Jesus Christ with Martha and Mary. Martha and Mary

HEALING OF TEN LEPERS. ZACCHEAUS. JESUS ​​CHRIST IN THE HOUSE OF MARY AND MARTHA In a village near Jerusalem, Jesus Christ met ten men suffering from leprosy. They did not dare to approach Him and, kneeling down, prayed to Him from afar and asked: “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.”

The Story of Martha and Mary One day Jesus and his disciples came to a village in Judea, where a woman named Martha invited Jesus into her home. And the woman had a sister whose name was Mary. Mary sat down at the feet of Jesus and began to listen to Him. And Jesus said this: “Ask, and it will be given to you.”

Teaching the people, Jesus Christ came to Bethany. This village is located near Jerusalem behind the Mount of Olives. Here one woman received Him into her home, named Marfa, who had a brother Lazarus and a sister Maria.

Bethany

In the house of Lazarus, Jesus Christ gave instructions that concern for the salvation of the soul is higher than all other concerns. The reason for this was the reception given to Him by the sisters of Lazarus. They both met Him with equal joy, but they expressed their joy differently.

Mary sat at the feet of the Savior and listened to His teaching.

Jesus Christ with Martha and Mary

Martha, meanwhile, cared and worked hard for a great treat for Him.

Did it seem to Martha that she would not be able to quickly cope with her troubles alone, or did it seem to her that her sister was not accepting Jesus Christ with such zeal as she should have: - only Martha approached the Savior and said: “Lord! no, that my sister left me alone to serve? Tell her to help me."

The Lord Jesus Christ answered her: Marfa! Marfa! you care and fuss about a lot of things"(unnecessary, i.e. Martha’s concerns are directed towards what can be done without, which is only everyday, fleeting vanity), and only one thing is needed(this is attention to the word of God and doing His will). Mary chose the good(the best) the part that(never) will not be taken away from her".

It happened another time, when Jesus Christ was talking with the people, one woman could not contain the joy in her soul at His words and loudly exclaimed from the people: “ blessed(extremely happy) Mother who gave birth to You and suckled You!"

Diego Velazquez - Christ in the House of Martha and Mary

“Seeing many of His enemies in Judah, Jesus Christ went from Jerusalem beyond the Jordan, and from there to Galilee. Not far from Jerusalem there was the village of Bethany, where two sisters lived: Martha and Mary. Jesus Christ came to their house.
Mary sat at the feet of Jesus and listened to His word.
Martha took care of a great treat.
Seeing that her sister was not taking part in the troubles, Martha approached Jesus Christ and said: “Lord!” or do you not need that my sister left me alone to serve? Tell her to help me!"
Jesus Christ answered her: “Martha, Martha! You worry and fuss about many things, but only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good part, which will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10: 38-42.)

***
We are all walking the road of Martha -
The Lord is tired of admonishing us.
The angelic harps fall silent,
Unable to shout us down:
We're all about rags and pots,
We are all either angry or in tears...

We got used to our bustle,
And the image sent to us from above -
Mary listening to Christ -
It seems alien and unnecessary to us.
We are all in pride and passions,
We are all about prices and money...

Leave your worries, sister!
Christ gives us a different bread.
We don’t have to celebrate Saturdays all the time -
And the Resurrection will come!
In order not to repent of sins
Live with prayer on your lips.

***
Mary's children live easily,
to a certain extent they are born good.
And the Children of Martha got the work
and a heart that is alien to peace.
And because Martha’s reproaches are sinful
were before God who came to her,
Mary's children must be served
Her children until the end of her days.
It's on them forever and ever
laying roads in hot and cold weather.
This is the movement of the levers on them;
This is the rotation of the wheels on them.
It's on them always and everywhere
loading, sending things and souls,
Delivery by land and water
Mary's children to any wilderness.
“Move,” they say to the mountain.
“Disappear,” they say to the river.
And paths are made through the rocks,
and the rocks yield to their hand.
And the hills disappear from the face of the earth,
Inch by inch of rivers are being dried up.
So that the Children of Mary could later
On the road you can sleep peacefully and sweetly.
Death through gloves chills them
fingers twisting wires.
She watches them greedily
lurking everywhere and always.
And they leave their homes at dawn,
and they enter the terrible stall to her.
And they tame her until dark,
how, taking a lasso, they tame horses.
They will never know rest,
The Temple is inaccessible to them of faith.
The path leads them to the depths of the earth,
they build their altars there,
So that water flows from wells,
so that, having gone back into the earth,
Again she watered the cities,
along with every drop of rain.
They don't say what the Lord promises
wake them up before the screws come off,
They don't mumble that the Lord will forgive,
they leave the service whenever they want.
And on long-established paths and there,
where no man has gone before,
In labor and vigil - and only so
Martha's children spend a century.
Moving stones, cutting into the forest,
to make the path straighter and smoother,
You see blood - it means: here
one of her Children passed.
He did not accept torment for the sake of the Holy Faith,
didn't build a stairway to heaven,
He just did his simple duty,
making your contribution to the common cause.
And what do the Children of Mary wish for?
They know that the angels are protecting them.
They know that they have been given Grace,
Mercy's gaze is directed at them.
They hear the Word, they sit at the feet
and knowing that God blessed them,
They placed their burden on God, and God
he put it on the Children of Martha.

