Martha, Mary, and Lazarus: Disciples Who Point the Way To Jesus’ Identity
“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,’” (John 11:21-22).
Martha, Mary, and Lazarus: Faithful Disciples of Jesus
While we met Martha, Mary, and Lazarus in the Gospels, we don’t learn much about them, other than they were close friends and disciples of Jesus. We don’t know how they met Jesus or whether they were related to Him. Yet, our Church has designated July 29th as the day we celebrate their lives and the impact they have had on our faith.
We first met Martha and Mary in Luke’s Gospel, Chapter 10, when Jesus was visiting their home and Martha was preparing the meal, while Mary sat at Jesus’ feet and absorbed His teachings. I imagine Mary resting her head on Jesus’ lap and Him stroking her hair in affection. Martha, however, was in the kitchen all by herself banging the pots and pans to attract attention to her efforts. She chided Jesus to tell Mary to get up and help her, to which Jesus replied that Mary had chosen the better part, which would not be taken from her. In addition, He told Martha she was concerned about too many things that were not of greatest importance. In essence, He was inviting her to come and sit with them, and they could have sandwiches for lunch! He wanted Martha to stop worrying and trust Him.
We met the family again in John’s Gospel, Chapter 11, when Jesus heard about the death of His friend Lazarus. The Gospel tells us that when Jesus heard about Lazarus’s death, he waited two days to respond. This small detail is included in the Gospel because the Jews believed that if someone was in a tomb longer than three days, there was no hope of their revival. Jesus stayed where He was two extra days because He was going to perform one of His greatest miracles!
Martha Proclaims Jesus’ True Identity
On Jesus’ return to Bethany after Lazarus’ death, Martha went out to meet Him. At their meeting, Martha told Jesus that if He had been there, her brother would not have died. She proclaimed that Jesus was the resurrection and the life. Martha went to Mary and told her Jesus was coming so she, too, went out to meet Him. The Jews who were gathered with her followed, wondering if Jesus was going to enact a miracle. Upon coming to Lazarus’s tomb, Jesus wept. When He told the people to remove the stone from the tomb, Martha replied that there would be a stench. Then He looked up to heaven and commanded, “Lazarus, come out!” We then read that Lazarus walked out of his tomb, tied hand and foot with burial clothes, and Jesus told the people to untie him and let him go.
The most significant part of this encounter is Martha’s transformation from one who was so busy with the tasks of her everyday life to realize their friend Jesus was the Son of God. Her transformation to a woman of great faith and conviction is a miracle that is available to us each time we participate in the Eucharist. As we receive the bread and wine which have been transformed into the Body and Blood of Jesus, we too are transformed into His essence in our broken world.
This reality invites us to ask ourselves: How often do we behave like Martha rather than Mary? How often do we advocate for completing the task at hand, rather than sitting with someone in need? What would it require of us to become transformed the way Martha was transformed? Is Jesus the most important component of our identity?
Dr. Kate Walsh-Soucheray taught high school religion in St. Paul, Minnesota and then became a licensed marriage and family therapist. She has master’s degrees in theology and marriage and family therapy and a doctorate in educational leadership. Dr. Kate and her husband John have been married for 42 years, and they have three adult married children and six, soon to be seven, grandchildren. Dr. Kate is retired and writes and speaks for Catholics.