Mary and Martha Revisited

**This has nothing to do with my family, just some thoughts.**

I'm sure this isn't an original thought, but it's new to me.When Jesus came to Bethany and Martha opened up her home to him, (notice the scripture says it was her home, not the home of Lazarus or Mary) she busies herself with preparations.

Not being an expert on Bible history, here are some questions. Why does the home seem to be owned by Martha? Was Lazarus a young kid? Were they all orphaned? Did Lazarus have his own separate home? Were Mary or Martha married? If so, why are their husbands unmentioned? If the home really does belong to Martha, how does she afford to keep it up? Are she and Mary in the marketplace?Well, regardless of the other questions, why does Martha ask Jesus to only reprimand Mary? Is it because she also owned the home, so it was her duty as homeowner to show hospitality? Was is more a statement of Mary not staying in her place? You know, women in the kitchen, men about the business of learning from Jesus.

I've always been taught that Mary and Martha are a study in contrasts of resting versus being busy. What if even more was being said? What if when Jesus said that, "Mary has chosen the better part" He made a huge statement implying that women were allowed to choose to sit alongside the men of the day and learn, that women didn't have to perform all the duties of the home? Why didn't Martha ask for Lazarus to help her? He may not have been there at that time, but what if he was?

This passage has always meant a lot to me affirming the priority of resting at the feet of Jesus. How much more it will mean if the Lord is affirming me as a woman. We see Him doing this throughout scripture, I've just never applied it to this passage.I'm not saying this is a correct interpretation of what transpired that day. But here lately the Lord has been challenging a lot of assumptions I have held. Assumptions about Him, how He works and moves, what my role is as a woman, how we are to really walk out our faith as Christians, etc. I think God likes it when we ask Him questions - it means we're thinking.