If you grew up in the church, you may have a certain connotation when you think of the names Mary and Martha. Your connotation may be even stronger if you are a woman because you have internalized a very specific connotation. Instantly, you may be reminded of character traits that those names have become associated with. To be a "Mary" is one who is able to cast aside the current cares of the world and to be wholly devoted to worship and seeking the Lord. A "Martha" on the other hand is someone who allows the anxieties of this world to often drive them to distraction from the higher, more important call to abide with Jesus. The Bible tells us of the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42. When Jesus came to visit their household, Mary sat at the Lord's feet and listened to His teaching. Martha on the other hand was in the throes of trying to be a good hostess. The Bible tells us she was distracted from much serving. The message often relayed from this passage is that we must not lose sight of our love for Jesus in the midst of duty and serving. We can go about serving with godly motivation and intention but if we don't guard ourselves, we can quickly lose sight of the One whom we claim to be serving. We can also fail to serve in love because we're simply going through the motions. The oversimplified take away from this story often repeated in evangelical culture is something like this: "Be a Mary; don't be a Martha." That's why it hits hard when I, like so many other believers, get caught up with day to day stresses. I feel like I am failing to love Jesus. If we struggle with feeling anxious or troubled, do we really love Jesus? "I need to be more like Mary," our inner voice tells us. "I need to be more spiritual," our inner critic condemns.
In the Lord's kindness, when I read through the New Testament again last year (Robert Murray M'Cheyne's Bible Reading plan), I read John 11 with what felt like fresh eyes. In this chapter, Mary and Martha's brother Lazarus dies. The passage reminds us that it was this same Mary who also anointed Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. Mary had an established reputation as one devoted to Jesus and had demonstrated this despite being mocked by Judas Iscariot. Jesus delays traveling to see Lazarus when He first hears that Lazarus is ill. Jesus knew prior to arriving in their village that Lazarus would have already died by the time He got there. Scripture tells us that He had a plan and intention in this (v.15). When the two sisters hear that Jesus is coming, Martha goes to meet Him and Mary stays seated in the house. It was Mary's act of sitting at Jesus' feet that was viewed as devoted and spiritual but now she is staying seated despite knowing He is near the village. Is this deep despondency? Grief paralysis? Indifference? What struck me was that Martha had been the busy doer in the previous passage, which was viewed as the lesser portion. Here she is responding to a stressful situation with more doing. She goes to Jesus and she lays out her telling conviction that she knows Lazarus would not have died if Jesus had been there. Martha confesses that even now in the worst of circumstances, she knows that God will give to Jesus whatever He asks. When Jesus explains her brother will rise again, she expresses that she understands that Lazarus will indeed be resurrected on the last day. Jesus follows this with a clear declaration of His divinity and his exclusivity as Savior: "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die." He asks her if she believes this and Martha gives an undeniably clear confirmation with "Yes, Lord; I believe you are the Christ; the Son of God, who is coming into the world." Martha declares her belief in the resurrection of the dead demonstrating she was more informed than the Sadducees. She also has her own "Jesus is Lord" confession similar to Peter in Matthew 16:16. From there Martha goes on to collect Mary from the house and we get to read about the glorious raising of Lazarus.
On the day I read this passage, I must have been especially weighed down with my failures as a "Martha" and wishing that I was much more like a "Mary." Instead, I was encouraged and convicted to see Martha's unwavering faith in Jesus. She goes to meet Jesus rather than just waiting at the house. In the midst of deep grief, she unequivocally professes her faith in His deity and role as Savior. Martha is not a passive or lukewarm Jesus follower too busy doing stuff to really love Jesus. This woman seems like deep waters. We saw her surface in Luke 10:38-42. The reflection she projected during regular daily life was the normal, harried actions of many believers. Yet when the deep trial of losing a family member came, her resolve and conviction was there. She knew Whom to seek. She knew Who had all the answers, even if she did not understand why God allowed her brother to be taken. She went out to meet the Resurrection and the Life in an act of faith. Martha believed accurate and true things about Jesus and had the ability to articulate it to not only her Lord but to His disciples and the other bystanders. I realized I had much to gain from Martha's example. I want to find my strength and resolve in Jesus. I want to believe true and accurate things about Jesus. I want to be able to explain my full confidence that Jesus is united with the Father and that their wills are indivisible. I want to be the type of woman that goes back to the village and encourages the forlorn to seek after Jesus. Undoubtedly, I want to be a "Mary" and savor Jesus' teachings and be known as a woman who delights in Him. However I also want to have Martha's decisiveness and confidence in the lordship of Jesus Christ. I want others to know my conviction about who Jesus is. It shouldn't be an either/or comparison between Mary and Martha. Both of these women were submitted followers of Jesus with admirable qualities and human frailty. I am so thankful that Jesus taught women thus going against the culture of that time. From the biblical narrative, I believe we can see that there is much to be gleaned from both women. I think we can even agree there is virtue in being a "Martha." May the Lord help and equip us in all ways to be wholly devoted to Him.
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