Mini church today is looking at the story of Mary and Martha. So its on my mind as I will be leading the class and have written the programme. Our emphasis is on friendship ( the kids are aged between 2 and 6). Jesus came to show us what God is like and Jesus had friends because God really likes people and wants all the good things that friendship brings.
I always feel Martha gets a raw deal in this story so I went looking into her a bit more. She seems to be the older sibling as she is mentioned first, is the one who opens her home, goes out to meet Jesus after Lazarus has died etc. If Jesus was in his early thirties and Lazarus was His friend, we might expect that Lazarus would have been a similar age to Jesus. Give or take a few years. Lazarus might have been the youngest of the 3 siblings. Making Mary around 35 and Martha maybe 38-40?? Its speculation - I suppose they might have been teenagers but I like to think of them as heading towards middle age.
The three had lost their parents and were living together. Did all three have to care for parents who got sick and died? How old were the siblings when they lost their parents? One commentator wondered if Lazarus might have been ill or disabled because Jesus always came to him rather than the three going with Jesus. They all seem to have been unmarried - which in itself must have been unusual and again might suggest that someone in the family needed the care of the other two. Being unmarried and childless in that society was not what was expected and a woman might well have suffered the gossip of the village or the misunderstanding of the wider community . Which is why the friendship of Jesus was probably even more significant and wonderful to them than to some others. This was a family that had weathered some storms. Jesus sought them out - He came to stay. He loved them.
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.(John 11:5) - note Martha comes first in that list Jesus comes to visit. We presume with no, or not much advance notice. Just turns up with His entourage and makes Himself at home. The Jesus I know wouldn't sit chatting whilst Martha was working up a sweat in the kitchen. He would put on a pinny and start cutting sandwiches. Maybe He had done just that on other occasions when He had visited. I love that Martha is familiar enough and comfortable enough with Jesus to tell Him off in front of all His friends ( You don't even care that Im slaving away here and she is being useless!) Jesus doesnt seem to mind this . He tells Martha to stop being busy and to do what Mary is doing, sit and listen and learn. There must have been something else going on here - Jesus cant be upset with Martha for serving Him. I dont actually think He was even primarily concerned with her fretting and worrying. Its hard to read Jesus's tone of voice from the text but I know His tone conveyed His great love for Martha and His desire for her to be more than a 'traditional woman'. Something fascinating here - courtesy of Lucy Peppiatt
There are only seven times in the Bible when God uses a name twice – and they are all profoundly significant moments of calling: Abraham (Genesis 22:11), Jacob (Genesis 46:2), Moses (Exodus 3:4), Samuel (1 Samuel 3:10), Martha (Luke 10:41), Simon (Luke 22:31) and Saul (Acts 9:4). Martha is the only woman in the list. I believe she held a special place in Jesus’ life and he knew her potential.
When I read the conversation between Jesus and Martha I tend to hear Him rebuking her. But she cant have felt rebuked because the next thing we see happening is Martha writing to ask Jesus to come to Lazarus who is ill and Martha coming out to meet Jesus on the road as He approaches. It is not only Peter but Martha who recognises and declares that Jesus is Messiah. Whatever happened between the two of them during the 'rebuke', it only served to deepen and enrich the relationship. Many sermons have been preached on ' being a Mary not a Martha'. I think Id be happy to be a Martha and have the relationship with Jesus that she did
So my thought for today is this..... as we are busy doing all the things we have to do ; caring and providing and serving and parenting etc etc aware that Jesus is in the room and feeling that we might not be paying Him our full attention, can we hear Him call our name? Do we know He loves us and isnt cross with us? Can we believe Him when He says that so much of the ' stuff' really isnt that important? Does His call to us cause us to love Him more and see Him for more of who He really is? Does it cause us to trust Him even in the face of seemingly insurmountable difficulties? Do His words break us out of the roles we have constructed for ourselves and encourage us to be more of who we are meant to be?
Lots of questions. Sorry! Have a blessed day.
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