Martha and Mary
For centuries, Martha and Mary of Bethany, sisters of Lazarus whom Jesus raised from the dead, were given superficial interpretations by biblical scholars. In essence, Mary was treated as the "good" sister for paying attention to Jesus, while Martha was depicted as the "bad" sister for being more concerned about household tasks. However, new biblical scholarship has cast the two women in more complementary roles that nonetheless exhibit historic tensions regarding Christian practice.
The story of Martha and Mary has been one of tension since it was first told. According to New Testament Women, the 13th volume of The Storyteller's Companion to the Bible, the sisters are pitted against one another, competing for the attention of their teacher, Jesus. Unfortunately, this tension led to several variations of their story being transmitted. In particular, Martha and Mary's story has been used to demean so-called "women's work," according to New Testament Women.
What's even more frustrating, Martha and Mary are not mentioned in any documentation outside the New Testament. There are at least two reasons for their omission: they were not rich or powerful women with the means to have their lives recorded, and they were women in a male-dominated society that didn't value women's lives and work. An example of the latter can be found in the work Special Laws by the Jewish philosopher Philo: "The women are best suited to the indoor life which never strays from the house …"
The shorter version of Martha and Mary's story told in Luke 10:38-42 seems truncated when compared to the amplified version told in John 11:1-44 and 12:1-11. The brief Lucan version heightens the tension between the two women. Competent Martha, fulfilling the hospitality tasks required by both Middle Eastern culture and Judaism, comes off as a demanding shrew. In contrast, her sister Mary is often dismissed as a lazy dreamer even though Jesus commends her desire to learn from him.
The chapter on Martha and Mary in New Testament Women identifies Martha as the leader of a house-church, that is, someone who cares for the practicalities needed for Jesus and his disciples to meet at her home. The context of the scripture implies that she frequently welcomed traveling missionaries and gave them food, shelter and possibly even financial support.
In other words, Martha was one of the first church "administrators" (in Christian parlance, ad-minister is taken to mean "in the service of ministry"). Without women such as Martha to provide material support, scholars now recognize that the traveling ministry of Jesus and his followers could not have happened as effectively.
In addition, Martha also was identified as one of the first people to proclaim publicly that Jesus was the Messiah, the promised liberator of the Jews (John 11:27). Only a woman who had some standing in the community could have risked making such a statement, given the male-dominated Jewish, Roman and Greek cultures of the era, according to Dennis E. Smith, one of the editors of New Testament Women.
On the other hand, Mary represented the growing crowds of people who were responding to Jesus' teachings. Her attentiveness to Jesus as a guest in her home was not only an act of hospitality, but also a sign that she sought to understand his teachings before attempting to perform them. Scholars today propose this as a more accurate interpretation of Mary's role in the story.
In John's gospel, Mary is identified as the woman who anoints Jesus with costly perfume before his Crucifixion, and wipes his feet with her unbound hair. Biblical interpreters often refer to this act as "extravagant," especially given the way Judas Iscariot later criticizes the waste of the expensive ointment (John 12:48). However, only within the past century or so have scholars realized the added cultural significance of Mary's act.
In Middle Eastern cultures, a woman's hair is considered part of her sexuality, a social norm that persists today in Orthodox Jewish and Muslim societies through requirements that women wear head coverings. Therefore, a woman who exposes her hair to a man makes a sexual gesture toward him, according to historians.
In other words, Mary's act is first seen as a sexual overture to Jesus until he responds to Judas' criticism in John 12:7 by saying that Mary has anointed him for burial. Cleaning and anointing the dead for burial was another "women's task" left to wives, mothers, sisters, daughters and other females. Through this explanation of her action, Jesus identifies Mary as a sister, not a lover.
Unfortunately, early Christian male leaders often used the story of Martha and Mary to justify excluding women from performing public ministry, according to New Testament Women. It was quite all right for a woman to engage in a private act of "listening" to Jesus' teachings (Mary), but she was not to be allowed to perform public ministry and to demand support for it (Martha). This prejudice against women as public ministers still persists in some forms of contemporary Christianity.
In reality, Martha and Mary symbolize the complementary tension between the two parts of following Jesus' teachings: "doing" (Martha) and "being" (Mary). New Testament Women asserts that a more accurate understanding of Martha and Mary recognizes that both were early Christian leaders who welcomed disciples into their household, learned Jesus' teachings, and proclaimed and performed them for others.
The Storyteller's Companion to the Bible, Volume 13: New Testament Women, Dennis E. Smith and Michael E. Williams, Editors (Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1991)
The Oxford Annotated Bible with The Apocrypha, New Revised Standard Version (1994),Luke 10:38-44, John 11:1-44 and 12:1-8; text available at Oremus Bible Browser.
