After a full year of holy anticipation, Lent Madness returns for another season of saintly thrills and spills! Whether this is your tenth year engaging in the annual saintly smackdown or your first, we're delighted you'll be spending a portion of your Lenten journey among us. Along the way there will be debates, ire, angst, rejoicing, laughter, and holy trash talking. Just remember, it’s all in the spirit of this holy season specifically set aside to grow closer to God through our relationship with Jesus Christ.
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Lent Madness 2019, or Lent Madness X as we've been calling it, kicks off with a battle between two Biblical heavyweights as we settle, once and for all, the age old question: Mary vs. Martha. And before you say it, of course it's not fair! It's not called Lent Madness for nothing.
So, hang onto your halos, friends, and prepare yourselves for another wild ride of saintly action. Away we go!
Mary of Bethany
Mary of Bethany lived in first-century Bethany with her sister, Martha, and her brother, Lazarus, as we are told in the Gospel of Luke. Along with her siblings, she was among the very first to believe in Jesus.
Luke recounts the famous story of Jesus having supper at the sisters’ house, where Martha, concerned with getting the food on the table, asks Jesus to scold Mary for her apparent lack of concern. It’s notable that Mary is described as sitting at Jesus’ feet while Martha serves; usually only the male students of rabbis sat at the feet of their teachers. For Mary to do so is highly unusual for an unmarried woman—possibly why Martha gets antsy about it. But Jesus declines to chide Mary for what she has done, declaring that in her discipleship, she has “chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”
The Gospel of John also gives us a few more glimpses of Mary of Bethany. John explicitly links Mary with the woman who washes Jesus’ feet with her hair. At Lazarus’s death, both Mary and Martha race out into the street to greet Jesus when he finally comes, and Mary chastises him, echoing her sister’s words, saying “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” At her declaration, Jesus is moved to tears.
It is clear that Jesus is quite close with this family. Through contextual clues, we can tell that the family must have been fairly well-to-do, given the sisters’ independent status and ability to support Jesus’ ministry. They seem to own their house and are able to provide a separate burial site for their brother (somewhat rare—and not cheap.). We also have John’s story of Mary spending more than 300 denarii (equivalent to 300 days of wage for a laborer) on pure spikenard to anoint Jesus.
Later church tradition treated Mary as it treated many of the other women of the gospel; it elided her story into that of an Everywoman who is remarkable mostly in her blandness. The few stories that survive in the West often conflate her with Mary Magdalene. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, her uniqueness survives, and with her sister and Mary Magdalene, Mary of Bethany is remembered on the third Sunday of Easter as one of the Myrrh-Bearing Women—the first to recognize the risen Christ.
Collect for Mary of Bethany
O God, heavenly Father, your Son Jesus Christ enjoyed rest and refreshment in the home of Mary and Martha of Bethany: Give us the will to love you, open our hearts to hear you, and strengthen our hands to serve you in others for his sake; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Martha of Bethany
The iconic Martha of Bethany is the hero of faithful pragmatics and doers, though she gets a bad rap for being less contemplative than her sister. When Jesus visits her house, Mary sits at his feet, but Martha feels the burdens of her role as hostess and works in the kitchen, resentful that Mary isn’t helping. When she complains, the Lord answers, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted about many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.” Because of this anecdote, Martha is seen to symbolize worldly concerns while her sister Mary focuses on the spiritual. When Jesus asks someone to open the tomb of her days-dead brother Lazarus, the heartbroken Martha stays true to her practical nature, responding, “Lord, already there is a stench.”
Although not expressly mentioned in the gospels, the Orthodox tradition honors both Martha and Mary as among the followers of Jesus who stood at Golgotha to witness the crucifixion, and later carried myrrh to his tomb to anoint the body. Thus they are counted among the first witnesses of the resurrection. This tradition also holds that Martha fled persecution in Judea with Lazarus, joining him as a missionary abroad until he became a bishop in Cyprus, where all three siblings eventually died.
