellow worker Philemon, and the church that meets in your house, and our sister Apphia, and our fellow soldier Archippus.
     Because the letter is addressed to Philemon first, it is usually assumed that he was the owner of the slave Onesimus. However, it could also have been Archippus.
     Some scholars believe that Philemon might have been a presiding elder for the churches in the region of Laodicea. Paul could have been addressing the letter to him first because of his position in the church. (Such a thing could have been a tactful move so that Onesimus might not be taken and punished before the letter could be read. It might also have been due to the fact that the issue of slaves and masters being both Christian was a subject faced in the church.) There is some suggestion that the Philemon letter and the letter of Colossians may have been sent at the same time. Colossians does refer to another letter, saying “And when this letter has been read among you, have it read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you read also the letter from Laodicea.”
     Archippus is mentioned in the letter to the Colossians. The Christians there are commanded to “say to Archippus, ‘See that you fulfil the ministry which you have received in the Lord’” (4:17).
     Some scholars have suggested that Archippus was the son of Philemon and Apphia. But there is no real evidence for this.
     Paul clearly hoped that Philemon(or Archippus) would free Onesimus. But we don't know whether the purpose was freedom to return to Paul, or freedom to engage in Christian ministry.
     Paul worded his letter carefully. It is almost the shortest book in the Bible. He reminds Philemon of their common heart in Christ. We might call it a guilt trip, but he reminded Philemon also that he, Paul, was in prison for the gospel He also points out that he had been the one to nurture the faith in Philemon/Archippus (probably both men first received the witness of the faith from Paul).
     Paul points out that Onesimus is a brother in Christ. He promises to repay any money Onesimus might have taken. He expresses a confidence that Philemon/Archippus will do the right thing.
     But Paul also grants to Philemon/Archippus the freedom he hopes will be granted to Onesimus: the freedom to choose.


How would you define Freedom?


How does responsibility and accountability play a part in the actions of people who are free?


How is freedom a part of faith?