Mary and Martha

Luke10:38-42

Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village;

and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house.

And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word.

But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said,

"Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me." And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her."

The issues here are attitude and priorities. Martha’s self pitying complaint ("Lord, do you not care...?") points out that her sister has left her alone to work. Martha was worried, troubled, and probably resentful. She allowed herself to get into a tizzy ("you are worried and troubled about many things") and then blamed her frazzled state on Mary’s lack of help. She could have meditated on the privilege she had, since the Savior had accepted her invitation, to serve Him in her home, but instead thought on the wrongs she thought she’d been done by Mary. She isn’t criticized for her work in the kitchen, or for wanting everything to be "just so"– I don’t think that was directed at Martha, but at the reader. She isn’t criticized for not sitting at Jesus’ feet, since someone did have to make dinner, after all! Perhaps Martha wanted to be sitting there instead–but someone does have to work in the kitchen, and her attitude about that was wrong. The problems here are her personal attitude and priorities–not that she was wielding the pots and pans.

The other issue is priorities. It was a once in history chance, to hear the incarnate Son of God teach during His time on earth prior to His death, burial, resurrection and ascension into Heaven. Mary knew that hearing Jesus teach was more important than keeping Martha company in the kitchen or helping serve dinner. To put the quote in the previous post into a fuller context, before quoting Luke 10:38-42 Pastor Wilson wrote ‘We are familiar with the story of Mary and Martha and how Martha lost her sense of priorities because she was "cumbered about much serving." ’The main point of this section (titled "Priorities") isn’t the flaw of Martha but how to avoid misapplying this passage in daily life. Later in that section Pastor Wilson writes, "So if a mother is harried in the kitchen because a number of her children are out in the living room being selfish, this is not a Mary and Martha situation at all. It’s one where she will have to guard her attitude closely, but the children should not assume (when they are required to pitch in) that this is a case of misplaced priorities. Well actually, it is a case of misplaced priorities– theirs."

Although comments I have read elsewhere indicate that others have trouble understanding this passage, I will say that Jesus’ word on what happened here is the final one, since God is the only one who can see the heart and know everything about that or any situation. Mary chose the good part, and I believe that Martha’s attitude was wrong and that it was that which drew the gentle rebuke from the Savior.