Not Anxious, But Honored: Reimagining Martha at the Table

Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 2 There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him. 3 Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’s feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume (John 12:1-4)

As Jesus enters the home of Lazarus and his sisters six days before the Passover, the countdown to his crucifixion has begun. Jesus enters the house of Lazarus just days after Lazarus was revived from death; now, Jesus is merely days from being sent to his death.

The text has a simple, one-word description of Martha. “Martha served.” As Lazarus reclined at table with Jesus and just before Mary’s extravagant, risk-taking act of worshipping Jesus occurred, we are told that Mary served.

You may be reminded of how Martha served and Mary worshiped in another account of Jesus being among the three siblings (Luke 10:38-42). In that account, Mary worshipped Jesus, Lazarus probably reclined near Jesus, and Martha appeared upset about it. It is easy to assume that the same thing is happening here. It’s easy to assume that people do as people are, and that’s not always a bad thing. But here’s what is bad: the reputation assigned to Martha for serving. The assumption is that Martha is probably anxious and upset and focused on serving and all of that.

Often, our interpretations of characters in the scriptures become one-dimensional representations of a moral theme. Good or bad, faithful or unfaithful. Even more, we can make assumptions about what is happening in the scriptures through our current lenses. But if you know yourself well enough, you are more complex than that simple rendering. And if you study the scriptures, you will see that things are more complex and beautiful than just moral tales.

Tragically, many of us have been given an understanding of Martha as an anxious host who is shaped by a patriarchal lens, which does not give us the fullness of who Martha might have been. How many sermons have you heard about Martha and Mary from Luke 10 that oversimplify the point to some moral roll call, “Are you an anxious Martha or a worshipping Mary?”

Taking those flattened, and I would say incorrect, interpretations and mapping them onto the story in John 12, we might read, “Martha served,” and assume that her anxious grumbling is happening again. Flattened, one-dimensional interpretations of the scriptures, while easy to grasp, are worth letting go of.

Martha is often depicted as the anxious one, trying to keep all things together in the home, while Mary is the one who sets aside anxiety and focuses on Jesus. But I submit to you that those renderings are too one-dimensional and lack the fullness of what it could mean to be human, even dare I say, a female in these settings.

Martha is said to be serving over this meal. The word serving does not need to imply anxiousness or that she is a hurried waitress. To serve is to minister or to preside over. It’s the word we use for deacon. This would mean that Martha is possibly the one hosting, presiding over the meal as the leader of this gathering and ministering to the needs of others not out of fear but in love.

Do you see how one-dimensional interpretation can lead us to terrible assumptions? Martha is not to be seen as the “wrong sister,” even in the story where she confesses her frustration. None of us, Martha included, ought to be characterized by one story or event.

In John 12, “Martha served” might be evidence of Martha’s growing faith and redemption. In Luke 10, she seemed frustrated about not receiving help presiding over the household meal. Still, in John 12, she settled into her position of leadership. We need an imagination for Martha’s complexity that does not restrict her to a caricature. This would include an imagination for serving that is removed from the assumptions of being burdensome or driven by anxiety.

For example, most Sundays, I get to preside over the Lord’s Table. In a sense, I have the privilege of serving our congregation. It is a gift to me and an honor to serve in this way. Watching everyone come to the table to partake of Christ's body and blood is one of the greatest gifts of my entire life.

And here’s a little secret. As our congregation begins to come forward for the elements, I often go to the back of the room and take in the sight. Watching people I love and who love me press together as they come forward for the body and blood of Christ. This picture moves me as it clearly represents our unity as a church and with the Church universal. That picture of my siblings in Christ pressing into Jesus produces nothing but joy in me. I cherish these images and am filled with delight, not anxiousness.

Service is often a gift for the one serving. So, maybe Martha is misunderstood and frequently misrepresented. I like to think of Martha as a leader who led by being a servant. Martha served. Her brother Lazarus reclined near Jesus. Her sister Mary worshiped Jesus in unprecedented ways. I like to think that Martha was in the back of the room at this meal, filled with delight as she watched her siblings press into Jesus. Filled with joy and honor, Martha did serve.