Exploring Martha's Role In 'The Gospel Of The Lord'

As they continued their journey he entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary [who] sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.”The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”

“The Gospel of the Lord”

While Jesus was walking through Bethany, a woman named Martha realizes who he is and invites him to her home. Once there, Martha immediately begins preparing dinner for Jesus,

Because of this, it is considered quite remarkable for Mary to sit by Christ’s feet. Instead of assuming domestic obligations like Martha had done, Mary kneeled before Christ, assuming the posture of a learning disciple. This upset Martha, as she interprets her sister’s refusal to help her in the kitchen as an insult towards Jesus, so Martha asks him, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.” Ironically, it isn’t Mary who has insulted Jesus, but it is Martha who has done so. By assuming Jesus doesn’t care about her emotions, Martha assumed that Jesus doesn’t care about his disciples. At this point, it is important to clarify that the problem at hand isn’t Martha’s hospitality, because surely Jesus appreciates this act of kindness, as he did in “The Parable of the Good Samaritan”. Although true hospitality can and should be valued, Martha’s hospitality seems insincere. Consumed by anxiety concerning her sister’s refusal to help her, Martha forgot the most important aspect of hospitality- paying attention to your guest. While Martha has chosen to focus on making a good meal and perform other house duties for Jesus, Mary chose to focus on “the better part” of hospitality, which, in this case, is focusing on Jesus