LUKE: 10:38-42 is an interesting, troubling passage for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is it is a story of hospitality, and the apparent breaking of the laws of hospitality – something not done in those days without serious consequences. In fact, that epic The Odyssey is all about good and bad hospitality, the worst being the Cyclops who didn’t serve his guests: he ate them.
Hospitality in the ancient world is the expectation of the host providing visitors with food and other refreshment, as well as a promise of safety for the evening. In return, the visitor guest would promise not to be a threat. The “laws of hospitality” extended to the next visitor as well, or when the visitor became the host, to his visitors. And so on.
When I heard this passage recently as the Gospel at Mass, I thought I should try to understand it more since it was about hospitality, and since explanations never really made sense to me. So I went to the original text to start as I usually do (King James Version). Here it is for your review:
LUKE: 10:38-42 ¶
38 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.
39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word.
40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.
41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:
42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
When I first re-read it (though I heard the story so many times before), I immediately thought of a song lyric this time: “Lazy Mary will you get up.” Perhaps that is where the song “Lazy Mary Will You Get Up” comes from I imagined (but probably not).
The original song is actually in Italian, and for anyone who saw Godfather, or attended an Italian wedding, is familiar with the tune:
C’è ‘na luna mezz’u mare, Mamma mia m’a maritare, Figlia mia a cu te dare, Mamma mia pensace tu
Many people also think it is simply a nursery rhyme, which is a dialog between a mother and daughter, the daughter who refuses to get up. The rhyme goes like this:
“Lazy Mary you better get up”, She answered back, “I am not able” “Lazy Mary you better get up, We need the sheets for the table”, “Lazy Mary you smoke in bed, There’s only one man you should marry, My advice to you would be, Is to pay attention to me”
I realized my imagination must be getting the better of me, so I returned to my analysis of Luke’s story, which always examines the words first, supplemented by references or other interpretations if required. That’s the way I was taught to read great literature: go to the original. The Bible is great literature.
Summary Analysis
Summarized, LUKE: 10:38-42 is a story about a woman named Martha who receives Jesus into her house. She has a sister, Mary, who instead of helping Martha around the house to serve guests, sits by Jesus’ feet listening to him preach. Martha asks Jesus to tell Mary to help her. Jesus answers her in a cryptic way, saying what makes the passage such a puzzle: “Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things. But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” And the story ends in effect with Jesus violating the laws of hospitality, or at least, redefining them. In essence, he said forget hospitality, and just listen to me.
Most of the homilies I’ve heard in my life around this story try to tell us that Mary is doing the right thing by listening to Jesus…that worrying about a lot of hospitality-related things doesn’t do you any good. But that’s too easy an explanation, so let’s dive into the original words, shall we? For example, how many people, exactly, where in that house to cause Martha to be “cumbered?”
Verse 38: ¶ Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.
Analysis. “They” is an important word in this sentence, implying more than one. “He” entered into a “certain village.” The question is, did “they” follow him? Or, did He and He alone enter the certain village?
The “he,” as we will find out as Luke’s story progresses, is Jesus. The “certain” village and “certain” woman are interesting adjectives. “Certain” can be “specific but not explicitly named or stated” or “known without doubt.” In this case, it means not explicitly named, except the writer, Luke, immediately names the woman “Martha” making it “behind doubt.” We never know the name of the village.
Saying she “received him” means she welcomes him into her home and is natural in the rules of hospitality. The assumption, however, is that where He went, they followed, so you have 13 people entering Martha’s house. There is no evidence for us to believe Jesus abandoned his apostles and started traveling alone.
Many people who try to explain this passage immediately go South by mixing up other narratives into it (John’s version of the Gospel in particular). Take Fr. Anthony Kadavil. Kadavil was ordained priest at 28 in 1967. He’s a smart guy (master’s degree in Botany in 1969). He has a homily ministry (Scriptural Homilies) since 2003 while he was the chaplain at Sacred Heart residence. He applies scientific methodology to the homily ministry. By word of mouth, it spread to hundreds of priests and Deacons, finally reaching Vatican Radio website (http://www.vaticannews.va/en/church.html).
He dove recently into Luke’s story and reflected and commented on the story, bringing out one of the primary problems with such interpretations: seeing things that aren’t there.
He says that the central theme in the reading is the importance of hospitality in Christian life and the necessity of listening to God before acting. But then he confuses the problem: do you have to listen to God before you practice hospitality? Hospitality isn’t just important in Christian life; it’s important in the ancient world (some people believe we can use a little more of it these days).
Kadavil states “The key to the Christian life is setting priorities: Jesus Christ first, then everything else” and that, “The only way really to learn that lesson is to spend some time every day, ‘sitting at the feet of Jesus.’”
