Genesis 18. 1-10 Luke 10. 38 - end

I don’t know about you, but I think some of the details we find in the Bible are delightful. The Bible may deal with the great themes of life, death and salvation, but often we get the most interesting snippets of information. In our readings today we have two instances of quite intimate, domestic detail. Firstly, we have Abraham showing typical Oriental hospitality: he gets his wife and servant organised and hastens to welcome the strangers. Then we have the story of Martha welcoming Jesus and his disciples into her home. She doesn’t get the help she would like from her sister, Mary, and her frustration just leaps from the page as she goes to Jesus and says, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me’. I have to say, if you don’t feel some twinge of sympathy for Martha – at least the women among you – then you lead more saintly lives that I do! Then, to cap it all, Jesus answers – I’m sure with kindness and, perhaps, with an invitation to Martha to join them – but nonetheless he says quite firmly, ‘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’. We shall be returning to Martha and Mary in a moment, but I just wanted to make two points before we do so. Firstly, I think it’s worth reflecting how much we gain by seeing Jesus in this home in Bethany (Luke says the family live in a certain village but John’s gospel tells us that Mary and Martha live in Bethany, on the outskirts of Jerusalem). John also tells us that Jesus loved Martha and her sister and their brother, Lazarus. (This is in Chap 11 of the gospel, where we have the account of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.) For me, this underlines Jesus’ humanity – he needs friends. Of course, he draws immense strength from his relationship with his Father and he has a certain type of relationship with his disciples but, like us, he needs times of relaxation, he needs friends. For me, grasping that Jesus is fully human, as well as fully divine, is really important; it helps me to identify with him and to understand a little better what he went through on our behalf. The second aside before we get back to today’s gospel is a book review. If you are intrigued by Martha, Mary and some of the other women in the gospels, you may be interested in a book by Margaret Hebblethwaite – Six New Gospels. In it, she looks at familiar events through the eyes of women such as Martha and Mary. It’s in our church library and I was introduced to it, I think, by a library review here. I don’t agree with every word in it, but I do think it’s a fascinating and helpful read and I found myself going back to it when I was preparing for today. Margaret Hebblethwaite isn’t afraid to use her imagination, but, at the same time, she’s rigorous in her documentation and her theological footnotes for those who want to refer to them. Anyway, to get back to today’s gospel and what we can learn from it – apart perhaps from the obvious lesson that most of our friends would rather have a simple meal in a relaxed atmosphere than something elaborate that gives us hassle. Or as a friend of mine said in a bible study: the whole point of this passage is that sandwiches would have done! We do need to note that this is a snapshot of the sisters at a particular point in time. We all need balance in our lives. I’m sure Mary helped at times in the house; I don’t think Martha would have let her get away with not doing so, even if she had wanted to! Similarly, we know that Martha was a woman of faith; Margaret Hebblethwaite writes powerfully about Martha’s great statement of faith, for instance, when Martha meets Jesus after Lazarus has died. Nonetheless, Jesus has to remind Martha of her priorities and maybe, sometimes, he has to remind us. On this occasion Jesus says that Mary, who is sitting listening at his feet, has chosen the better part. We do need practical action but ideally that action should be prompted and directed by times of prayer and reflection. Obviously I say this to myself as much as anyone else: if we turn away too many opportunities to deepen our faith, to get closer to God, then it’s our loss. More than that, I think Jesus is giving us hints here on how to deal with the worries and anxieties that distract us so often. He is calling Martha away from these to spend time with him. He says something very similar to the disciples a couple of chapters later when he tells them that worrying won’t get them anywhere. In Chap 12 of Luke Jesus urges the disciples to seek his kingdom first and see other things fall into place. I know it’s easier said that done, but let’s pray that we will hear God more clearly when he calls us away from our worries and our busyness to spend time with Him.

Jill Seamen

Patronal Festival