Can you imagine being known throughout Christian history as the woman who thought it was more important to cook dinner than spend time with Jesus?
If Martha had known that she was going to be misunderstood for the rest of history, I suspect she may have begged Luke to add an editorial remark into his gospel that explained why she said what she said.
*It wasn't about the dinner!
We've cast Martha as someone who is concerned with serving and doing stuff rather than the "better" (Luke 10:42 various) thing of being in Jesus' company. Cue thousands of sermons about choosing presence over service, and stillness over busyness.
While lots of us might think this traditional message is good, it has two issues. The first is that it creates unnecessary tension within many Christians. Why? Because we all express love in different ways, yet this story seems to promote one way above all others.
The second issue is that we've misunderstood Martha. Her concern is not about service but about the place of women in culture. And that's a very different message.
But let's start by reminding ourselves of the story.