Teaching the people, Jesus Christ came to Bethany. This village is located near Jerusalem behind the Mount of Olives. Here one woman received Him into her home, named Marfa, who had a brother Lazarus and a sister Maria.

In the house of Lazarus, Jesus Christ gave instructions that concern for the salvation of the soul is higher than all other concerns. The reason for this was the reception given to Him by the sisters of Lazarus. They both met Him with equal joy, but they expressed their joy differently.

Mary sat at the feet of the Savior and listened to His teaching.

Martha, meanwhile, cared and worked hard for a great treat for Him.

Did it seem to Martha that she would not be able to quickly cope with her troubles alone, or did it seem to her that her sister was not accepting Jesus Christ with such zeal as she should have: - only Martha approached the Savior and said: “Lord! or do you not need that my sister left me alone to serve? Tell her to help me."

The Lord Jesus Christ answered her: Marfa! Marfa! you care and fuss about a lot of things"(excessive, i.e. Martha’s concerns are directed towards what can be done without, which is only everyday, fleeting vanity), and only one thing is needed(this is attention to the word of God and doing His will). Mary chose the good(the best) the part that(never) will not be taken away from her".

* * *

It happened another time, when Jesus Christ was talking with the people, one woman could not contain the joy in her soul at His words and loudly exclaimed from the people: "blessed(extremely happy) Mother who gave birth to You and suckled You!"

The Savior answered this: “Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it”, that is, they live according to the commandments of God.

NOTE: See the Gospel of Luke (

Marfa! Marfa! Maria, Maria...

It would seem that there are two extremes: one is quiet and praying, the second is active and explosive. Two sisters are tightly woven into the fabric of the story about Divine pedagogy. It’s great that we can read several stories about such rare, personal relationships of Jesus with specific people, and these women He loves them, this is stated in plain text.

However, a tradition has developed to contrast these sisters. Read Kipling's emotional poem "Children of Martha." And this story is often quoted to me with the emphasis on Jesus’ reprimand to the active sister. But is this a reprimand for activity as such?

I like to imagine this moment: Martha is slowly boiling (and who among us could resist in such a situation?). She is alone rushing around the huge table, preparing a large meal, the Rabbi did not come alone, a crowd of guests poured in with Him - and everyone is supposed to be fed. And I want to accept it with dignity, everything is being prepared for the Beloved... and this... bum sat down at His feet and listens, does not help!!! Of course, Martha also wants to listen, she loves Him very much, but her love manifests itself in activity, in the desire to feed the precious guest to death (by the way, this is required by law). And Jesus, we note, does not object to the process of preparing dinner. He answers only when Martha can’t stand it and, turning to Him as a judge, gives out a classic sisterly attack: Lord, look, she’s not helping me?!! (I’m fuming here with zeal, I’m doing everything as expected, no one appreciates!!!) I love this moment, I recognize myself and laugh. The “righteous” anger of the worker...

In my opinion, not everything here is as obvious as it seems to those who like to emphasize the difference in the significance of activity and listening. Of course, this moment is present, but Jesus is never literal, His answers are always secret, like magic boxes. What Martha does is clear to us: she works, fulfills the duty of hospitality and love, gets a little lost in emotions and... (her mistake is obvious) gives Jesus a reason to subtly reproach the fuss (using a not very flattering epithet for these labors - “fussing”) and encourage Mary’s behavior, by focusing Martha on what is important: the truth of what her sister is doing.

What is Maria doing here (besides sitting and listening)? Mary, who chose the “good part,” in this situation deliberately neglects her duty as a woman: who was entitled to what? Yes, prepare the table! Times then were barbaric and uncivilized. Who was supposed to listen to the Teacher's words? That’s right, the head of the family would then tell the household everything important. But quiet Mary, driven by love and the desire to hear the words of Jesus, not paying attention to duty and propriety (and the anger of her sister), with unexpected confidence goes to the Teacher, sits down and dissolves in listening to the Word: she goes beyond the boundaries of her usual life, pushes them beyond gives Jesus a reason to convey a message to us - our God loves initiative... at this moment it is Mary who takes the active action (from God’s point of view).

But is the second sister so bad? Let's see how beautiful the story of Martha is when Lazarus dies. Jesus needs a reason for a miracle, and then who runs out to meet Him? Who is taking the initiative now?

Martha's active nature does not allow her to sit and mourn her brother (and again: a decent woman is supposed to sit in the house and mourn). Inside there lives a crazy hope: maybe He will fix something, if He does not resurrect his brother (in those days this was expected of messiahs), then at least he will immediately heal this pain in his heart. And now she runs to the Teacher, forgetting about duty and decency, and demands a meeting. Again, with full right and confidence that she can and should see Him, speak with Him openly. Look, Martha gives very clear and direct answers to the Lord’s questions, which means that she (at her work) also listened and heard the Word.

There is no opposition here. A miracle occurs when two believing women stand before Jesus and “Lord! If You were here, my brother would not have died,” one is superimposed on the words of the other exactly to the mark. Contemplative prayer and prayer-petition, meditation and activity - two halves, two characters united through Love, not opposed, but complementing each other - Martha and Mary.

Love Sumina

Image: www.parrocchiamariaassunta.it