Eighth Sunday after Pentecost – Year C (Luke 10:38-42)

     In the past, the story of Martha and Mary was often seen in Roman Catholic exegesis as a biblical rationale for the contemplative life. That approach to the text largely disappeared after Vatican II because of its failure to do justice to the story. I have not travelled in Lutheran circles long enough to have heard very many polemical sermons about faith vs. works but could see how someone might want to take this story in that direction. That line of reasoning also, I think, fails to get to the heart of the story.

     It might well be that someone reading this could just as validly dismiss my approach, but I think it has some value and that analysis of this pericope as well as the whole of Luke/Acts lends some support to what I am thinking. It seems abundantly clear to me as I read and pray over this text that it is, at least in part, about the role of women in the Church. Education, religious or otherwise, was for men. For a woman to sit as a disciple (a learner or student) at the feet of a teacher was a radical move. Jesus not only allows it, he defends and encourages it.
     As I have written before in this blog, the Magnificat is Luke’s manifesto. The hymn’s concern for women, the poor and other outsiders is echoed throughout Luke/Acts. In this particular Lucan text, Jesus makes it clear that discipleship is open to all, regardless of gender. Jesus does not disdain Martha’s more traditional approach to a woman’s role as hostess, but he clearly indicates that all such societally defined roles, for men and for women, are now subject to the demands of God’s reign and that discipleship takes precedence. Discipleship is not an exclusive club, but rather a call to follow Jesus that is issued to everyone.