Daily Excerpt: A Woman's Guide to Self-Nurturing (Romer) - Mary and Martha
Today's excerpt comes from A Woman's Guide to Self-Nurturing by Joanna Romer.
Mary and Martha
“Now it came to pass, as they went, that
he entered into a certain village, and a certain woman named Martha received
him into her house.
And
she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his
word.
But
Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost
thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore
that she help me.
And
Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled
about many things:
But
one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be
taken away from her.”
-Luke 10: 38-42
Reading
this, we may become a bit irritated at first, in several different directions.
If you’re like me, you might feel a stab of impatience: “C’mon, Martha, are you
really going to tattle-tale on your sister to Jesus?” Then the expected
sympathy for poor Martha rushes to the fore, and we feel her frustration, stuck
with all the work while Mary sits around and soaks up Jesus’ teaching.
That’s
the expected reaction. That’s why this parable is in the Bible—and it is a
parable, don’t forget. A parable is a story or anecdote used to teach important
moral or universal truths. It is a type of analogy where the characters and
actions in the story really stand for or represent something else in a sort of subtext.
So
Jesus is not really telling you that it’s okay to let your sister do all the
housework while you go out and play. The story means much more than that,
particularly in the light of self-nurturing.
I
believe that Mary and Martha are the two sides to all of us: the side that
seeks freedom and release from conventional life (Mary), and the side that is
bound by what appears to be required of women (Martha) to the point where
Martha has lost her feelings of self-worth and is obliged to appeal to the
Master for help.
This
is a good thing, appealing to the Master. When the demands of a woman’s life
become so great that she simply can’t stand it anymore, what can she do? Turn
to God. Jesus, embodying the spirit of God, or the Christ, has compassion for
Martha. He sees she is “troubled about many things” (not just serving the tea),
and he sympathizes. He tells her (and us) to honor the “Mary” side of her
being, the side that is not so concerned with keeping the house clean and the
guests entertained—or what people will think. He recommends turning inside, to
the “good part,” the love, joy, gladness, compassion, and gratitude we all
need, and building it up—any way we can. Even if it means neglecting
some of the so-called responsibilities women are usually saddled with:
maintaining the perfect house, perfect job, perfect social life, and perfect
family, and taking care of everybody else’s needs at the expense of their own
desire for peace and understanding.
In
a sense, then, the Mary and Martha parable is a story of women’s liberation, a sanction
for women to look after their own needs once in a while—especially if those
needs include nurturing the strong inner core of a joyous spiritual life.
For more posts on Joanna and her books, click HERE.
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