According to the Golden Legend, a medieval hagiography (writing about the lives of the saints), the siblings were of noble birth. Martha put her aristocratic hostess skills to use for Jesus because, “She thought that all the world was not sufficient to serve such a guest.” The same legend holds that the family arrived in France miraculously via a ship without oars or sails to preach the gospel. The eminently practical Martha tamed a Galician dragon, “half beast and half fish, greater than an ox, longer than a horse, having teeth sharp as a sword, and horned on either side, head like a lion, tail like a serpent.” Afterward Martha lived a life of daily devotion in France until she died. A tomb in the Collegiate Church of Tarascon purportedly contains her relics.
Martha’s feast day is July 29, and she is patron saint of cooks, dietitians, domestic help, housekeepers, servants, and waitpersons. And of course, she is admired by pragmatics, doers, and practitioners of common sense.
Collect for Martha of Bethany
O God, heavenly Father, your Son Jesus Christ enjoyed rest and refreshment in the home of Mary and Martha of Bethany: Give us the will to love you, open our hearts to hear you, and strengthen our hands to serve you in others for his sake; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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537 comments on “Mary of Bethany vs. Martha of Bethany”
I’ve never heard of this before. I’ll play along. I voted for Mary because I think Martha’s story is a little inflated. I think her ego was too.
As a rector, I was frustrated time after time by the Marthas who HAD to clean up right after the meal when the bishop or another guest had come to sit and talk with us. Yes, there needs to be puttering in the kitchen at some point, but it's in service of the important conversation that's goin on in another room. Insisting that the work matters more than the main event is insulting to the speaker and makes sure that those in the kitchen don't have to learn anything new and uncomfortable. I get it - I feel more important when people are depending on me than when I'm sitting and learning. But really! I prefer to be Martha, but I'm voting for Mary because she DID get it right.
“Being a Martha in a Mary World” (and, Yes, it is also the name of a very good book) I had to vote for Martha!
Good start to Lent Madness!
Sorry folks, I meant to write “Being a Mary in a Martha World!”
I was busy in the kitchen while trying to write the first comment .....
strike that... it’s Mary in a Martha World.
Working with Fr. Keating on Hospitality now through Easter! Martha had the ultimate hospitality - herself for Christ.
I'm a Martha hands down! I've even read the insightful book "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World" by Joanna Weaver. While I aspire to be more Mary-like each day - I was pleasantly surprised and moved to hear how Martha navigated through her life after Jesus' resurrection. That's what did for me - Martha got my vote!
I am furious that these sisters have been pitted against each other because it reinforces what I think are misunderstandings about them and this story that Jesus tells. As I read the comments, they seem to bear this out. Seems like a Myers Briggs shootout.
Are there not enough days in lent to individually present them with their virtues? In Jesus day, women did not commonly sit in on teachings. So that is part of the Hidden narrative.
Ironically, I am about to go to an altar Guild retreat day as a visitor. I am quite excited about experiencing the program, which includes spiritual and practical aspects, as does life as a Christian. Whew. Now I feel better.
I did like the essays about each woman. I am not voting today.
"a Myers Briggs shootout": "like"
Martha all the way! Not only am I a Martha in name, but also in spirit (sometimes I wish for a bit more Mary in me, without working at it...). Also, the commentators neglected to mention Martha's great proclamation in John 11:27: "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God", one of the first to truly recognize Jesus as the Messiah
I voted Maru, because "I have a Mary mind.
"Kitchen Prayer" by Klara Munkres
Lord of all pots and pans and things
Since I’ve not time to be
A saint by doing lovely things or
Watching late with Thee
Or dreaming in the dawn light or
Storming Heaven’s gates
Make me a saint by getting meals and
Washing up the plates.
Although I must have Martha’s hands,
I have a Mary mind
And when I black the boots and shoes,
Thy sandals Lord I find.
I think of how they trod the earth,
What time I scrub the floor
Accept this meditation Lord,
I haven’t time for more.
