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| Image by M's Photography |
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A Greeting
O God, I love the house in which you dwell,
and the place where your glory abides.
(Psalm 26:8)
A Reading
When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha said to him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’ She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.’ When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, ‘The Teacher is here and is calling for you.’ And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved.
(John 11:16-30;32-33)
Music
Meditative Verse
And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are careful and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part.
(Luke 10:41-42a KJV/NKJV)
A Reflection
Christians must bear the burden of one another. They must suffer and endure one another. Only as a burden is the other really a brother or sister and not just an object to be controlled. The burden of human beings was even for God so heavy that God had to go to the cross suffering under it. God truly suffered and endured human beings in the body of Jesus Christ. But in so doing, God bore them as a mother carries her child, as a shepherd the lost lamb.
- from A Year With Dietrich Bonhoeffer:
Daily Meditations from His Letters, Writings and Sermons
Verse for the Day
Cast your burden on God, and God will sustain you.
(Psalm 55:22)
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| Image by Dana Sibera |
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In today’s two readings, we find some of the most vivid expressions of Mary and Martha and the roles they played in the life of Jesus. Martha is often considered as the more practical sibling, with a focus on household and hospitality; while Mary is characterized as the more spiritual and humble sister. These assumptions may derive in the main from the Luke 10 scene, in which Martha challenges Jesus to redirect Mary's attention from him to her own need of help. That passage makes plain that Jesus was with the family often and was as familiar as a brother to the sisters. The King James Version of Luke 10 quoted above is closer to the Greek and emphasizes the "caring" of Martha; the “good” not “better” aspect of Jesus’ response to her. Jesus recognizes the significance in what both women are doing; he hears Martha. In the John reading, in which Jesus has delayed responding to the sisters' petition to help Lazarus, we see a deeper mix of character and emotion. Both women are unhappy with Jesus’ delay in responding to the call to come. Here it is Mary who stays away from greeting him and then, when she does go, challenges him. It is Martha who in the same moment of her disappointment, also knows that Jesus has the capacity to heal even now. She acknowledges Jesus as the Messiah. Mary is forthright and strong: she does what she most wants to do in each story, and also in the story of the nard, even when it risks the reputation of the family. Both women are human, both women have grace and strength and moments of self-indulgence and uncertainty.
Just as we may reduce biblical characters to hard-boiled qualities, so sometimes we reduce our own loved ones in our minds to the qualities we have found endearing or frustrating over the years. In doing so, we may entrap them in our own perceptions. We say “that’s just how they are” and perhaps miss an opportunity to really listen. In setting out the table, we will sometimes arrange our perceptions of personality in such a way as to “manage” them, for ourselves and for others. In doing so, we may miss a chance for deeper connections among us. Equally, we ourselves may feel trapped by the way our families and friends perceive us. In today’s music, the melody is passed back and forth: one artist supports the other and then it is returned so often and so fluidly that it is hard to determine who has it. This kind of harmony is perhaps a more authentic picture of Mary and Martha, whose summary impact on the life, well being and comfort of Jesus cannot easily be calculated or imagined. In his place among the family of Bethany and among us too, Jesus knows exactly who we are in our deepest hearts and loves every part of us. He sees our frailty and our passion; our selfishness and our capacity for service. How can we in turn, plan our gatherings and feasts so that we might dismantle the prejudices we carry, and hear our loved ones with new ears? How can you prepare your heart to see those gathered around your table as Jesus does?
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LC† Gathered at the Table is a project of
Lutherans Connect / Lutheran Campus Ministry Toronto,
supported by the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada.
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