Sounds simple enough. However, he then goes off the deep end saying, “The Gospel passage describes how Martha, a true child of Abraham, wanted to extend the traditional generous hospitality of her people to Jesus, the true Messiah, by preparing an elaborate meal for him, while her sister Mary spent her time in talking to him and listening to him.”
Where is the evidence for “elaborate meal?” Where, in fact, is evidence Martha is a “true child of Abraham?” Or that only Mary, and not Martha herself, was sitting listening to Jesus? Did you see anything in there alluding to this in the verse? The only adjective assigned to Martha is, “certain.”
Indeed, is Jesus the only one there? Kadavil goes on to say things like, “Martha a dynamo of action and Mary as a true listener to the word of God.” That’s just plain misleading if you read the passage carefully as we will be doing. Does that mean Martha isn’t a true “listener to the word of god?” So far, we only know Jesus and his band of apostles show up at Marth’s house.
The Laws of Hospitality
Hospitality is important because when you are received into a home, the laws of hospitality kick in, or should kick in. You can read an essay about it here. If you are really interested, there is a 96 page Baylor University study which, on page 51, you can find a discussion of this passage itself. It’s a quick read and will give you an overview of just how confusing the passage is going to become – unless you read it carefully for yourself.
One of the conclusions of the some of the studies, which follows what happened over the years in the discussions around these words of Luke, is that if you are going to understand it, you have to draw a “composite” of the two women: Martha and Mary. That is, they (to use today’s modern word) are blended (don’t you hate that word?) and that you can’t really separate them to understand what Luke is driving at.
But that’s not true.
People always read things into stories (i.e., Billy Budd was Christ), but interpretation should be followed by a true understanding of the original words themselves.
Consider the following finding from the Baylor study in light of the first verse:
“Theologians beginning with Augustine, Ambrose, and Gregory the Great would interpret Mary’s and Martha’s actions (and, by extension, the two women) as representing the crucial vita contemplativa (life of contemplation) and vita activa (life of action) respectively.”[1]
According to the authors of this essay, “These two activities—thoughtful action (like welcoming the stranger) and meditation on Scripture—are complementary. Discipleship requires both.”[2]
While that may be true, it doesn’t take away from the difficulty of this passage because that’s interpretation – something you CAN certainly do, but when you do that and leave the actual story, you will always run into trouble. So far, we have some people coming over to Martha’s house. No declaration of who they are.
Suffice to say that verse 38 establishes the scene: Some people arrive at Martha’s house and “they” enter it. If you never read before this passage, you don’t even know it’s Jesus entering the house. He never announces himself. Let’s continue the discussion.
Verse 39: ¶ And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word.
Analysis. The pronoun “she” is Martha. The phrase “which also sat at Jesus; feet” implies that there are others sitting at his feet besides Mary. This could or could not include Martha herself, and the implication is that Martha was, in fact, doing just that – sitting at the feet of Jesus listening along with “they” – the others. There is no evidence prior to that of Martha was doing anything else (i.e., including following the laws of hospitality). That verse summarized is that they listened to Jesus’ feet, and now we know it is, in fact, Jesus.
This verse 39 in the story is simple to understand; it continues the narrative by saying that Jesus was preaching (his word) and that people, including Mary, Martha’s sister, were listening (heard his word). The word “word” is important instead of “words.” Writers of the Bible were exact; each word was carefully chosen. That is why it is important to read often, and read carefully, especially these short passages.
What Jesus was talking about is not made clear to us by Luke. Writers, including the writers of the Gospel, never do things without a reason. It is up to the readers to try to understand why they do or do not do certain things (i.e., tell us what Jesus was saying). In this case, what Jesus was talking about was probably not important to the story. Luke doesn’t tell us what the “word” was. But we can conclude that both Martha and Mary were listening (along with the others, i.e., “they”) the way the sentence is written. The words “also sat” after saying Mary was sitting indicate this clearly. That is, if Mary “also sat,” there were others sitting.
Verse 40: ¶ But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.
Analysis. This verse begins the conflict of the story and requires careful study.
It becomes immediately obvious that since the last verse, something changed: Martha is in conflict. All writers know this: you can’t have a good story without conflict. Martha has been listening, but now “was cumbered about much serving.” In other words, “much serving” began to bother Martha. It “hindered” her. It’s her house; the laws of hospitality dictated she has to do something, not just sit there and listen to “the word.”
And who wouldn’t be cumbered in her position? In addition to her sister, there are 12 men there plus Jesus himself, made clear by Luke earlier with the “they” word.
In fact, ever since Jesus picked up Simon with John and James in 5:10 to follow him, between that verse and 6:13 he is gathering a lot of disciples around him. But in 6:13 (four chapters prior to the one we are looking at), Jesus picks only 12 from all of them who become “apostles.[3]” And these 12 follow him – everywhere – unless he told them not to[4].
