The One Thing Needed (3)
Martha, on the other hand, is so distracted by all the things she does to welcome her guest that she fails to pay attention to his teachings. Her behavior is not obviously wrong. She is the hostess and a woman, and she is acting according to social propriety and expectation. But man or woman, then or now, it is never socially proper or expected for one to become a true disciple of Christ – to hear and obey his teachings will always entail defiance against the world's standards and expectations.
Finally, Martha bursts out in frustration, not directly at Mary, but at Jesus: "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" She could have said, "Lord, I would like to be a good host and give you and your disciples a warm welcome, and usually I would be expected to perform all that I am doing. However, instead of helping me, my sister Mary is sitting at your feet listening to your teachings. Should she be helping me, or should I sit down with her and listen to you?"
Instead, without asking what Jesus prefers, and more than assuming that Jesus would side with her, Martha assumes that he should side with her, and she is annoyed at him that he has not already done something about the situation. Her frustration has led her to falsely judge Mary's behavior, and then also the Lord's tolerance of what she perceives to be Mary's negligence.
(to be continued)
August 14 2005 | Expositions, Spirituality