Are You a Martha or a Mary?

There is a parable in the Bible about Martha and Mary, and what happened when Christ visited the sisters. You can read the story in the Scriptures here, but this is the basics of what happened.

Christ visited Martha and Mary. Martha, playing the role of hostess, worked to make the Lord comfortable and ensure he had everything he needed.

Meanwhile, Mary sat with Christ, letting Martha work, and chatted with him. Martha, irritated at being left all the work while Mary had a great conversation with the Lord they both loved, "tattles" on Mary. Martha asks the Lord, "Doesn't it bother you that I'm doing all the work without the help of my sister? Then ask her to help me."

Jesus responds, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her."

When I first heard this story in Sunday school years ago, I was a little confused at Jesus' response to Martha. Was he making her do the serving on her own because she tattled? Or maybe he liked Mary better?

This story is used as an example of priorities. Martha took on the traditional role of a woman in this culture by serving. Mary, on the other hand, set aside cultural norms to sit at the feet of Jesus. And Jesus tells Martha that Mary has "chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her." Mary chose to put Christ first, and that is what is praised in this story. Marcellino D'Ambrosio, Ph.D. explains Mary's choice well when he says:

Mary thought that the supreme compliment that she could pay to her divine guest, even more than world-class refreshments, was to give him her full attention. [Jesus] had come to her home to nourish, enlighten, and transform her. Not to receive and unwrap this wonderful gift would be an insult to the giver.

Martha, on the other hand, allowed herself to get distracted by all she thought needed to get done in the name of hospitality. That's what happens a lot in today's society. In this "instant gratification" world, we get distracted by what we think we need to do--catch the daily news, email everyone who has emailed us, blog every day--and lose sight of what's really important.

Are you a Martha or a Mary?