When the words “much serving” are used, with at least 14 people to serve, it’s totally understandable why Martha is “cumbered.” Wouldn’t you be cumbered you if you had to serve14 people by yourself?
Martha “came to him.” This implies that Martha was already serving, so she must have left “the feet” of Jesus some time before and started the hospitality. If she “came” to him, she wasn’t “with him.” The situation required getting some help.
Providing help is a central theme of this passage.
When we need help, we often turn to God. Martha does the same thing, starting her plea with the word, “Lord.” She knows who she is talking to.
Consider this: Martha is the host; it is her responsibility to provide hospitality. So, when things are starting to get beyond her control, she “came to him” to get the help. We hear her “prayer” when she says out loud:
“Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone?”
Interesting in many ways. First, when Martha asks Jesus if he cares. In strife, that is usually the plea to God, isn’t it? Martha is VERY human. And what should Jesus care about? That “my sister has left me to serve alone.” In other words, her sister is not following the laws of hospitality and helping her “do the right thing.” But the way it is worded – her sister has left her to serve alone – has an implication that Mary may have, in fact, been helping her, but stopped to listen more to Jesus. Or, it could mean she never left the feet of Jesus. In either case, Martha is asking Jesus if he doesn’t care.
Charging God of not caring is a serious thing. We are taught that God (Jesus) is all-caring, always. He cared so much that He sent his Son to die for our sins. All our sins. And now Martha is complaining about a tiny thing like hospitality. But of course, the story of Jesus is unfolding in front of Martha; he hasn’t died yet.
But then, she does something that again, we all seem to do when we are in conflict: she tells Jesus what to do.
“bid her therefore that she help me.”
Extraordinary. But understandable. Martha is very human. When things aren’t going well, she cries out to God, “Don’t you care?” Then like humans, she tells God what to do to alleviate her plight. And, as we find out in the next part of the story, as in real life, you can’t tell God what to do. You can try, but…
One of the questions that is interesting is why didn’t Martha herself order Mary to help? She’s her sister; Martha clearly has the “leadership” role. Who is to say she didn’t? And would Mary listen to Martha over Jesus? Highly doubtful.
But my question is actually a complex question. The fact that she tells Jesus to “bid” Mary to help her might mean that she recognizes his higher authority, and that coming from him, it would mean more. Or it might mean that she knows that if she ordered Mary, it wouldn’t work because no one has the right to trump the Jesus.
Perhaps she knows that what Jesus is talking about, in fact, takes precedence over the laws of hospitality. It’s difficult to say. But we see Martha in a very human condition: things spinning out of control, and the cry to God for help.
Fortunately, because this is a story by Luke, we hear the answer from Jesus. It’s not that we don’t hear it when we ourselves cry out; we probably don’t listen close enough! In fact, God answers us as he did Martha, as the story will reveal by telling us that ultimately, everything is “your choice.” God never tells anyone what to do. Never did. People make choices, and choices have consequences.
Moreover, this is also one of the most overlooked parts of this story when discussing it: Martha’s inability or unwillingness to tell her sister to help her.
Asking God To Do Things
Martha puts a question to Jesus, followed by a direct command on what she wants Him to do.
There are 166 questions in Luke, of which this is one (don’t you care?”). In fact, there are a lot of questions in the Bible – over 3,300 to be precise. That’s because the Bible is a learning document…questions and answers to questions in order to help people figure things out.
So, it is not uncommon for people to question Jesus, or God in the old testament. Some of the most famous questions are put to Jesus, aren’t they (i.e., Are you the king of the Jews?).
But the answers people receive from Jesus are often mysterious, parables, left to interpretation. Indeed, the first question in the Bible is (of course it had to be) from the serpent in Genesis 3:1. “NOW the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” We know the outcome, and it’s God himself who asks the next questions. Firs to Adam (“Where art thou?”) and the next also to Adam (“Who told thee that thou wast naked?”). Questions lead to answers. It’s our inability to accept the answers that often leads to trouble.
Which is all good because of the gift of freedom of choice we have, isn’t it? Choice runs rampant in the Bible, and choice ALWAYS involves a question. So, when Martha asks Jesus her question, he answers her.
Verse 41: And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:
Analysis. Jesus is one of those great if not the greatest Empaths who ever lived. He understands everything (after all, he’s God). So, He starts by telling Martha she is “careful.” What a compliment to someone trying to fulfill the laws of hospitality!
But before that, he says her name – twice! What did Dale Carnegie say about a person’s name? “A person’s name is to that person, the sweetest, most important sound in any language.”[5] Of course he was talking about remembering the names of customers or prospects being critical to ongoing professional success. But Jesus says her name twice! Respectfully, he is doing that to emphasize what he is about to say. Repetition of a name is usually almost always done when you don’t believe that that person is doing – or saying. My mother used to say, “Jimmy, Jimmy” and then tell me what I was doing wrong.
