Sunday 21st July "Martha Ministers eh?" (Luke 10:38-42)

Mary and Martha are stressed out with all the work they have to do. Jesus has arrived, probably with an entourage who are no doubt hungry. This small passage has created much interest from biblical scholars over the years. For some, it suggests that Jesus is favouring prayer and reflection over action. For others, it justifies the role of women in the church as concerned with hospitality. Many would disagree, and see Mary’s place at Jesus’ feet as a clear sign of a disciple learning from their teacher. Luke places a special emphasis in his Gospel on the wider circle of Jesus’ disciples, and names the women who followed him.

Luke also uses a specific word to refer to the ‘many tasks’ that Martha was concerned about: diakonia – a word that he uses elsewhere in Luke and Acts to refer to ministry and service in a community. It is from this word that we get the word ‘deacon’. Whatever interpretation we want to make, this is a beautiful passage about service, the importance of prayer, discipleship and ministry in all its forms. When we are so bogged down in the craziness around us, Jesus is clear about the way forward. First, sit and listen to him. This is good advice. Then we may be better prepared for the challenges that we face, whether they be in our homes or our wider communities.

Outsider teaches the insider what the insider should have known - the Good Samaritan

Parables are never what they seem. They have a clever way of causing confusion and forcing you to figure out what is really going on beneath the surface. The Samaritan, an outcast, is made the hero of this story. This would have caused outrage amongst those who heard the parable. The oil and the wine have a significant part to play as the priest and Levite may have had such items with them for making sacrifices in the Temple. It is, however, the Samaritan who offers correct worship to God as he uses the oil and wine to clean the man’s wounds. Jesus spoke about a God who was not concerned with the constraints of the Temple, but God who was in the streets. Look at what the Samaritan does for the man on the road: bound his wounds, poured oil, took him to an inn etc. They are all action words. The emphasis in this parable is on action and on compassion. The lawyer is concerned with the limits to ‘love of neighbour’. But there are no limits, no boundaries, no outsiders in God’s Kingdom. Holiness is not separation from the marginalised, but proximity to them.

“Our prayer, our worship, our fasting are of little value to God if we have ignored those of God’s children who suffer on the margins of our societies. We are Christians who follow the message of Jesus, not because we say ‘Lord, Lord’… it is in our compassion that we imitate God who is compassion” (Peter McVerry)