Not Ol' Blue Eyes

Luke 10:38-42 (NRSV)

Jesus Visits Martha and Mary

38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. 40 But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; 42 there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”

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In Luke’s story, our gospel reading for next Sunday, Proper 11, Jesus on his way to Jerusalem stops at the home of Martha and Mary. What may come to mind is the home of Lazarus and his sisters Martha and Mary, in Bethany just outside of Jerusalem; but that’s in the Gospel according to John, whose story is quite different. This is Luke’s story and Lazarus is not part of it. He doesn’t even live there.

Just before this, in our gospel for Proper 10, Luke has a lawyer ask Jesus how he can earn eternal life. Jesus asks the lawyer what he reads in the law. The lawyer summarizes the Law of Moses: love God and love neighbor, which Jesus affirms. The lawyer then asks, “Who is my neighbor?” (remember, Luke is developing his story), and Jesus answers with the Parable of the Good Samaritan, addressing the “neighbor part” of the Law of Moses. Some scholars say that in this next paragraph (verses 38-42) Luke is having Jesus address the “God part” of the love-God, love-neighbor law. That makes sense.

That makes sense, but it’s not absolutely clear, because Luke does not tell us what Jesus was talking about that was so spellbinding to Mary, we assume it was not “earthly things” but “things heavenly.” It would have been whatever Luke said, and he doesn’t say. I’m a bit distracted visualizing the scene where Martha is baking bread and roasting lamb in leeks, onions, potatoes, carrots, colorful slices of red bell pepper, and thick dark brown gravy for their dinner and the house is filled with the delicious aroma, and Mary won’t get up to set the table and open the bottle of shiraz as a gracious hostess ought to do. No wonder Martha is annoyed.

Why is Mary so entranced? One scholar said Mary has a crush on Jesus. That’s as unseemly as singing “The Rose” for the sequence hymn. It’s more reverent to say it’s because of his Word than because of his blue eyes; so let us assume Mary was taken with Jesus’ teaching about The Kingdom, as Luke no doubt means us to assume.

Or at least beyond reasonable doubt.

Unfortunately, the Church misses an opportunity to emphasize the gospel by prescribing a suitable Collect for the Day for Proper 11. They should have had us pray this:

Proper 20 Sunday closest to September 21

Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

However, we won’t pray that collect until Sunday, September 22.

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