Ahem,
This is the continuation of the series I started about "How to survive Christianity and take as many people with you as you can before they find out what you're up to."

Some of us, me included, have sought to differentiate ourselves as Mary's instead of Martha's. We look on Martha as a striver seeking to do in the flesh what calm, cool, and collected Mary did in the spirit. In most instances we did this in a most "Martha" like fashion.

Women were property in Jesus' time they had few rights, they couldn’t be called to testify in legal matters for instance, couldn't file for divorce, etc. Jesus had this disturbing habit of turning things on their head in "The first shall be last" modus operandi. So Martha was doing what women did they served and cooked and cleaned and did whatever men though needed doing, and if it was debasing or sexually exploitative oh well. The significance of Jesus' fellowship with these women as friends, as peers, as disciples is striking. He purposed to exalt their station in life as equals, (oh boy!) and even that of sinners to that of table companions, lost on us possibly but significant in His time.

So is it unspiritual to wash dishes, cook, sweep the house, do chores instead of read your bible and pray? Some certainly give this impression; what may have again escaped their notice is that Jesus did exactly this for most of his adult life as a tradesman-do menial stuff. He as a Messiah was a disappointment for the Jews because they assumed the Messiah would appear from some hidden unknown realm and be Messiah-ish. Jesus was a rube from the provinces and his family was known, not in very outstanding terms were they known. His brothers in fact according to those who documented the times didn't all believe He was the Messiah.

In church life sometimes we divide things and people into importance and treat them accordingly, Jesus isn't surprised at that behavior in the least. He said for the record that that isn't the way He divides things. The unimportant are called near to Him in fellowship, the self-important can go be important-elsewhere.

John