Ordinary Time Week 9

Psalm: Psalm 52 or Psalm 15

Old Testament: Amos 8:1-12

 or Genesis 18:1-10a

Gospel: Luke 10:38-42

Epistle: Colossians 1:15-28

The passage I want to look at today is the Gospel reading, since we discussed it last week as well with the parable of the Good Samaritan. This story of Mary and Martha follows that parable and interestingly, Bethany, where they lived, is on that same road between Jerusalem and Jericho where the Good Samaritan took place.

So the question I have to ask is why does Luke place this account right after the Good Samaritan? First, you will recall that the Good Samaritan was about the most unlikely of heroes imaginable, a good-for-nothing Samaritan, loving his neighbor and thus fulfilling Torah. The Kingdom of God was expanding to include those the Jews had rejected, but God hadn't. That springboards us into the account of Mary and Martha where it is not a racial separation, but one of gender.

In the Ancient Near East, houses were divided between male and female sections, especially when hosting guests. Indeed, parts of the world still follow this custom. Mary was breaking the norms of society; rather than doing women's work or remaining in the female area, she was "at the feet of Jesus." (vs. 39) This is not some metaphor as some have suggested to imply she was in a relationship with Jesus. Nor is it about being lazy compared to a busybody. It's not even about two different types of spirituality. Mary was becoming a disciple of Jesus. She was, and Jesus encouraged her, preparing to be a minister of the Kingdom of God. This message is just as radical as the Good Samaritan and it is easy to miss: Greek and Jew, male and female, it doesn't matter any more in the Kingdom of God. And just like with the Good Samaritan, and so many of Jesus' teachings, this was met with resistance. Martha asked Jesus to put Mary back in her place. "Doesn't she know women belong over here, not training to become religious leaders," she might have thought. Yet Jesus tells Martha that she has chosen the "good part," and that she can remain where she is.

This story becomes another example of the boundary shattering message of the Gospel. I have dealt a lot in the past year with women in ministry, but you can't read the New Testament and not see how Jesus was raising the status of women. The sad thing is that we know so little about the early women in the church. After Jesus' Ascension, Mary and Martha may have done great things in the early church, we just don't know. So much of the early church's history, not just that involving women, is a mystery. I for one would love to know more about the story of how the Gospel begin to be spread.

I know this week is a bit short, but I wanted to share my thoughts on the Mary and Martha story. I will say that I got much of this information from N.T. Wright's New Testament for Everyone series. And although I think what he is saying is true, I just wonder if there is more to the story. Again, we only have these five verses, but so many more words could have been put into just this one episode.

This week, let us be about that radical, life changing, boundary breaking ministry of the Gospel.

Grace and Peace.