I chose a passage that deals with women, a fairly well familiar passage, and we think we know what it means.
So I thought what I would do is to look at this passage with new eyes and ask ourselves, what is this passage saying?
And so if you turn to the back of the bulletin, I suggested four different ways of looking at this passage,
and let me assure you they're not exclusive.
It's not that if you hold to second view, then you can't hold to the third view or something like that.
It is an extremely rich passage, and it is dedicated to all the women in this congregation, and the men too.
It is the passage about Mary and Martha in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 10, verses 38 through 42.
So let me read this passage, and we'll ask God to help us see what it means.
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.
She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said.
But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be done.
She came to him and asked, Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself?
Tell her to help me.
Martha, Martha, the Lord answered, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed.
Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.
So to think about this passage, there are several things to notice.
First of all, there is something very, very interesting at the very beginning.
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home.
I find that rather amazing.
The reason for that is that we know from other passages that Mary and Martha also had a brother by the name of Lazarus.
Lazarus was the one who died, whom Jesus raised.
And then in John chapter 12, after the resurrection, after bringing Lazarus back from the dead,
they threw a banquet in honor of Jesus.
And as you read the passage there, which is not this event, but it's after the resurrection of Lazarus,
it's interesting enough that Martha is serving and Mary is at Jesus' feet.
And we see that happening here again.
Martha is serving and Mary is at Jesus' feet.
The question that I wonder is, why is it said, a woman named Martha who opened her home to him?
I find that rather strange.
Because if there is a son, if there is a boy, it is the boy who would inherit the house.
That house should be for Lazarus.
So to say that it is Martha's house means either that she worked hard in some business
and saved enough money and bought the house so that house was literally hers, not Lazarus'.
Not the one he would inherit when the parents die.
Or that maybe it was his house, but she's the older sister and she ran it.
And maybe she ran it with firm hands and managed the house.
But in any case, when we look at this incident, Mary is at Jesus' feet and Martha is working in the kitchen.
And two things we need to notice.
Mary, who sat at...
I'm sorry, verse 40.
But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.
Notice, she's not cutting the grass outside.
She's not rearranging the furniture.
She's not repairing the faucet.
She is making reparations that needed to be made.
So she's not wasting her time.
She has to do something.
She's not making reparations.
And then later on, Jesus says to her,
you are upset and worried about many things.
The question is, of course,
who decides what preparations need to be made?
Is it the rules of society?
When you invite people to your house,
this is how you should treat them?
Is it her own standards?
Is it her personality?
Who decides what needs to be made?
And who decides how many are many?
I asked a good friend of mine a question,
knowing very well that he is not a theologian.
And so I asked him, what did he think of this story?
The reason I asked him, and not some other friends
that I could have asked,
is that he is a chef in a restaurant.
He is in charge of all the cooking.
So I asked him, what do you think this passage is about?
He said, it depends on the kind of meal that you want to prepare.
That on occasions, on really special occasions,
if like a chairman of a company is eating at that restaurant,
they might ask for a five-course meal,
or a seven-course meal.
I want you to know I've never had a seven-course meal.
I think I had three, but not seven.
So he looked at this passage,
and he thought that when Jesus says,
you are worried and upset about many things,
but only one thing is needed,
he thinks that what Jesus is saying to Martha,
you don't have to do all this cooking,
just, you know, hamburgers.
That's enough.
You know, you don't have to have salad,
and soup,
and first-course appetizer,
and second-course appetizer.
Maybe Jesus is saying to her,
simplify it, you know,
just do one thing,
don't do everything.
That's the one thing that matters.
I'm not sure that I agree with him,
but that is probably the most interesting interpretation
of this passage I've ever heard.
And when I write a commentary on Luke,
which is not anytime soon,
I will incorporate it as a possibility.
Let's take a look at another part.
Look at verse 39,
second interpretation.
In this second interpretation,
she had a sister called Mary
who sat at the Lord's feet
listening to what he said.
She could have stood in the corner,
she could have stood in the back,
she could have stood next to the window,
but it is interesting enough
that she sat at Jesus' feet,
and Jesus didn't forbid her.
