Mary and Martha

Below is a typical translation/understanding of the Mary/Martha story, compared to my revised translation. I feel my revision is self-explanatory. I think too, that this fits in in an interesting way into the gender role topic. No, it isn’t the main focus of the story, but in Jesus’ day, those gender roles were much more strict. Mary should not have been sitting there when there was company to be serving! I find this story interesting because Jesus (in my revision) is not condoning the societal gender roles, NOR is he an activist against them. Martha is comfortable in her role… so be it. Mary is bucking the societal trend… so be it. The most important thing is that you are in tune with the true calling of your heart… that you are playing your God given part. That sounds more like Jesus to me. Would Jesus really deflate a well meaning Martha in the way the typical translation supposes? I think not.

Anyway, compare the two:

Luk 10:38-42 GW

As they were traveling along, Jesus went into a village. A woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. (39) She had a sister named Mary. Mary sat at the Lord's feet and listened to him talk. (40) But Martha was upset about all the work she had to do. So she asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work all by myself? Tell her to help me." (41) The Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha! You worry and fuss about a lot of things. (42) There's only one thing you need. Mary has made the right choice, and that one thing will not be taken away from her."

Luk 10:38-42 my revision

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. (39) And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. (40) But Martha was drawn about with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” (41) But the Lord answered her, “Martha, try to understand; you are eager in offering portions to many, (42) but the work is of a whole… and Mary too has chosen a good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

The Sayings Desert Fathers, in which I find some very lofty wisdom couched in very simple language, contains this little gem:

69. A brother went to visit Silvanus on Mount Sinai. When he saw the brothers hard at work, he said to the old man, ‘ “Labour not for the meat which perisheth” (John 6:27) and “Mary hath chosen the best part” (Luke 10:42).’ Silvanus said to his disciple Zacharias, ‘Put this brother in a cell where there is nothing.’ When three o’clock came, the visitor kept looking at the door, to see when they would send someone to invite him to eat but no one did so. So he got up and went to Silvanus and said, ‘Abba, don’t the brethren eat today?’ He said, ‘Yes, they have eaten already.’ The brother said, ‘Why didn’t you call me?’ He replied, ‘You are so spiritual you do not need food. We are earthly, and since we want to eat, we work with our hands. But you have chosen the good part, reading all day, and not wanting to take earthly food.’ When the brother heard this he prostrated himself in penitence and said, ‘Forgive me, abba.’ Silvanus said, ‘I think Mary always needs Martha, and by Martha’s help Mary is praised.’

Ward, Benedicta. The Desert Fathers (Penguin Classics) (pp. 104-105). Penguin Books Ltd. Kindle Edition.

The beauty in this story shows the way these desert dwelling truth seekers read and understood New Testament stories. They took the characters within themselves, they became all the characters. They didn't say, "I'm like this particular character, you are like that character", no they saw themselves in every character. They saw each character as an impulse within themselves, and they saw the interactions between characters as an inner dialogue between various trains of thought that we all experience. In any case, clearly they also saw that both Mary and Martha were praiseworthy in their actions.

Martha loved to host the people. Mary loved to listen to the teaching. We need to stop trying to make Marthas into Marys and vis-versa. Imagine being present in that story, the smell and taste of great food for the body, good teaching for the soul… instead of a tearing down of the one in order to build up the other, maybe what Jesus was saying, and maybe what Martha heard and responded with, was more along these lines: