I found myself in one of those Mary/Martha situations the other day. I was Martha in the kitchen; all those sitting there-- not helping—were the Marys. The truth is, I wanted to be a Mary and have some Marthas doing the work. That’s a human understanding of the story. Of course there is more, which I’ve been pondering for the past few days.
The Mary/Martha story is at the end of Chapter 10 of Luke’s Gospel, which starts out with the commissioning, sending out and return of the seventy (or seventy two) disciples, followed by the lawyer asking Jesus what he needs to do to inherit eternal life, and the Good Samaritan parable, and ending with Jesus in the home of Mary and Martha. From world wide evangelism, to an example that everyone is our neighbor, to one’s personal relationship with God.
Embedded in this chapter is the Christian message: You shall love the lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself. Luke has the lawyer responding to Jesus’ question.
He knows the answer and so do we, but following it is the challenge. Whether we are out in the world or sitting in our own homes, again and again we are called to renew our capacity to love.
The Mary/Martha story is at the end of Chapter 10 of Luke’s Gospel, which starts out with the commissioning, sending out and return of the seventy (or seventy two) disciples, followed by the lawyer asking Jesus what he needs to do to inherit eternal life, and the Good Samaritan parable, and ending with Jesus in the home of Mary and Martha. From world wide evangelism, to an example that everyone is our neighbor, to one’s personal relationship with God.
Embedded in this chapter is the Christian message: You shall love the lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself. Luke has the lawyer responding to Jesus’ question.
He knows the answer and so do we, but following it is the challenge. Whether we are out in the world or sitting in our own homes, again and again we are called to renew our capacity to love.
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