Martha Serving

Martha Serving

By Maurice Denis

“Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, ‘Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.’ But the Lord answered and said to her, ‘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.’”

Luke 10:38-42

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In John 11, we get one of the three great Christological confessions in the New Testament, where a disciple testifies that Jesus is the anointed Messiah. Alongside the testimonies of John the Baptist and St. Peter at Caesarea, stands the confession of Martha of Bethany at the grave of her brother Lazarus: “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world” (John 11:27).

Yet for two thousand years, Martha has been caricatured as simply the harried hostess — the one who was too distracted to properly learn from the Savior. But careful commentators, both ancient and modern, unanimously agree: Jesus did not criticize Martha’s service. He points out her anxiety, her distraction, her comparison — but not the service she rendered Him. Indeed, hospitality and acts of active service are regularly noted and honored throughout Luke’s Gospel. The parable of the Good Samaritan, a story famously centered on active and loving service of one’s neighbor, is given by the Savior in the very chapter before this one. 

Augustine saw in Martha’s welcome the profound faith she carried: “She welcomed him as pilgrims are usually received.” He further observed that “Martha’s waiting on the Lord in hospitable service complemented Mary’s waiting on the Lord in contemplative silence. Martha’s contribution was necessary and enabled Mary’s enjoyment of the Lord’s teaching. Martha has to set sail in order that Mary can remain quietly in port.” 14th century German mystic Meister Eckhart went even further, holding up Martha — not Mary — as the more mature disciple. As Oliver Keenan summarizes him: “For Eckhart, it is Martha who has truly matured in her faith,” because Martha recognizes “that the Lord is present to her in the whole hurly-burly of life.” Likewise, Rev. Alexander Maclaren, reading the same scene, concluded simply: “Obviously, Martha had a big and loving heart. There is no condemnation for Martha, not at all. I think her love led her to heroic service.”

 So what, then, was the Savior’s gentle correction in Luke 10? Camille Fronk Olson suggests it was not that Martha failed to listen, but that she was critical of Mary’s differing form of worship. “The story of Martha and Mary shows there is more than one way to serve the Savior in our own lives. The sisters’ different approaches to serving the Master teach us to respect and honor those who manifest discipleship in different ways.” Sister Olson noted further that “Jesus never requires that we choose one or the other: household duties or gospel study.”

 But the balance still matters. C.S. Lewis warns that “there can be intemperance in work just as in drink,” and urges us to “give Mary a little chance as well as Martha.” And Julian of Norwich prayed, “Lord, let not our souls be busy inns that have no room for thee or thine, But quiet homes of prayer and praise, where thou mayest find fit company, Where the needful cares of life are wisely ordered and put away, And wide, sweet spaces kept for thee.” But Martha herself needs no defense — only proper recognition. She welcomed her Lord, she confessed her Savior, and her heart, big and loving, belonged wholly to Him. May ours do the same.

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