{"id":2009,"date":"2013-07-16T20:18:19","date_gmt":"2013-07-16T20:18:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/onscripture\/?p=2009"},"modified":"2013-07-16T20:18:19","modified_gmt":"2013-07-16T20:18:19","slug":"mary-and-martha-use-your-gifts-whatever-they-may-be","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/onscripture\/2013\/07\/mary-and-martha-use-your-gifts-whatever-they-may-be\/","title":{"rendered":"Mary and Martha: Use Your Gifts, Whatever They May Be"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0By Sister Carol Perry<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

On a Sunny Afternoon<\/strong><\/h3>\n

It is a lovely late afternoon in the little village of Bethany on a hilltop outside Jerusalem.\u00a0 This is a delightful place to visit because it offers a breeze above the valley.\u00a0 But Jesus stops here often for more than that.\u00a0 He knows he has friends in the persons of Martha and her siblings, Mary and Lazarus.<\/p>\n

This day, as the family of Bethany looks down the road, they see Jesus and some of his disciples approaching.\u00a0 They know there will be time for conversation and food and rest before this group heads on into Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

The Dilemma<\/strong><\/h3>\n

After a flurry of greetings, Martha is off to organize the meal.\u00a0 In a world without freezers or the possibility of takeout, unexpected guests can cause a bit of a stir.<\/p>\n

True to her understanding of her place in that first century world, Martha goes to work to produce a meal for several hungry men. She looks out toward the gathering in the courtyard.\u00a0 Jesus is speaking; all are listening, including her sister Mary who is sitting at the Lord\u2019s feet.\u00a0 That is a problem!<\/p>\n

However, it is a problem that we can too easily misunderstand.\u00a0 In the language of that day, \u201csitting and listening\u201d is assuming the posture of a disciple.\u00a0 Mary has chosen to do what women do not do.\u00a0 Only males could be disciples of a rabbi.<\/p>\n

Mary\u2019s action might be perceived as unseemly by neighbors who had certainly added themselves to the group in that friendly way of small towns where visitors are shared.<\/p>\n

Martha Interrupts<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Big sister Martha does what she thinks is proper.\u00a0 She approaches Jesus with a manufactured complaint:\u00a0 \u201cLord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself.\u00a0 Tell her to help me.\u201d\u00a0 (Luke 10:40 NRSV<\/a>)<\/p>\n

If this were the first visit of Jesus to Bethany, I doubt she would have been so direct.\u00a0 Today, her normally balanced view of her place in the world snaps, and Martha attempts to get Jesus to support her in nudging Mary to a more womanly life.<\/p>\n

Jesus Answers<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Jesus is certainly up to sorting out Martha\u2019s dilemma.\u00a0 He gently scolds her, not for preparing a meal\u2014he would like his supper as much as his companions would\u2014but because Martha has become \u201cworried and distracted by many things.\u201d<\/p>\n

He replies: \u201cMary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.\u201d (Luke 10:42 NRSV<\/a>)<\/p>\n

We are all a bit thrown by Jesus\u2019 answer because the text can be ambiguous.\u00a0 It literally says, in Greek, that she has chosen \u201cthe good\u201d, that is, a good which is better for her.\u00a0 Do note that Jesus never tells Martha to stop what she is doing.<\/p>\n

These might be two siblings but they have different gifts.\u00a0 The answer of Jesus is a wonderful declaration that each woman is to do what it is hers to do, to follow her skill set.\u00a0 His response is indeed an emancipation proclamation that rattles the first century world.<\/p>\n

This is a prime lesson in discipleship.\u00a0 Jesus is telling his listeners that they are not all called to the same vocation.\u00a0 They must do what will best fulfill each of them with the gifts God has given.<\/p>\n

And Then?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

As with so many gospel passages, we have no answer to \u201cWhat happened next?\u2019\u00a0 That is for each of us to pursue in prayer.\u00a0 I would like to follow Martha back to her kitchen where she stirs her pots with a more thoughtful energy.\u00a0 She doesn\u2019t really need Mary here, but she does need to rethink what her much loved Lord has just said.\u00a0 She needs to reflect on her discipleship of the kitchen.<\/p>\n

