Mary of Bethany vs. Martha of Bethany

After a full year of holy anticipation, Lent Madness returns for another season of saintly thrills and spills! Whether this is your tenth year engaging in the annual saintly smackdown or your first, we're delighted you'll be spending a portion of your Lenten journey among us. Along the way there will be debates, ire, angst, rejoicing, laughter, and holy trash talking. Just remember, it’s all in the spirit of this holy season specifically set aside to grow closer to God through our relationship with Jesus Christ.

To experience the fullness of the Lent Madness experience, the Supreme Executive Committee encourages you to do several things. First, like Lent Madness on Facebook and/or follow us on Twitter. Second, subscribe to the Lent Madness e-mails so you never miss a vote. You can do this by going to the home page of our website and entering your e-mail address (near the top right). Third, you can support the ministry of Lent Madness by heading over to the Lentorium and purchasing Lent Madness swag.

But mostly, we encourage you to read about the 32 saintly souls participating in this year's edition of Lent Madness, faithfully cast your (single!) vote on the weekdays of Lent, and add your comments to the great cloud of participating witnesses that gathers as the online Lent Madness community each year.

Lent Madness 2019, or Lent Madness X as we've been calling it, kicks off with a battle between two Biblical heavyweights as we settle, once and for all, the age old question: Mary vs. Martha. And before you say it, of course it's not fair! It's not called Lent Madness for nothing.

So, hang onto your halos, friends, and prepare yourselves for another wild ride of saintly action. Away we go!

Mary of Bethany

Mary at the feet of JesusMary of Bethany lived in first-century Bethany with her sister, Martha, and her brother, Lazarus, as we are told in the Gospel of Luke. Along with her siblings, she was among the very first to believe in Jesus.

Luke recounts the famous story of Jesus having supper at the sisters’ house, where Martha, concerned with getting the food on the table, asks Jesus to scold Mary for her apparent lack of concern. It’s notable that Mary is described as sitting at Jesus’ feet while Martha serves; usually only the male students of rabbis sat at the feet of their teachers. For Mary to do so is highly unusual for an unmarried woman—possibly why Martha gets antsy about it. But Jesus declines to chide Mary for what she has done, declaring that in her discipleship, she has “chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”

The Gospel of John also gives us a few more glimpses of Mary of Bethany. John explicitly links Mary with the woman who washes Jesus’ feet with her hair. At Lazarus’s death, both Mary and Martha race out into the street to greet Jesus when he finally comes, and Mary chastises him, echoing her sister’s words, saying “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” At her declaration, Jesus is moved to tears.

It is clear that Jesus is quite close with this family. Through contextual clues, we can tell that the family must have been fairly well-to-do, given the sisters’ independent status and ability to support Jesus’ ministry. They seem to own their house and are able to provide a separate burial site for their brother (somewhat rare—and not cheap.). We also have John’s story of Mary spending more than 300 denarii (equivalent to 300 days of wage for a laborer) on pure spikenard to anoint Jesus.

Later church tradition treated Mary as it treated many of the other women of the gospel; it elided her story into that of an Everywoman who is remarkable mostly in her blandness. The few stories that survive in the West often conflate her with Mary Magdalene. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, her uniqueness survives, and with her sister and Mary Magdalene, Mary of Bethany is remembered on the third Sunday of Easter as one of the Myrrh-Bearing Women—the first to recognize the risen Christ.

Collect for Mary of Bethany
O God, heavenly Father, your Son Jesus Christ enjoyed rest and refreshment in the home of Mary and Martha of Bethany: Give us the will to love you, open our hearts to hear you, and strengthen our hands to serve you in others for his sake; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

-Megan Castellan

Martha of Bethany

MarthaThe iconic Martha of Bethany is the hero of faithful pragmatics and doers, though she gets a bad rap for being less contemplative than her sister. When Jesus visits her house, Mary sits at his feet, but Martha feels the burdens of her role as hostess and works in the kitchen, resentful that Mary isn’t helping. When she complains, the Lord answers, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted about many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.” Because of this anecdote, Martha is seen to symbolize worldly concerns while her sister Mary focuses on the spiritual. When Jesus asks someone to open the tomb of her days-dead brother Lazarus, the heartbroken Martha stays true to her practical nature, responding, “Lord, already there is a stench.”

Although not expressly mentioned in the gospels, the Orthodox tradition honors both Martha and Mary as among the followers of Jesus who stood at Golgotha to witness the crucifixion, and later carried myrrh to his tomb to anoint the body. Thus they are counted among the first witnesses of the resurrection. This tradition also holds that Martha fled persecution in Judea with Lazarus, joining him as a missionary abroad until he became a bishop in Cyprus, where all three siblings eventually died.

According to the Golden Legend, a medieval hagiography (writing about the lives of the saints), the siblings were of noble birth. Martha put her aristocratic hostess skills to use for Jesus because, “She thought that all the world was not sufficient to serve such a guest.” The same legend holds that the family arrived in France miraculously via a ship without oars or sails to preach the gospel. The eminently practical Martha tamed a Galician dragon, “half beast and half fish, greater than an ox, longer than a horse, having teeth sharp as a sword, and horned on either side, head like a lion, tail like a serpent.” Afterward Martha lived a life of daily devotion in France until she died. A tomb in the Collegiate Church of Tarascon purportedly contains her relics.