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Their Story Shows Tensions in the Church
The story of Martha and Mary has been one of tension since it was first told. According to New Testament Women, the 13th volume of The Storyteller's Companion to the Bible, the sisters are pitted against one another, competing for the attention of their teacher, Jesus. Unfortunately, this tension led to several variations of their story being transmitted. In particular, Martha and Mary's story has been used to demean so-called "women's work," according to New Testament Women.
What's even more frustrating, Martha and Mary are not mentioned in any documentation outside the New Testament. There are at least two reasons for their omission: they were not rich or powerful women with the means to have their lives recorded, and they were women in a male-dominated society that didn't value women's lives and work. An example of the latter can be found in the work Special Laws by the Jewish philosopher Philo: "The women are best suited to the indoor life which never strays from the house …"
The shorter version of Martha and Mary's story told in Luke 10:38-42 seems truncated when compared to the amplified version told in John 11:1-44 and 12:1-11. The brief Lucan version heightens the tension between the two women. Competent Martha, fulfilling the hospitality tasks required by both Middle Eastern culture and Judaism, comes off as a demanding shrew. In contrast, her sister Mary is often dismissed as a lazy dreamer even though Jesus commends her desire to learn from him.
Martha Led a House-Church
The chapter on Martha and Mary in New Testament Women identifies Martha as the leader of a house-church, that is, someone who cares for the practicalities needed for Jesus and his disciples to meet at her home. The context of the scripture implies that she frequently welcomed traveling missionaries and gave them food, shelter and possibly even financial support.
In other words, Martha was one of the first church "administrators" (in Christian parlance, ad-minister is taken to mean "in the service of ministry"). Without women such as Martha to provide material support, scholars now recognize that the traveling ministry of Jesus and his followers could not have happened as effectively.
In addition, Martha also was identified as one of the first people to proclaim publicly that Jesus was the Messiah, the promised liberator of the Jews (John 11:27). Only a woman who had some standing in the community could have risked making such a statement, given the male-dominated Jewish, Roman and Greek cultures of the era, according to Dennis E. Smith, one of the editors of New Testament Women.
Mary Was an Attentive Disciple
On the other hand, Mary represented the growing crowds of people who were responding to Jesus' teachings. Her attentiveness to Jesus as a guest in her home was not only an act of hospitality, but also a sign that she sought to understand his teachings before attempting to perform them. Scholars today propose this as a more accurate interpretation of Mary's role in the story.
In John's gospel, Mary is identified as the woman who anoints Jesus with costly perfume before his Crucifixion, and wipes his feet with her unbound hair. Biblical interpreters often refer to this act as "extravagant," especially given the way Judas Iscariot later criticizes the waste of the expensive ointment (John 12:48). However, only within the past century or so have scholars realized the added cultural significance of Mary's act.
In Middle Eastern cultures, a woman's hair is considered part of her sexuality, a social norm that persists today in Orthodox Jewish and Muslim societies through requirements that women wear head coverings. Therefore, a woman who exposes her hair to a man makes a sexual gesture toward him, according to historians.
In other words, Mary's act is first seen as a sexual overture to Jesus until he responds to Judas' criticism in John 12:7 by saying that Mary has anointed him for burial. Cleaning and anointing the dead for burial was another "women's task" left to wives, mothers, sisters, daughters and other females. Through this explanation of her action, Jesus identifies Mary as a sister, not a lover.
Martha and Mary Are Complementary Characters
Unfortunately, early Christian male leaders often used the story of Martha and Mary to justify excluding women from performing public ministry, according to New Testament Women. It was quite all right for a woman to engage in a private act of "listening" to Jesus' teachings (Mary), but she was not to be allowed to perform public ministry and to demand support for it (Martha). This prejudice against women as public ministers still persists in some forms of contemporary Christianity.
In reality, Martha and Mary symbolize the complementary tension between the two parts of following Jesus' teachings: "doing" (Martha) and "being" (Mary). New Testament Women asserts that a more accurate understanding of Martha and Mary recognizes that both were early Christian leaders who welcomed disciples into their household, learned Jesus' teachings, and proclaimed and performed them for others.
Sources:
The Storyteller's Companion to the Bible, Volume 13: New Testament Women, Dennis E. Smith and Michael E. Williams, Editors (Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1991)
The Oxford Annotated Bible with The Apocrypha, New Revised Standard Version (1994),Luke 10:38-44, John 11:1-44 and 12:1-8; text available at Oremus Bible Browser.
Comments?
Please post any comments on the article on Martha and Mary in this forum thread.
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