Luke 10:38-42

Introduction: Mary & Martha: Revisited

For many of us, the story of Jesus’ interaction with Mary and Martha is quite familiar. Most of us know that Mary was praised for sitting at Jesus’ feet, whereas Martha was rebuked for focusing on chores. A deeper look at the context of the passage presents a different, more nuanced picture of this well-known scene. 

For example, many interpreters of the Bible, pastors included, have argued that the moral of this story is to be “like Mary,” the faithful proto-Christian and not like “Martha,” the busybody. This isn’t completely wrong, but it lacks a fuller picture of the cultural dynamics at work in this setting-setting up Martha as a pseudo-villain. By understanding some of the contextual details, we arrive…