My imagination moves to the meal that appears on the table in Bethany that evening.\u00a0 It is an excellent one, up to the most exacting of Martha\u2019s standards.\u00a0 She and Mary catch each other\u2019s eyes with nods that say, \u201cMary, I\u2019ll never nag you again to help me prepare vegetables.\u00a0 I can do that quite well, thank you.\u00a0 And I do love cooking for my friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

And Mary signals back, \u201cThanks.\u00a0 The Teacher has acknowledged my thirst to learn.\u00a0 Where might this lead?\u201d<\/p>\n

Jesus Wonders<\/strong><\/h3>\n

At that table Jesus passes a portion of warm bread to each of the male disciples.\u00a0 Have they learned something today?\u00a0 Will they remember this when he is gone?\u00a0 Is this event at least partially why the first Christian communities will gather for meals prepared by Marthas of other races and nationalities in groups and hosted by new Marys bearing the names of Lydia and Priscilla and Phoebe?<\/p>\n

Much more than food has been shared in Bethany this day.\u00a0 A social and religious revolution has been inaugurated that still echoes today.<\/p>\n

Moving Forward?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

We need to hear Jesus saying to every one of us:\u00a0 What are your gifts?\u00a0 How are you using them?\u00a0 How critical are you of those who choose to be or to do \u201cother\u201d?<\/p>\n

As our electronic world shrinks geography, the Marys among us cry to join their sisters everywhere.\u00a0 The Marthas long to be appreciated for what they have chosen.<\/p>\n

Judging Our Scene<\/strong><\/h3>\n

We, in the western world, need to start by looking close to home where a new dialogue<\/a> has begun about mothering and glass ceilings and \u201cleaning back.\u201d\u00a0 We need to learn to honor the choices that others make.\u00a0 The adventuresome Marys, who have broken through so many barriers in business and church, deserve to be commended for their courage, but they have to be careful not to be too critical of those who, for valid reasons, have chosen otherwise.<\/p>\n

This could well be the time to do some stocktaking about the idea that women can indeed have it all.\u00a0 Some are questioning the price they pay or have paid for that \u201call\u201d.\u00a0 Others have discovered that breaking through thrusts women, not into the fresh air, but simply into an old boys\u2019 club, which was never the goal of even the most ardent pioneers.<\/p>\n

This gospel continues to demand a response because its ramifications are nonending.\u00a0 So many of us play dual roles.\u00a0 Jesus would approve.\u00a0 Others of us have made unconventional choices.\u00a0 He\u2019d like that too.\u00a0 Jesus asks us to recognize, in the spiritual world, the great truth we have already learned in the world of genetics.\u00a0 We are each put together differently.<\/p>\n

The Martha-Mary challenge also crosses the male-female boundaries.\u00a0 We each have to seize the grace to be the person we are called to be,\u00a0not the person society seems to dictate.\u00a0 In our world today, Nelson Mandela refused to be bound by the walls of Robben Island.\u00a0 He dreamed beyond its confines and found a world waiting for his message of freedom and forgiveness.\u00a0 He too chose a better part.<\/p>\n

<\/embed><\/object><\/code><\/p>\n

I, for one, will be forever grateful to Mary for having dared to attempt the different, and to Martha for having raised questions to the one person who had the answers. Many thanks, Martha and Mary, for being brave enough to be yourselves.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sister Carol Perry is Resident Bible Scholar at Marble Collegiate Church. She leads studies of the Bible Marble\u2019s adult education program and in business locations throughout Manhattan, as part of the church\u2019s Spirituality in the Workplace outreach. She is known for her ability to make the characters and stories of the Bible come to life with applications for today\u2019s world. Sr. Carol has a degree Magisterii in Scientiis Sacris from Regina Mundi in Rome, an M.A. in Theology from St. Mary\u2019s College at Notre Dame and a B.S. from Fordham University. She is a Sister of St. Ursula.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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