Martha’s feast day is July 29, and she is patron saint of cooks, dietitians, domestic help, housekeepers, servants, and waitpersons. And of course, she is admired by pragmatics, doers, and practitioners of common sense.

Collect for Martha of Bethany
O God, heavenly Father, your Son Jesus Christ enjoyed rest and refreshment in the home of Mary and Martha of Bethany: Give us the will to love you, open our hearts to hear you, and strengthen our hands to serve you in others for his sake; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

-Amber Belldene

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Mary of Bethany: By Internet Archive Book Images [No restrictions], via Wikimedia Commons
Martha of Bethany: By Internet Archive Book Images [No restrictions], via Wikimedia Commons

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537 comments on “Mary of Bethany vs. Martha of Bethany”

  1. I am not part of your community but am presently working on purchasing a condo close by. I am an active member of All Saints Parish in Wolfeboro NH.I decided to check in to your Facebook
    Account to visit with you and will join your Lenten madness. I vote for Martha since I too would be in the kitchen preparing food which is what I often do for coffee hour after our services.

  2. In earlier life as wife, mom, teacher I would vote for Martha. Now retired and enjoying more time to read and study I appreciate Mary's decision to put the chores aside, build relationships by listening.

  3. As a "working mother", a teacher, not only my classroom, but also my household motto was, "A PLACE FOR EVERYTHING AND EVERYTHING IN ITS PLACE." That really worked. See the Martha in me?
    I thought that in retirement I would just relax about everything and stop the old mindset. 31 years later, I have to admit the truth. That has never happened. The older we get, the more we become who we were. In my heart of hearts, I still try to see me as a Mary. HA HA ON YOU, JANICE Sigh.

  4. Well, I surprised myself by voting for Martha. I think it was the fight with the dragon creature that swayed me...and I need to be more of a Martha these days. I'm more comfortable being a Mary, but Lent is about challenging our comfort zones, so there you go.

  5. Is it more important to hold the correct beliefs or to act in the correct way? To think right or to do right? The world goes on unchanged by my beliefs, but perhaps my actions can have an impact. So I stand with Martha.

  6. HELP!
    I have been accused of voting a second time. I promise you, I did not try to vote until my husband reminded me this evening.
    Having recruited my husband and several church friends to participate in The Madness I am sorely disappointed to be denied my vote on this momentous day of Mary vs. Martha.

  7. I am a nurse, therefore a pragmatist, cleaning up ready for whatever comes through the door. I hope I will have sufficient insight to recognize Jesus when he comes!

  8. This is my first exposure to this competition and today's choice seems very challenging - can't wait to see the results tomorrow! The story of these two saintly sisters has always interested me because, I'm more like Martha but strive to be more like Mary. What I have ALWAYS wished is to have heard the conversation between the sisters after Jesus and the other guests all went home!

  9. I don't have Martha's gift of hospitality, but I am a perfectionist (attempting recovery, by God's grace). I get upset with myself when I don't get "enough" done and struggle to learn to just "be." I can sit and read or watch TV for hours, but I find it very hard to meditate or just "sit before the Lord." I need to learn from both of the sisters, but I voted for Mary.

  10. Such tough choices! Being a practical person, I am much like Martha and want everything to be perfect for our very special guest.

  11. I (Alex) voted for Martha because I agree you should warn people about the stinkiness of dead bodies. And, Mommy voted for her because somebody has to do the dishes.

  12. There are two types of people "human beings" and "human doings". Martha was a human doing while Mary was a human being. I wish to be more like Mary, but alas, I tend to be more like Martha......I voted for Mary...

  13. I loved for Mary because sometimes I need to stop and sit at Jesus feet and marvel at the wonder of it all. I can get too busy that nothing is accomplished and obstacles to my grace abound.

  14. I’ve always identified with Mary. I’m not a foodie & the daily chores of planning, shopping, preparing & cleaning up of food are accepted in my role of mother, wife & welcomer of visitors but they are not my joy! I was voting for Mary before reading through all your comments & learning so much from you all. I see the beauty in Martha’s role & have voted for her!

  15. Mary for me. Lord, give me the patience of Mary to be still and listen, to prioritize You in the craziness of life. Amen.

  16. A new Lent tradition - our family of 4 ( 2 teens) is reading our Lent Madness guide at the supper table and voting as a group. Tonight Martha won hands down. We liked that she was focused on caring for others. Halo onward!!!

  17. Jesus clearly said that Mary chose the better part, but we can't help but sympathize with hardworking Martha. The hospitality of our Marthas gives people a chance to sit together in fellowship -- but what about our Mary bible study and Sunday school teachers? Both kinds of fellowship are important. It's very hard to choose, and I have a lot of gratitude for the hardworking and selfless Marthas. But I also have to hear what Jesus said. So I vote for Mary.

  18. I’m confused here. I had thought the aristocracy dwelt in Bethphage, while Bethany was an alms community, typified by Simon the Leper. So thinking of the three siblings as wealthy is dissonant, but amply supported in the blog.

  19. Martha does what needs doing. Thank God for those of the Martha persuasion who grace my life. Mary sits and listens. I don’t claim anything akin to her spirituality, but I admire her ability to set tasks aside and focus on Jesus. Too much stuff left undone weighs on me. I want to cultivate the Mary attitude right now. She gets my vote.

  20. Martha! Martha! Martha! Remember that the next time you are serving as part of the hospitality team during Coffee Hour!