And, Jesus is saying that being careful, attentive, are attributes that say a lot about a human being. It’s a statement. But He also tells her she is “troubled about many things.” That wasn’t hard to figure out based on her prior reaction to Jesus. She’s trying to be the perfect host, and it’s not working out. So, Jesus first establishes empathy with Martha, and then delivers the moral to the story in the final verse of the passage – the one that upon an initial reading has sparked all the subsequent discussions.
Verse 42: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
Analysis. Jesus begins with the word “But.” That is really an important word. With that word, he acknowledges that Martha is careful, and troubled about a lot of things, “but” something else is needed. Note that he doesn’t say she should stop what she is doing. He’s not saying Martha shouldn’t be troubled about the situation. What He is saying with the “but” is that Martha needs to consider one more thing.
“Thing” is such an interesting word isn’t it? Dictionaries define it this way: “an object that one need not, cannot, or does not wish to give a specific name to.” Or “an inanimate material object as distinct from a living sentient being.” Part of the mystery of Jesus is that he is often not specific, as in this case with the word “thing.” He tells Martha that the thing is needful. Which means it’s necessary. And that this thing that is necessary is a “good part.”
The word “part” is also critical to understanding the story. Part means “some but not all of something.” In this case, there is an adjective – good – is applied to part. This must mean there is a bad part somewhere too. Is Jesus saying like so many people who interpret this passage that what Martha is doing is bad and what Mary does is good? In other words, just listen to him and everything will take care of itself?
I highly doubt it. Jesus is simply giving Martha a piece of advice: take it easy. It will all work out.
When he adds that the “good part” shall not be taken away from her, the story ends.
Taking it Easy
Let’s review briefly, shall we?
After Jesus and his crew arrive, the laws of hospitality kick in. Martha tries to serve and asks Jesus to tell Mary to help, but Jesus doesn’t. Instead, He says you (Martha) worry a lot about things, but Mary has chosen something that is not only needful, but that “shall not” be taken away from her.
If we could figure out “the thing,” everything would become clear. So, the question really is, why does Jesus speak in riddles? Or does he?
Other questions arise:
- Why didn’t he tell Mary to get busy and help her sister, Martha?
- Why didn’t Mary herself realize her sister needed help?
- Why didn’t the guests chip in?
- What was Jesus trying to tell us?
One is reminded of the passage from the Sermon on the Matthew 6:26-27:
{6:26} Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? {6:27} Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
This is what makes the Luke passage so difficult to understand. Jesus is saying that birds don’t do much, yet the Father feeds them. Is the implication that people should be like birds, like Mary? Is he saying that this “thing” that is needful, the “good part” is what? What DOES Mary choose?
On the contrary, this is a beautiful story that basically is about not stressing out. Martha should have ordered her sister to help her, not ask God to do it. When things pile up on us, we should ask for help. Asking God to help isn’t the answer: he gives us the choice to help ourselves and each other.
Stress
Cleveland Clinic says that stress is the body’s reaction to any change that requires an adjustment or response. If you think about it, your body is changing all the time, reacting all the time. They continue their definition by saying, “The body reacts to these changes with physical, mental, and emotional responses.” But they also say stress is a normal part of life. “You can experience stress from your environment, your body, and your thoughts. Even positive life changes such as a promotion, a mortgage, or the birth of a child produce stress.[6]
And trying to follow the laws of hospitality.
Interpretations from St; Augustine to Fr. Kadavil really are misleading in the sense that they try to separate the contemplative life from the life of action. In human beings, they are intertwined. One of the great art directors I had the privilege of working with said this about multi-tasking: “You can only do one thing at a time. You can think about a lot of things, but you really can’t do a lot of things at the same time.”
Essentially, that’s the key: when you are thinking, you are not doing, and when you are doing, you are not thinking. Jesus was telling Martha “the thing” can’t be taken away; your thoughts can’t be taken away. Of course, they can, when you are doing something. The actions trump the thought. And likewise, thought trumps action.
But actions have always spoken louder than words. You have to think about what you are doing, but when you are doing, you shouldn’t really be thinking about other things.
So ends the lesson.
Let me know what you think (no pun intended). And when you feel stress next time, get up and do something. Don’t complain to God or anyone else.
[1] Host and Guest, by Heidi J Hornik and Mikeal C. Parsons in Hospitality, Christian Reflection published quarterly by The Center for Christian Ethics at Baylor University.
[2] Ibid.
[3] {6:13} “And when it was day, he called [unto him] his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles; {6:14} Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, {6:15} Matthew and Thomas, James the [son] of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes, {6:16} And
Judas [the brother] of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.”
[4] {26:36} Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.
[5] Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People.
[6] https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/11874-stress.