new point of view about Mary and Martha

A couple of weeks ago a sister in our ward gave a very enlightening talk, in which she quoted this speech given at a BYU devotional in 1991. I was especially touched by some thoughts shared in the speech about the Mary and Martha story in the New Testament, and I have been pondering them ever since.

"Let us turn now to a familiar episode in the Lord's life, recorded in Luke, chapter 10, verses 38–42:

" 'Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.

" 'And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.

" 'But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.

" 'And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:

" 'But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.'

"Those of us with more of Martha than of Mary in us have long felt that this rebuke is unjust. While we do not doubt the overriding importance of listening to the Lord, does the listening have to be done during dinner preparations? Would it have hurt Mary to have joined us in serving, then we all could have sat down to hear the Lord together? And furthermore, what about the value of our work in the world? If it weren't for us Marthas cleaning whatever we see and fussing over meals, there would be a lot of dirty, hungry people in this world. We may not live by bread alone, but I've never known anyone to live without it. Why, oh, why couldn't the Lord have said, 'You're absolutely right, Martha. What are we thinking of to let you do all this work alone? We'll all help, and by the way, that centerpiece looks lovely'?

"What he did say is difficult to bear, but perhaps somewhat less difficult if we examine its context. In the same way that the father in the parable of the prodigal son acknowledges his elder son's faithfulness, the Lord acknowledges Martha's care: "Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things" (v. 41). Then he delivers the gentle but clear rebuke. But the rebuke would not have come had Martha not prompted it. The Lord did not go into the kitchen and tell Martha to stop cooking and come listen. Apparently he was content to let her serve him however she cared to, until she judged another person's service: "Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me" (v. 40). Martha's self-importance, expressed through her judgment of her sister, occasioned the Lord's rebuke, not her busyness with the meal." (Parry, Catherine Corman. "Simon, I have Somewhat to Say unto Thee": Judgment and Condemnation in the Parables of Jesus.)

I have often struggled with the conventional interpretation of these verses. I tend to feel defensive of Martha, especially when people refer to "the Martha syndrome". It seems a little inconsiderate that everyone decided to have Jesus speak to them when Martha had to be preparing the meal and couldn't listen. It's interesting that I feel defensive of Martha, because I think I am actually more inclined to be like Mary--if someone was giving an inspiring message and I was needed in the kitchen, I would probably put it off as long as I could so I could hear the message.

So I appreciate this point of view. Who knows what really happened, but I like the suggestion that both Mary and Martha's service were acceptable before Jesus, and the real lesson here is that we all have different ways of serving Christ, and we also all have our own hidden challenges and weaknesses, as well as different talents, and because of that, it is wrong for us to make self-righteous judgments about others' ways of serving God.

I also appreciate the thoughts shared by Gregory A. Schwitzer in his talk, Developing Good Judgment and Not Judging Others. I love that he points out that she was a person of deep faith in Christ.

"Many Sunday lessons have been taught using this story which have cast Martha in a lesser position in terms of her faith. Yet there is another story of this great woman, Martha, which gives us a deeper view of her understanding and testimony. It happened when the Savior arrived to raise her brother, Lazarus, from the dead. On this occasion it was Martha whom we find going to Jesus 'as soon as she heard' He was coming. As she meets Him, she says that she knows that 'whatsoever [He would] ask of God, God [would] give [Him].'

"Christ then shared with Martha the great doctrine of the resurrection, saying:

" 'I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

“ 'And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?'

"She responded with her powerful testimony: 'Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.'

"How often has Martha been misjudged as being a person who cared more for the deeds of doing than for the Spirit? However, her testimony in the trial of her brother’s death clearly shows the depth of her understanding and faith.

"Many a sister has often heard the first story and wondered if she were a Mary or a Martha, yet the truth lies in knowing the whole person and in using good judgment. By knowing more about Martha, we find she was actually a person of deep spiritual character who had a bold and daring testimony of the Savior’s mission and His divine power over life. A misjudgment of Martha may have caused us not to know the true nature of this wonderful woman."