Martha and Mary
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Author: Jonathan Williamson |
L
uke 10.38-42; Psalm 15; [Psalm 52]
I have often found myself apparently missing the point of quite a few of Jesus’ sayings – be they encounters with others or parables. I still always share a sense of resentment with the elder brother of the prodigal son when he returns to the unbridled joy and forgiveness of his father and the fatted calf is wheeled out. I feel a strong sense of empathy with Thomas when Jesus shows his pierced hands because Thomas cannot first believe what others have been telling him of a bodily resurrection.
In the same way, I don’t half feel aggrieved on behalf of Martha when she is up to her elbows in chores and feels she needs help from Mary – and Mary just sits and listens to Jesus apparently oblivious to Martha’s plight.
I suppose that is the point. If these parables, and encounters with Jesus, were to happen according to our own sense of natural justice then we might not give them a second thought and we may never learn anything from them.
This short passage from Luke – only five verses – is extremely rich in symbolism and modelling. There are cultural challenges that would have shocked an early listener to Luke’s gospel, in terms of the role of women, and there are also challenges to historical and contemporary ideals or models of what discipleship should look like – and I use the word ‘should’ there as I think it needs unpacking.
Our other reading today (and another one on the lectionary but not read today) can also be seen to be related to what Jesus may be saying. We learn that those who abide in the Lord’s tent are those who do not slander with their tongue; and in Psalm 52 we are warned about having a tongue like a sharp razor. I hope that in a few minutes time I cannot be accused of the same.
I think that these readings are related in that we are encouraged not to be vicious in our use of our tongues and also encouraged that listening rather than talking is important. And let me say straight away that it is not about just the importance of listening but the place of listening – as it is not to be regarded as the most important model of discipleship.
Over the past few weeks I have been privileged to attend a couple of services in the Cathedral. I first went to the Chrism Eucharist – a service on the Monday of Holy Week, at which clergy and lay people affirmed their calling to follow Christ. More recently I attended the ordination of Alison and Kirsty who had both been on placement at St Mark’s. I was struck particularly at the latter service by the faithfulness all ordinands had shown in listening and discerning their calling. And we know of others in this congregation who have made that step. And we may know others who are discerning a calling.
I cannot conceive of anyone having made that decision without having done an awful lot of listening – to God, and to the encouragement and wise counsel of others.
It might seem, therefore, that in our gospel Mary is doing the right thing and spending time listening to Jesus – at his feet. And that Martha has simply missed the point about what is important. Martha is simply faffing about getting things done but not seeing what matters.
I think that to look at it like that is not sufficient, and not fair to Martha. In fact, in the passage leading up to this Jesus has just spoken of the Good Samaritan – a message about active and practical Christianity if ever there was one.
So, it would be a mistake to simply read into the passage that there is a preferred form of discipleship. The contemplative, perhaps monastic form of discipleship is not superior to the practical, doing form of Christianity. Neither is superior to the other. Each has its place and its time. Martha cares about her visitor and is upset enough to find that she cannot get everything done and needs help – which is denied her. She is not vindictive, or whingeing or nagging or wanting Mary to work as hard as she does – she simply needs some help. And yet Jesus appears to be admonishing Martha, or condoning passivity.
Now we can look at both Mary and Martha and reflect on our own discipleship. We may well be spending time filling our days with lots of necessary church-related or work-related activity. It is necessary work, but we are in danger of forgetting why we are doing it – falling victim to what the sociologist Robert Merton calls a retreatist form of deviant behaviour – doing what we have always done but not knowing why. Or we could be spending our days mulling on the words of the Bible, agreeing with many of the sentiments therein but doing nothing practical about them. Who knows where we are on this listening-doing spectrum today – but it is always worthwhile reflecting on it. In both the church services I mentioned earlier I was particularly touched with a realisation that I felt there was too much doing and not enough listening in my daily walk.
I said earlier on that the gospel is a challenge to cultural norms and expectations. For those not that familiar with the events, the fact that Jesus is welcomed into a house belonging to a woman, and that Mary shatters all protocols by sitting at the feet of a teacher – something which only men were permitted to do in those times – is a refreshing reminder of Jesus’ message about boundaries being broken. Jesus’ presence caused Mary to break the boundaries of accepted protocols. At a deep level, this is not simply a passage about the type of discipleship to be preferred (although I have already suggested that none is always to be preferred), but the fact that Jesus has come to break boundaries. We can all be disciples and there is no distinction between male and female.
But that discipleship often begins with listening.
When we listen to God, we are in great danger of God changing us. Boundaries that may have existed in our lives – such as pre-existing ways of thinking or doubts about our capacity to be of any value to others – can be removed. We should cherish those opportunities to listen out for what is really important.
But thank God for the Marthas who enable the rest of us to be a Mary once in a while, and listen to God’s voice in whatever ways it reaches us.
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Photo Credit: Julian Hochgesang on Unsplash |