It was never Mary good, Martha bad.
In a fictional story I would write, the Bethany siblings would have fleshed-out lives. They would be the children of well-off olive oil merchants. Lazarus would be the prodigal son. Mary might be the woman caught in adultery and, certainly, the sinful woman who anoints the feet of a Jesus. Martha would be the good one, the responsible one. Both Lazarus and Mary would each, at some point in the story, be restored and saved by Jesus.
But what about Martha?
In my story, Martha remained true to her family’s beliefs. She stayed and kept the home, nursing her parents in their old age. Martha watched her siblings waste their inheritance and their lives. And after her parents’ deaths, Martha became the matriarch.
In my story, this is the Martha we would encounter in this week’s scripture from Luke; the one who stayed, the one who held it all together, the one who was, as Jesus described her, “worried and distracted by many things.” Jesus knew the depths of those He encountered. When he spoke those words to Martha in real life, he knew she needed to be sitting in his presence like Mary. His words were not an indictment of Martha or of her desire to maintain order and decorum in her home. This is not, and never was: Mary good, Martha bad.
Martha needed Jesus just as much as her siblings ... but not for the same reasons. Martha needed to hear those words from Jesus. They were for her. He was issuing an invitation to her.
It’s the same one He speaks to us: You can set down your heavy load of excessive worries and numerous distractions. You are safe with Jesus. You can take a risk and allow him to gently remove your armor. You can rest in him.
__________________________
PHOTO: Adobe Express
We do not meet this week for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. We’re taking a summer break. We return on July 29, 2022.
Blessings,
Steve
SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY AND THE COMING WEEK
Read them here:
Print them here:
Amos 8:1-12
Psalm 52
Genesis 18:1-10a
Psalm 15
Colossians 1:15-28
No comments:
Post a Comment