An Ancient Legend of Mary & Martha

“Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things, 

but few things are needed—indeed only one.

 Mary has chosen the better part, 

which will not be taken away from her.”

( from Luke 10:38-42)

There’s a famous legend about Martha told after Jesus’s resurrection.

Martha becomes a traveling preacher ending up in a small French that, unfortunately, has a chronic dragon problem. Martha slays the dragon which wins the whole town over to Christianity.

In the same legend, Mary, on that same trip, starts a monastery in the wilderness.

In this legend, they both complete their assigned roles in Christian history:

Martha acts and Mary studies. Martha represents an active faith, while Mary represents a contemplative faith.

Martha shows Jesus hospitality while Mary sits at his feet listening. They represent different parts of Christian discipleship and both are seen as positive characters.

They are both doing good things. There is no villain in this story.

The confusion begins when Jesus says Mary has the better part and we don’t search the scriptures for an obvious meaning.

Jesus rebuke is about Martha's distraction, because she’s focusing on the actions of others instead of her relationship with Jesus.

Mary, on the other hand is focused on Jesus which can never be taken away.

It’s a challenging idea that we can do right and good things but still be distracted by the wrong things and focus more on perceived shortcomings of others than on our relationship with Jesus.

The Gospel is clear that disciples serve and listen to the word.

As we navigate our way in today’s complicated, distracting world, serving and listening are critical.

Maybe we’ll slay dragons or start monasteries, but the main thing is our focus on Jesus.