Martha Musings

  “When Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet Him. But Mary stayed in the house.” Luke 11:20

  Several posts ago, I asked the question, “Why didn’t the mourners follow Martha when she left the house?”  There are other questions that have bubbled up as I build my own story about Lazarus and his sisters.

  The mourners had gathered and were comforting Mary. Martha seems to be left out. Why? What is it about Martha?

   The passage in Luke where Mary sits at the feet of Jesus to listen to Him teach while Martha grumbles in the kitchen about her lack of help has already happened.  Jesus gently chastised Martha and declares Mary’s work of listening as a better thing to do. (Allowing Mary to sit and learn with the men broke the gender barrier for all time.)

  I can relate to Martha. Many a holiday I worked in the kitchen, missing out on some great conversations, missing out on family time because the meal had to be made. Christmas turkeys don’t cook themselves! It was stressful. It was tiring. It was lonely. But “rules of hospitality” had to be upheld…tradition! Yuck.

  We, as a family, have evolved since then. Now, frozen lasagna is perfectly fine. Someone brings salad. Someone else, dessert. Time together is the most valuable commodity we have.

  So maybe that’s what is up with Martha. The role of a host was to see her guests well fed, that their wine glasses were filled. Even after Lazarus was raised from the dead, Martha served the meal to Christ and His disciples.

  So maybe the mourners were being treated more like company. Maybe they didn’t bring frozen lasagna so both sisters, in their grief, would be free to mourn. Maybe they didn’t offer to do the shopping or run to the post office.

  Maybe the mourners didn’t realize that Martha might have needed to be comforted, too. I get the feeling she was pretty…what…dour? Unemotional? Serious?

  It’s hard to glean a complete person from a few words. Lord, stir my imagination. What was Martha like?

  Did Martha sneak out the back when she heard that Jesus had come? Maybe Martha needed to be alone with Him and she didn’t want anyone else there. Hmmm, that’s a thought. Jewish custom meant she would have been free to ignore anyone greeting her in the street. Her silence would be a recognized sign of mourning.

  Or maybe she knew the only one who could ease her pain and sorrow was Jesus. Not her sister. Not the people gathered in the house.

  Martha tossed all her hostess responsibilities out the window the moment she left the house. She was doing a Mary, going to sit at the feet of Jesus.

  Atta girl!