You Are Both Martha And Mary

So often, when thinking about Martha and Mary of Bethany, we tend to identify with one or the other. We see Martha as the one who is more disciplined and gets things done, and we think of her as less spiritual than Mary who sits at Jesus' feet to learn all she can about him. But I propose that the lives of these two ladies are a little more nuanced than that.

Firstly, Luke shows us in his gospel chapter 10, verses 38 and 40, that Martha was very generous towards Jesus, his disciples and anyone who visited. Luke says that when Jesus and his disciples came to Bethany, "Martha opened her home to them and made many preparations for this visit". And John in his gospel, chapter 2, verse 2, tells us that Martha again hosted a dinner to honour Jesus, and she participated in serving this meal. Here we see a woman who was not above being a servant to Jesus and his disciples.

Then we’re introduced to Mary who Luke says, "sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said" (Luke 10:39), soaking in his every word. And John tells us in chapter 12, verse 4, that Mary generously spent the equivalent of a year’s wages to purchase a very expensive perfume which she lavished on Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair. She humbly sat at his feet and showed great care and love in a way that many of us probably would not have even though of doing.

There wasn't anything that Martha and Mary wouldn't do for Jesus. They both loved him immensely. It’s clear that this family had a special bond with Jesus, a deep friendship with him, and that showing their love for him knew no bounds.

So, it was the natural thing to do when their brother Lazarus fell gravely ill, for the two sisters to send word to Jesus telling him, "the one Jesus loved", had fallen ill, hoping, knowing and expecting, that Jesus would come because of his special friendship with their family.

Unfortunately, because Jesus had purposely delayed his arrival, Lazarus had already died and was in the grave for four days, by the time he entered the outskirts of Bethany. The sisters were heart-broken and disappointed, and both of them told Jesus if that if he had come earlier their brother would not have died. These women knew that Jesus could heal anyone and believed, without a doubt, that if Jesus had arrived earlier, he would have healed their brother because of his love for Lazarus.

This relationship between Jesus and this family is borne out in John 11:32-36, which tells us that Jesus wept when he saw the pain Mary was experiencing over the death of her brother. And in this same passage, the love Jesus had for Lazarus, Martha and Mary was witnessed first-hand by those who were there to comfort Mary.

Clearly, the ever-practical Martha had as much faith, hope, trust and belief in Jesus as her sister Mary did, for Martha declared, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” (John 11:27). So even though Martha spent her time serving during Jesus’ visits to her home, she also heard everything Jesus said and taught and believed it all. Her mistake was not realizing that Mary's way of worship was also as important and valuable to Jesus, and Jesus would not take that away from Mary.

After reading and examining this story about two women who were totally devoted to Jesus, and who showed their love for him in different ways, I've come to realize that the qualities of both sisters reside in me. Maybe at times I'm more like Martha because I love to prepare meals and serve others, but then I'm also like Mary because I love to "sit at Jesus' feet", so-to-speak, by spending time reading my Bible and learning from him and about him.

So, although some of us may be more like Martha and others more like Mary in temperament and the way we worship and serve our Lord, the qualities of both Martha and Mary reside in each of us, and both are to be encouraged and celebrated. We don't need to choose one over the other or claim one sister is better than the other. Instead, let’s look at the positive qualities of both sisters, and learn from both, how to love and be fully devoted to our Lord.

What resonated the most with you as you read this?

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