That's an awkward thing
to read about.
When I see this passage,
I see Mary doing something
that any good Jew would understand.
To sit at the master's feet
means you're the favorite disciple.
She is not even one of the twelve.
And yet she's taking the position
of the favorite disciple.
This, of course, raises the issue.
Is this story dealing with a very basic question?
Where is the place of women in society?
In our days,
we have probably thought a little bit more about this
than maybe 40 years ago
because of the rise of ISIS
and then trying to reinforce codes.
So in some places in the Middle East,
a woman cannot walk to the market alone.
If you walk to the market alone,
you get arrested by the police.
Therefore, a woman has to walk with her brother
or son or father.
A male has to escort a woman
if she wants to go shopping in the market.
Otherwise, it's a crime.
Women have to wear clothes,
clothing that covers from top to bottom.
So you can't exactly wear clothing
that only go up to your knees.
If you wear up to your knees,
you get arrested for violating clothing laws.
So as ISIS is trying to enforce
laws about the place of women,
we find that those laws are very, very strict,
much stricter than anything
that goes on in our West.
Try to think, for example,
of women cheerleaders in a basketball game
or in a football game
and think of the attire,
the clothes that they wear.
That would be unheard of
in a Muslim culture,
completely unheard of.
So the question is,
where is the place of the woman?
I remember an incident
from my childhood very, very well.
I mean, it was like a revolution.
It was like, you know, 1776.
The reason for that
is that we were a Christian home,
so we were not Muslims.
We were a Christian home.
And the thing that happened
is that whenever the family
got together to eat,
all of us would sit at the table
except my grandmother.
She would eat all by herself
in the kitchen
after everybody has eaten.
So she makes sure
that everybody is served,
and of course there is some food left,
but when she puts it on her plate,
she wouldn't come and sit with us.
She grew up in a culture
that said,
women, sit alone.
We're talking about even before,
you know, like 1870s,
when she was growing up.
And so she would sit alone,
and the rest of the family
would be eating at the table.
And one day my uncle
just lost his cool.
I mean, he,
my uncle,
the most easygoing person
I know in the world,
one of the kindest people I know,
who had enormous respect
for his mom,
left the table
and yelled at her
in the kitchen,
yelled and yelled.
And he said,
we have to stop this nonsense.
You're not going to eat here
while everybody's sitting there.
You will eat with us.
If you don't eat with us,
nobody will eat.
And we're all sitting there,
this is my uncle,
yelling, you know.
I mean, he wouldn't yell at the dog,
much less yell at his mom,
like that.
And from that day on,
she would eat with us.
He said that, you know,
maybe that was your cultural upbringing
in our house,
this is your place,
your place is with us,
not with eating alone.
I remember the second revolution
because my grandmother
was a little bit old.
She had a servant
who sat and took care of her.
That servant was not part of the family,
but she was her servant.
And so my dad,
not to be outdone by his brother,
went to the servant
and demanded that she has to sit
with the rest of the family.
And said,
but she's not family.
She's not Masu.
He said,
she is part of this household.
She is sitting with us.
when you read the New Testament,
one of the questions that arises,
what is the role of women?
And they are treated a lot better
than either the Roman culture
or the Old Testament culture.
you can see it in some small ways
that is telling us,
you know,
the church is changing drastically.
In the synagogue,
the woman would not sit with men.
You couldn't sit next to your husband
even if you wanted to.
All the women sat on one side,
all the men sat on the other side.
And therefore,
if the pastor said something
and you didn't understand
and you wanted to ask,
guess what you'd have to do?
Yell across the hallway,
you know,
the divide.
And so,
it turns out
that the New Testament
is saying
the woman's role
is more
than just in the kitchen.
maybe in Old Testament culture
they would have thought
that that's the place
of the woman.
And then you have two exceptions.
Deborah,
Ruth,
Esther.
But
when you think about it,
who is the first one
who saw the resurrected Lord Jesus?
Mary Magdalene,
a woman.
