Marys and Marthas on a Summer Sunday

JESUS MAFA. Martha and Mary, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN

Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me."

But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her."

Luke 10: 38-42

Years ago a wonderful elder with a wry sense of humour (sometimes directed at moi, her minister) responded to a another member who poked her head into the room where our bible study group was gathering and said: "look at you all, I suppose I'm a Martha rather than a Mary." After she departed our group member chuckled and offered  "I thought I was both." It was true. She was a faithful attender, although she assured us that she really didn't know much about the bible after decades of taking part. She also worked in the kitchen and served at countless church functions, including a regular meal for seniors who were often much younger. She continued to do so until she was nearly 90. 

Today, in the heart of summer the gospel reading is from Luke and the story of two sisters who host Jesus for a meal. Martha gets a little testy as she serves up dinner while Mary is attentive to Jesus' every word. Jesus tells her take a chill-pill, but we can hope with a kind and understanding tone. 

When I was a kid there was a Mary Martha United Church Women Unit in our congregation, which presumably combined spiritual growth and faith-in-action. Shouldn't we all be a healthy mix of both sisters, "doers of the Word and not hearers only" to borrow from the New Testament book of James? 

I notice that in the groups I've led at Trenton United there are a number of participants who never miss a study and are very active in other aspects of the congregation, including outreach. Truth be told, in many congregations there just aren't enough people to be either/or in this day and age, so how do we sustain our sense of purpose without checking in with Jesus as our sustenance and compass? 

                             Mary and Martha and brother Lazarus -- Scottish Bible Society Resource