Luke 10:29-42

      Another thing to note about the story of the Good Samaritan is to reflect back to the event Luke recorded in chapter nine. There, a Samaritan village had refused hospitality to Jesus and his disciples. John and James had wanted to call down fire upon the Samaritans, but Jesus had rebuked them. (Some translations say he also said, for the Son of man came not to destroy human lives, but to save them). Now, a short time later, Jess is telling a story where a Samaritan came out as the good guy of the tale. (Imagine his sideways glance at James and John).
     After all this Jesus proceeded to a village where he stayed with a woman named Martha. She rushed about to provide hospitality while her sister, Mary, sat at Jesus’ feet listening to the conversation. Martha came in and asked Jesus to tell her sister to come and help. Jesus noted her distraction with many details, added a comment that there was only one thing that was necessary. Finally he said that Mary had chosen the better part which would not be taken away from her.
     This story is one that often provoke people to feel uncomfortable. Many women, in particular, feel torn between the practical needs of life and the spiritual one. And the story has frequently been interpreted as a judgment against those individuals who deal with the tasks of daily life. Martha has been sometimes seen as fussy, unimaginative, a-spiritual and dull.
      Yet other stories of Martha indicate the opposite and should be taken into account when evaluating this event. She was intelligent—Jesus had theological discussions with her in which she understood truth faster than most people he talked with. She was unselfish – when her brother had died, she met Jesus on the road and would no doubt have preferred to stay at his side, yet she went back to get her sister so Mary could also be with Jesus. She was a generous hostess.
      No, Martha wasn’t perfect. She had a temper and shouldn’t have embarrassed her sister in front of a group of men. (It’s true that Mary might have been more thoughtful about the work Martha was doing to provide for an unexpected large group of visitors). Martha may have been over-doing, yet given the sacredness of hospitality in those times, we can understand how difficult it would be for her to keep it simple. Some scholars speculate that this is what Jesus meant when he said that only one thing was needed—that they didn’t need anything fancy.
      Jesus was not saying that attending to the needs of people was wrong. On the night he was arrested, he even washed the feet of his disciples.
      The idea that Jesus was praising the contemplative life in favor of the active life was the opinion of Luther, who once commented that Jesus was saying that Martha’s work must be punished and regarded as worthless while he only wanted that of Mary, which is faith. Luther, of course, was interpreting Mary and Martha with the bias of the controversies of his time. The church was going through abuses in which people believed they could by purchasing indulgences or otherwise earn God’s grace. It became an issue of works versus faith, and Luther was promoting faith.
      But it is unfair to look at Mary and Martha only through the telescope of an ancient controversy. Taken to extreme it would cut out service, which is a clear hallmark of Christian life.
      One commentator points out that Martha’s work is repeatedly described as diakonia. This later became a technical term for service at the Lord’s table, proclaiming the good news and providing leadership in the church. Since diakonia is presented as a positive in every other place it is used in the New Testament, it seems highly unlikely that Martha’s work was seen or interpreted as a mistaken or wrong choice.
     Martha’s problem was not the nature of her work, but the attitude with which she was performing it that day. Her mistake is the same that everyone makes—doing the right thing with the wrong attitude.
      Few people can have the luxury of a life that is only contemplative, and if they do, it is provided by the hard work of many Marthas. Most people struggle, rather, to find the right balance between contemplative and active time/activities.

Have you ever felt “judged” by this story of Martha and Mary?
How do you balance your time for service and for contemplative activities?
It is unfair that Martha is remembered most for one of her less positive moments. If you were to be remembered for that, what would it be?  If you were remembered for your best, what would that be?