Who was the first convert
in Europe?
Lydia,
a woman.
Who supported Jesus
financially?
Women.
And now,
you see a woman
sitting at
Jesus' feet.
Jesus does not
call her
a disciple.
She is not
one of the twelve.
But
Jesus is
permitting her
to sit
and listen to him.
and Jesus
is elevating
the role
of woman
from just
a little bit
above a servant
to a full
citizen
in the kingdom.
That's why Paul,
for different reasons,
says there is neither
Jew nor Greek,
male nor female.
Of course,
there are differences
between male and female.
We all know that.
but he is saying
in relationship
to the church.
And so,
maybe this parable
is trying to say,
maybe this incident
is trying to
be part of
this larger package
that women
can do
other things
than just
work in the kitchen.
There is nothing
dishonorable about
working in the kitchen.
I don't want
anybody to think that.
But there is more
than just
working in the kitchen.
Maybe it's okay
for a woman
to study
God's word.
And if you believe that,
you should join
women's ministry
that was just
introduced
and announced earlier.
Maybe women
should be able
to talk to each other
about growing
in the Lord,
supporting each other,
endorsing each other,
walking side by side
with each other.
So,
a passage like this
means that
even women
are free
to have access
to God.
Knowing God
is not limited
to men.
Studying scriptures
is not limited
to men.
You may remember
a movie
a long time ago
by Barbara Streisand
called Yentl.
This woman,
a musical,
this woman
who could not
study
the Old Testament,
the law,
because in Jewish
schools,
women were not
allowed to be rabbis.
And so,
theological education
was closed
to them.
So,
Barbara Streisand
disguises herself
as a boy
to get
theological education.
and Jesus
saying,
there is no need
for that.
Women can have
access to God.
The third thing,
the third way
of looking
at this passage
is,
this is a special
event.
Jesus does not
live in Bethel.
He is not
their next door
neighbor.
He lives
in Galilee
and Bethel
is about two miles
away from Jerusalem.
So,
apparently,
he is on a visit
to or from
Jerusalem.
This is
a special
occasion.
This is
a special
occasion.
If he was,
if he lived
next door to them,
it wouldn't be special.
They could see him
every day.
But this is
a special occasion.
And so,
the question is,
what can you do
on special occasions
as opposed
to ordinary occasions?
I have never
come to this church
wearing a tuxedo.
The last time
I wore a tuxedo
happens to be
ten years ago.
In the last
ten years,
I have not
worn the tuxedo
once.
Maybe if I were
a professional musician,
I'd wear it
every weekend
when I'm working,
but I am not
a professional musician.
So,
I don't wear
tuxedos.
But I did wear
it ten years ago.
Do you want
to guess what
was happening
ten years ago?
My daughter
was getting married.
So,
I thought
for her sake,
I would do
something special.
But that's not
what I normally
wear.
I invited
350 people
to dinner.
I don't invite
normally
350 people
to dinner
ever.
I've only done it
once in my life.
not even
for my son's
wearing.
On special
occasions,
you do things
that are
different than
normal occasions.
On normal
occasions,
you worry about
food and you
worry about
many things,
but this is
a special
occasion.
But I am
not upset
with her.
Let me just
give you an
idea.
If you
want to
scare your
wife to
death today
and ruin
her day,
after church,
tell her,
honey,
I forgot
to tell
you,
I invited
13 people
to have
lunch with
us.
At home.
Jesus is
walking,
she invites
him to
her house.
no wonder
she panics.
She's not
just cooking
for herself,
Mary,
and Lazarus,
she's cooking
for all of
them.
And she's
scrambling to
try to find
food and
all of that.
But maybe
on special
occasions,
it's okay to
skip lunch.
Maybe on
special occasions,
it's okay
to do the
bare minimum
and sit
and listen
to Jesus
teaching.
Maybe that
is the one
thing that
matters most.
You don't
have Jesus
every day.
They certainly
didn't have
him every
day.
It was a
special occasion.
He was
visiting.
Which is
more important,
to wash
the dishes
or to
listen to
Jesus?
