38 Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. 40But 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.’ 41But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; 42there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.’

I read a fascinating article in Time Magazine about new technology they are using to improve a golfer’s swing. They can actually create a 3D digital rendering of your golf swing that can identify faults with your form that even the most experience instructor can miss or take years to correct. Now, I’m not much for golf…I find it to be brutal sport (after throwing my back out at the Journey Golf Tournament!) Still, I’m intrigued by the technology!

That got me wondering what a three-dimensional view of our scripture reading might do for us. The Mary/Martha narrative is such a familiar story to many of us. Does it really have anything new to say that might improve our proverbial “swing” as people of faith?

The 1st two views are traditional renderings of the Mary/Martha narrative:

1st) It’s a story about Priorities; about what’s really important.

Vs. 42, “there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part.”

While not an attempt to denigrate Martha’s “servant” role, Jesus affirms Mary’s priorities.

Mary prioritizes her relationship with Jesus and seeks to build on that relationship by making Jesus her center of focus. It is not an either/or but rather a “straightening-out” of her priorities. You can almost hear Jesus say, “Martha, Martha, dinner can wait. I’m here for you! Let me serve you.” You know it shouldn’t take a crisis to sort out our priorities.

The word Martha uses for “work” can also be translated “service” in the original language. Its were the word deacon “servant” is derived from.

Martha accuses Mary of failing to do her duty. Whereas Mary see her more important duty as devotion to Christ. But again, its not an either/or! Commentators argue that Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan, which immediately precedes this story, is connected to the Mary/Martha narrative.

The Good Samaritan parable describes what it means to love your neighbor. The Mary/Martha narrative describes love of God, as seen through devotion to Jesus and his teachings. Thus these 2 stories collectively exemplify Luke 10: 27, the commandments to love God and one’s neighbor.

“Mary’s choice of the better part,” is a gentle reminder not to get so caught up in living life, fulfilling obligations, and doing ones’ duty, (even if that’s serving Jesus) that you forget who you are and whose you are. The United Methodist Church grew out of a movement started by John Wesley, because people in the church were forgetting who they were and whose they were.

So this 1st dimensional view of the Mary/Martha narrative is about putting your house in order; getting your priorities straight; putting things in their proper perspective; putting God 1st. You were made by God for God.

2) A 2nd dimensional view of this Mary/Martha narrative is that it calls us to live as residents of God’s Kingdom, a society without distinctions and boundaries between its members.

Vs. 40, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself?”

The conflict of the narrative plot is a social code that marginalizes woman as 2nd class citizens. Why that would never happen today, right ladies?

Not only were women in 1st century Palestine women relegated to the kitchen, they were prohibited from receiving religious instruction—even from touching the Torah, the Jewish book of the Law and the Prophets.

Jesus affirms Mary’s radical departure from the social roles and mores of her day by stating that what Mary has “chosen” will not be taken from her.

The Kingdom of God is a society without distinctions and boundaries between its members. Our church has a long history of women serving in ministry. The fact that there are still many Christian churches today that refuse to ordained women is a painful reminder of the kind of injustice Jesus seeks to challenge even within His own church.

I wonder if Mary felt bad, abandoning her sister, knowing her actions had forced Martha to do her work as well? Not that Mary didn’t encourage her sister to join her (which she surely did), something Martha would never have contemplated. But in the end, Mary went to Jesus because she believed it was what God wanted her to do, thus proving herself equal to her brother, Lazarus.  

Isn’t it sad that we who claim to be the Disciples of Jesus Christ, often don’t know what God wants us to do…despite Jesus’ clear instructions, “If you would be my disciple you deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow me.” Luke 9:23

The Mary/Martha narrative calls us to live as members of God’s Kingdom, a society without distinctions and boundaries between its members.

3) A third and final dimension to this 3-D rendering of the Mary/Martha narrative is the abandonment of personal agenda for something better.

Vs.40 “But Martha was distracted by her many tasks…”

I’ve been reading a book for one of my doctoral classes, Fowler’s Stages of Faith. In it he argues that the words “believe” and “faith” have come to mean two very different things.

Belief has come to mean assent to a set of propositions or commitment to a belief system. Faith on the other hand, is an orientation of the total person, giving purpose and hope to one’s hopes and strivings, thoughts and actions.

Perhaps the problem here is that Martha is treating her relationship with Jesus more as a belief and less as faith; more as a set of propositions then as a reorientation of her whole self. What distracts us from what is needful?

Fowler suggests we engage in causa sui projects – projects in self-vindication, or self-justification. These are projects that seek to guarantee, in some fashion, a kind of immortality for us. Consciously or unconsciously we trust our causa sui projects to demonstrate and validate our value and power as persons. “Causa sui [spirituality] finally results in our worshipping at an altar on which sits the faintly smiling image of our own ego.” I don’t know about you but that’s an uncomfortable image for me.

How do we keep well intentioned service to others from becoming corrupted by our own need for self validation, just another offering to the god of our own ego?  Good question.

The Mary/Martha narrative suggests we sit still long enough to hear, see, and experience Christ. We must allow his words and actions to transform us before we can truly become the agent of transformation we are called to be. There is simply too much ego here… Too much judgment, not near enough love.

Maybe we’re not so different from Martha, grumbling over our sisters or brothers who haven’t joined us in kitchen, blind to the possibility that God has another place for them to be, which may be why there’s so much “red ink” in the New Testament about judging others!

Our energies are better spent probing the depths of the Christ who is in us for each other and learning to get along with another.

The 3rd dimension to a 3-D rendering of the Mary/Martha narrative is the abandonment of personal agenda in lieu of something better, something found only in God.

This 3-D view of the Mary/Martha narrative asks us to rethink our priorities; to live as members of God’s Kingdom, even when it goes against the status quo; and to abandon personal agenda in lieu of God’s agenda. Its as if Jesus is speaking your name and mine saying, “You are worried and distracted by so many things but only one thing is really needful…” Choose wisely.

Prayer: Lord, may we be faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. Amen.