Warm all the kitchen with Thy love,
And light it with Thy peace
Forgive me all my worrying and make
My grumbling cease.
Thou who didst love to give men food,
In room or by the sea
Accept this service that I do,
I do it unto Thee.
I mean Mary!! Phat fingers.
Love it!
Voted for Martha. That’s me for the next 2 days. I’ll have 3 house guests and as much as I’d relish “being remarkable for her (Mary) blandness”, I’ll be unremarkable for cleaning and getting food on the table. Makes me laugh to picture my guests telling everyone how remarkable I was (not) if I didn’t offer them food, etc.
I feel I must vote according to my introverted, contemplation-loving self and vote for Mary. Who am I to dilute Jesus’ assessment of “the better part”?
Dispute, not dilute...
I have a couple questions that I hope someone can answer.
The write-up on Martha of Bethany includes both "[Martha joined] him as a missionary abroad until he became a bishop in Cyprus, where all three siblings eventually died." and "Afterward Martha lived a life of daily devotion in France until she died." Which is correct? Where did Martha die?
Lazarus left Bethany after his resurrection and went to Cyprus because “the chief priests decided to kill Lazarus as well (as Jesus), since it was on his account that many of the Jews were leaving them and believing in Jesus.” [John 12:10-11]. I believe Martha and Mary went with him. Is this correct?
Thanks!
(As you might guess, I voted for Martha. I get caught up in the practical details of things.)
What a tough way to begin, dividing the sisters the Bible and church has kept together all these years. The SEC at their fiendish best. After agonising over two remarkable women, I finally opted for Mary for her willingness to challenge societal norms.
Just be. Mary chose the better part. I voted for Mary.
First year participant
aaaarrrrgh! You're doing this on purpose! My brain hurts already. What a good woman was/is Martha! I'm voting for Mary. So THERE! I made the decision to sit at the Lord's feet and putter in the interims.
I love them both but my sister is the Mary and I'm the Martha.
I am a Mary at heart. Forced to do Martha things, but always a Mary ! Happy Lent Madness everyone!
I voted for Martha. Ever since I was young, I have always related to her and understood her feelings of unfairness pertaining to workload. Who knew that the 80/20 rule comes straight from the Bible?!
I voted for Mary because dishes can wait. I love to be a hostess, but sometimes you just need to sit and listen.
You visit my house, I make sure you eat.
I voted for Martha because God forgives even us worrywarts.
Come on, Mary!!!
A tough choice because both types are needed in our world to impact the kingdom. I went with Mary because she encourages me to give my heart first to have the strength and will to do.
Hard choice, but I voted for the one whose name I have. As Jesus said, she chose the better part. (Actually, that fact opens some gender-related theological issues.) And maybe, because of what Martha said, she washed the dishes after the guests left.
I voted for Martha. If Mary had helped her, they both could have sat down and listened to Jesus.
While often leaning into being "a Martha", I voted for Mary.
As an EfM mentor and a woman... I'm drawn into the aspect of Mary where she was active in wanting to learn and sitting in a place women did not sit in that time and place.
Nothing like a little sibling rivalry to start things off!
Go Mary!
I love Martha -she did a thankless job, but still did it. Women everywhere know what it is like to hear that their work isn't important, and I think she gets a bad wrap as a worry wort when really she was doing as the book of James said we must -showing her faith through service. And let's not let us overlook that after Lazarus died she went out to Jesus while Mary stayed home, and that Martha boldly proclaimed him to be the Messiah. Also, she totally killed a dragon in France. 😉
As an Altar Guild directress, I really had no choice. Team Martha. But I do encourage the inner Mary in all trainees.
Martha! When we studied the sisters in Bible Study, I ran across this poem by Kipling that perfectly explains why I voted for her:
http://www.kiplingsociety.co.uk/poems_martha.htm
Wow! I just read it- so true! Thank you.
I think this when reading the passage of Jesus healing Peter's mother-in-law. After she is healed, she gets up and makes them a meal. Why doesn't Peter make the meal and let his mother-in-law rest?