C:\Documents and Settings\darndt\Desktop\pz\2004-07-18 The Vision Thing.doc - Page 1 of 2
Today’s gospel lesson is about two sisters, Mary and Martha. They are two really
remarkable women who haven’t always been treated well – in the sense that they have often been
used as "types" - symbols or metaphors, rather than flesh and blood persons who have their own
stories..
They are famous - there are lots of women’s circles, Presbyterian and other that have
been named after Mary or Martha (although not both). And over the millennia, they have stood
for a lot of contrasting ways of living the vision: service versus worship; the secular life versus
the monastic life; social justice versus personal holiness; faith versus works; and traditional
versus modern feminine roles.
But what about Mary and Martha as real, live women who encounter Jesus on his journey
to Jerusalem? Lets take a look at the passage and see what we can learn.
First, we have Martha. She is the head of her household; and this, for a Jewish woman
living in Jesus’ time, would have been a sign of great tragedy. It means Martha is either a widow
or that she has never married. It also would have meant that her position in society was marginal.
People would have thought that her singleness was a sign of God’s displeasure. She was
expected to keep a low, even invisible, profile and to receive with gratitude whatever society
offered - which wasn’t much.
But then Jesus came into her life. Jesus was on his journey from Galilee to Jerusalem and
the cross when he came to Bethany where Martha lived. And Martha - either because she had
heard rumors about Jesus or because she heard him for herself – Martha found him compelling,
so much so that she invited this stranger, this itinerant rabbi, this man, home for dinner - and
probably along with a whole herd of disciples.
When you think about it, when Martha invited Jesus in, it was as if she had, in her own
way, sold everything and bought the "pearl of great price." What she did was bold and reckless.
What she did went against all the rules and customs of society - and was totally scandalous.
People would have thought she had totally lost it.
But there was that pearl that made it all worth while – she had caught this vision that her
life might be different. And she reached for it, ignoring everything that would have said, "Don’t
do it." Her actions are both courageous, and little bizarre. No doubt, people would talk.
Well, it’s almost dinner time. Jesus enters the house and begins to teach.
And now, we meet Mary, the younger sister. Mary has been watching all of this with
great interest. First she sees Martha come home, more excited than she’s ever been. Then Martha
is busy in the kitchen getting a really special meal together and trying to do it before the guests
come. And then Jesus is there. Martha, a little flustered because of his early arrival, welcomes
him and invites him to sit down in the living room while she finishes cooking and putting the
best silver, crystal, china, and linens out on the table.
In the meantime, Jesus sits down and begins to teach. Mary hears a few of his words, and
now it’s her turn to make a decision.And it’s a big one because the issue isn’t housework versus
Bible study group but, again it’s one of those issues that pulls at the fabric of their society. Why?
Again, the role of women. There weren’t too many things a woman could do that were worse
than inviting a strange rabbi into her house. But one of them was being taught by such a rabbi.
Mary probably knows the contemporary Rabbinic sayings like: "It is better to burn the Torah
than to teach it to a woman," or "It is better to teach a daughter to be a prostitute than to teach her
the Torah." For a woman, listening to someone teach about the Torah was just plain wrong.
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