Lazarus, their brother*, reflects on his sisters’ squabbling and how it could mean far more than it seems:

Poor Martha. 

I’d seen it brewing for a while and then …  kaboom!  She could no longer keep it in.  Martha exploded!   

I can’t blame her, really.  Martha puts up with a lot from her sister. But to have this out in public, drawing our guest into the thick of it … well, that was unacceptable. 

Not that I’m sure she thought of Jesus as a guest.  Neither of them did.  Mary, too, was taking liberties in his company.  I guess they felt so close to Jesus and easy in his company.  He was more like family than friend.  So, the boundaries were becoming blurred.   As their brother, I have had to referee their sisterly spats many a time before.  Now, it seems, they are beginning to count Jesus as their brother also.  So, this time, he was the one called in to adjudicate.    To be honest, I was glad to have someone else sort them out for a change!

Now, they may look alike, my sisters, and there’s no doubting by appearance that they are family, but they couldn’t be more different in temperament, that’s for sure.  Martha has always been the practical one.  She’s the big sister, always ready to nurture and to provide.  Mary, on the other hand, is a thinker, rather than a doer.  If she could, she’d always have her head in a book. And with guests, she’s always a chatterer rather than a hostess.  Martha would immediately be out in the kitchen preparing food.  Mary would be lingering, wanting to get all the latest gossip, having to be dragged off to help out every time.

And, again this yesterday; there she was, sitting close and listening while her sister did all the hard work, as usual. No wonder Martha was exasperated!   As I have said, I’d rather she hadn’t brought it up in front of everyone like she did, but I can understand where she was coming from.  I think a quiet conversation with both my sisters is in order!

Mind you, I have a feeling it wasn’t just the usual thing going on this time.  Often, before, Martha has let it go; resigning herself to her sister’s dreaminess and simply and singlehandedly getting on with the job at hand.   Secretly I think she enjoys it that way.  She is more than competent and takes a real pride in the hospitality she offers.

But, this time, it was different.  When I saw Martha repeatedly eyeing her sister from the door way, I sensed she was more concerned than angry.   She appeared deeply troubled by what Mary was doing.   It was as though she sensed something more was going on – something improper.  So, this was not the normal scrap between sisters, with one feeling hard done by and complaining.  In truth, Martha was far more disturbed by what Mary was doing rather than what she was not.  

So, I began to wonder, was Martha worried more for her sister than for herself?  Had Mary, in some way, crossed a line?    Was Mary taking liberties?  Was she walking a dangerous line?  Did Martha foresee comeback and consequences, from which she sought to protect her sister?

Perhaps so!  You see, bad as it is to sit back and let others get on a do all the hard work, the real issue here was that Mary had obviously and deliberately chosen to ‘sit at the masters feet’.   Many people may not have noticed, because Jesus was unusually comfortable with women in his company.  To be honest, I didn’t even notice, for this was, after all, in a relaxed home environment.  But what Martha saw happening was a scene that, sadly, will probably be re-enacted time and time again throughout history where-ever women are excluded from education and opportunity.   Here was a woman, striding brazenly into the class room, taking a seat at a front row desk, daring anybody to object!  Mary was deliberately defying convention.  She was taking a man’s place in a man’s world – and that’s what troubled Martha.

But it did not trouble Jesus.

He was not offended by Martha’s outburst.  Neither was he unmoved by it.  Jesus understood what Martha was feeling.  But he clearly did not support her point of view. Far from it.

He spoke gently and tenderly to my sister, first praising her for her hospitality and skill. He knew how quick she was to offer service and made his appreciation known.  But he also saw her getting unusually flustered, and sought to calm her.  I think he sensed it was Martha’s worries that were getting the better of her, not the actual work load.

On that point Jesus could offer only cold comfort. Yes, Mary was pushing the boundaries. Yes, she was taking a huge risk. Yes, there might well be kickback and Mary could get hurt by it.  But, never-the-less, Jesus wanted to affirm Mary’s choice. This was, he said, ‘the better way’ –- the way of his life changing kingdom. 

Yes, his kingly rule is, without doubt, lived out in service.  But it is grounded in ‘sitting at Jesus feet’; gaining purpose and direction for our service through drawing close, listening and learning from him.

I think we must learn that his way is a way that will challenge many conventions and turn much of what we accept as ‘normal’ upside down.  It is a way that will challenge the status quo, particularly where it is used to exclude and deny opportunity to one section of society of another.  It carries risk for those who follow.  It may require countless acts of courage and defiance. Change always does.

His way calls for countless Marthas; ready to serve others with everything they have got.  But Jesus also calls for many Marys too; women and men ready to draw close to him, to listen and be inspired with a new vision of what can be, then to step out risk everything to be the change they hope for. 

 All that said, what am I going to say to my sisters now?  How am I ever going to be able to sort them out?!

* I have made an assumption in using Lazarus as the observer and story teller in this monologue, making a connection with the Mary and Martha who appear in John 11, whose brother Lazarus is raised from the dead.

This may or may not be a correct assumption.  Luke does not mention Lazarus and makes the point of saying that Martha invited Jesus into the house she and her sister shared.   If Lazarus was their brother, usual convention would have it that he be mentioned as head of the household.  

But then again, Jesus was not one for following usual convention.  Maybe Luke is following suit?

In either case, I needed a story teller, so why not Lazarus?!