The Teacher has come and is calling for you

 

 So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days.  Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away.  And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.  Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house.  Now Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.  But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You."  Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."  Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."  Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.  And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.  Do you believe this?"  She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world."  And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, "The Teacher has come and is calling for you."  As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him. 

 

- John 11:17-29 

 

Yesterday we read that a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.  It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.  Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick."  When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."  Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.  So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.  Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."  The disciples said to Him, "Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?"  Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day?  If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.  But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."  These things He said, and after that He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up."  Then His disciples said, "Lord, if he sleeps he will get well."  However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.  Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead.  And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe.  Nevertheless let us go to him."  Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him."   

 So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days.  Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away.  He who was in the tomb is Lazarus of Bethany, brother of Martha and Mary.  My study Bible comments that there existed a rabbinical opinion that the soul lingered about the body for three days, but after four days resuscitation would be impossible. 

And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.  According to my study Bible, mourning began on the day of a person's death.  Weeping and wailing lasted three days; lamentation lasted one week; and general mourning lasted 30 days. The term the Jews here refers to those from Jerusalem, especially involved in the leadership of the temple.  The family of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus of Bethany appears to have been a prominent one.

Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house.   The characters of Martha and Mary are quite consistent in the Gospels.  As in the story given in Luke 10:38-42, here the two sisters react differently to Christ's arrival.  Martha is the one consistently inclined to active service.  She rushes out to meet Jesus, again as in the story in Luke's Gospel, inclined to take care of matters of hospitality, of great importance in the Middle and Near East, then and now.  Mary remains in mourning until she is called by Christ.  Sitting, my study Bible explains, was the traditional posture when mourning and receiving other mourners (Job 2:8, 13; Ezekiel 8:14).  

Now Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.  But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You."  My study Bible asserts that while Martha possesses great faith, her statements indicate a lack of understanding about Christ.  When she says, "if You had been here, my brother would not have died," she reveals that she does not fully see that Christ is God, thinking that He needed to be present to effect healings (contrast this with John 4:46-54).  In saying, "whatever you ask of God, God will give You," she shows that she lacks understanding that Christ possesses in Himself the full divine authority to act as He wills.

Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."  Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."  Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.  And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.  Do you believe this?"  She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world." Jesus tells Martha, "I am the resurrection and the life."  My study Bible comments that in order to correct her misunderstanding, Christ declares His divine authority to raise the dead at the last day as well as here in this world.  His words are so powerful that Martha is immediately led to her great confession of faith.  "Do you believe this?" is a question directed not only to Martha, but to all of us.

 

And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, "The Teacher has come and is calling for you."  As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him. Again we observe the characters of Martha and Mary as consistently portrayed in the Gospels.  Here, Mary, though sitting in mourning inside the house, arose quickly in response to Christ's calling for her.  

Mary and Martha stay true to their characters, as are consistently revealed in the various Gospel passages in which we're told about them.  My study Bible mentions the story in Luke 10:38-42, in which Martha is busy serving guests while Mary listens as Christ teaches.  Here Martha is again the one carrying out the duties of hospitality, while Mary is the more contemplative, obedient to religious custom in sitting in mourning, but responding with haste when the Teacher calls her.  We might be tempted to contrast Martha and Mary on terms which are unflattering to Martha, but then we would be missing the role of hospitality in the Church, and particularly in monastic tradition.  While hospitality is an intrinsic and essential component of cultures across the world, it is important to understand its importance in terms of its extension of compassion to others.  Hospitality throughout the centuries has meant protection for strangers from hostile predators, it is an extension of self to others, and a welcoming of nominal "outsiders" to a place at one's table.   In the Christian monastic tradition which began with the desert monks, hospitality to strangers was seen as an essential calling -- a failure to respond, even during prayer, is a failure to practice mercy and compassion.  So the contrast of Martha and Mary is not an invitation to deny the historical and spiritual significance of hospitality.  Jesus Himself alludes to a deeply Christian understanding of how to practice hospitality when He teaches the importance of inviting those who cannot repay (Luke 14:12-14).  This was to be the very definition of gracious behavior.  But while on social terms Martha's hospitality may be recognized by guests and community, Mary's more quiet focus on the aspects of religious tradition that require a more restrained, less nominally "active" behavior, is also essential in Christian tradition.  Again, this is most especially associated with monastic life, but we'd be equally mistaken if we assumed it is not a calling for the lay faithful as well.  In the passage noted in Luke, Martha complains to Jesus that Mary is not helping her with serving.  But Jesus responds by telling her that Mary has chosen the "better part," and it would not be taken from her.  To learn from the Teacher is for all of us, each of us, regardless of other responsibilities.  In today's reading, we get a glimpse of Jesus' relationship with each of these sisters, and Martha must learn from the Teacher also, while Mary responds immediately to His call.   Let us consider in our own lives how each role is can take on meaning in the light of Christ:  hospitality as compassion and care for others, and the essential need for communion and discipleship that will always be needed.