Martha and Mary – the Traditional Rendering You may know the story of Martha and Mary. Jesus arrives at their home, and Martha acts as hostess. She busies herself performing unnamed tasks while her sister, Mary, sits at the Lord’s feet, listening to him speak. Distracted and overwhelmed, Martha complains that she is left by herself to do everything. She beseeches Jesus to tell her sister to get up and help. As is his way, however, Jesus does not do what he is asked. Instead, he gently chides the woman, saying, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has…
-
-
The Least Will Become Great
The Least Among You When the evangelist Luke writes in Chapter Nine of his gospel that “the least among all of you is the greatest,” the sentiment is not new for the reader. In Matthew, for instance, when he’s berating the scribes and Pharisees for their hypocrisy, Jesus says, “The greatest among you shall be your servant,” and “whoever humbles himself will be exalted” (Matt 23:11-12). [1] Humility was probably not a popular concept back then. It’s not particularly popular now, either, at least not in Western cultures. In hunter-gatherer societies, however, being humble is often more acceptable. Frans de Waal gives an example of such humility from the !Kung…