I would
like to
suggest a
fourth
interpretation.
question.
But again,
please keep
in mind,
these are
not
either or.
They're
not
either or.
They're
all valid.
Let me
suggest that
maybe we
started in
the wrong
place.
Maybe by
starting in
Luke 10.38,
that was the
wrong place
to start.
Maybe we
should have
started in
Luke 10.25.
So I'm
going to
go back
in the
chapter to
the earlier
starting point.
And so
turn with
me to
Luke 10.25.
It's a
familiar
passage.
One of the
most familiar
passages in
all of the
Gospels,
actually.
On one
occasion,
an expert
in the
law stood
up to
test Jesus.
Teacher,
he asked,
what must
I do to
inherit
eternal
life?
What is
written in
the law?
He replied,
how do
you read
it?
He
answered,
love the
Lord your
God with
all of
your heart
and with
all of
your soul
and with
all of
your strength
and with
all of
your mind
and love
your neighbor
as yourself.
These are,
of course,
the two
greatest
commandments.
You've
answered
correctly,
Jesus replied.
Do this
and you
will live.
But he
wanted to
justify himself,
so he
asked Jesus,
who is my
neighbor?
If the
commandment is
love your
neighbor as
yourself,
then who
is my
neighbor?
And what
happens next
is the
parable of
the good
Samaritan.
And it
ends with
the question,
who was a
neighbor to
this man?
And of
course,
it was the
good Samaritan
who took
care of
him.
So here
is a
wounded
person who
needs
help.
The good
Samaritan
sees him
and helps
him.
He was
the good
neighbor.
Look at
what's
happening
in verse
38.
As Jesus
and his
disciples were
on their
way, he
came to
a village
where a
woman named
Martha opened
her home
to him and
invited them
to stay and
to have
dinner.
What is
Martha doing?
She is
being, she
is illustrating
in the real
flesh and
blood a good
Samaritan.
Jesus is in
need, she
is helping
him out.
He needs
food, she
feeds him, he
needs shelter, she
provides him
shelter.
She is being
like the good
Samaritan.
She is loving
her neighbor as
herself.
But when I go
back to the
lawyer's answer,
the answer is
love the Lord
your God with
all of your
heart and with
all of your
soul and with
all of your
strength and
love your
neighbor as
yourself.
the parable of
the good
Samaritan
illustrates what
it means to
love your
neighbor.
What is it
like to love
God?
Jesus didn't
give us two
parables, he
only gave us
one parable.
And that
parable illustrates
loving your
neighbor.
What about the
first commandment?
Love God.
I think what
is happening in
this story about
Mary and
Martha is that
Martha in some
sense shows how
to love your
neighbor and
Mary shows how
to love God.
So that Mary and
Martha are designed
to balance each
other and to
illustrate this and
this.
Should we love
God or should we
love our neighbor?
both?
Both.
And so when we do
love God and we do
love our neighbor, both
of them are scriptural, but
loving God is first.
it is more important than
loving your neighbor
without minimizing that
loving your neighbor is
the second greatest
commandment.
And so I think this is
trying to give us
concrete example that
maybe in the business
of doing things,
helping your neighbor,
you know, in this area,
in that area, in the
other area, that in the
process of being very,
very busy about so many
things, you may forget
God.
And you need to stop
and say, God comes
first, I'm going to
listen to Jesus at his
feet, rather than keep
doing more good, busy
things.
And so the one thing
that I take is to
obey God, keeping in
mind that loving God is
the greatest commandment
and loving your neighbor
is your second greatest
commandment.
And we should keep both,
but remember which is
first.
Amen.
Let's have a word of
prayer.
Thank you, Father, for this
wonderful passage in
scriptures.
Thank you for two
wonderful sisters and
their brother, whom, in
whose lives you worked so
much and in the process
revealed a lot about
yourself.
Thank you because we have
passages like that to
remind us how to love you
and how to love our
neighbor.
Help us excel in both of
them, Father.
Help us to be godly
church.
In Jesus' name, amen.
Amen.