Unconventional day 1

 LUKE 10:38-41

 

Unconventional. That’s the word for it. Unseemly. That’s another good word for what is going on in the other room.

Maybe things were different in Nazareth or Bethlehem or Egypt or wherever this itinerant rabbi was raised, but here in Bethany, women keep to their places and men keep to theirs. Outside where the children play, there might be some interaction (and of course, in the bedroom). Other than that, though, men talk about men things in the men part of the house. Women keep to themselves.

But Mary! She’s in there with her brother, Lazarus, and the rest of the men, sitting on the floor, listening to Jesus. Learning from the rabbi as if — it’s laughable, unthinkable really — as if she intends to become a disciple herself.

And she’s left poor Martha in the kitchen all by herself. No one to talk to. No one to help her prepare refreshments.

It’s unconventional. Unseemly. Unwomanly.

Martha continues to stew, the heat slowly rising, her thoughts simmering for a while until they burst into a rolling boil. Convention flies out the window as she bursts into the room, demanding that Jesus tell her sister to get back into the kitchen where she belongs.

A woman, telling Jesus that women have no business exchanging ideas with men.

Ironic. That’s the word for that.

But Jesus, gentle and firm at the same time, refuses to be cowed by Martha. He affirms Mary’s choice, giving a divine stamp of approval to women and learning, liberating countless generations of women who will follow her to assume unconventional roles in His kingdom. And after opening that door to the sisters, He becomes as close to them as He is to their brother.

Unconventional. Unseemly. Ironic. These are all words that describe the things Jesus did during His life on earth. These are also words that accurately describe the ongoing activity of Jesus through His people. Wherever Christianity has gone, conventions have been broken, stereotypical roles have been redefined. Men and women serve side by side, for the harvest is plentiful but the labourers are so few

Liberty. Approval. Affirmation. These are also words that describe Jesus and His followers. At least they should be.

 

Prayer

 

Holy Father, all glory, honour and praise are Yours not only because of who You are but also for what You have done. You have broken the yoke of sin and of slavery in the lives of those who trust in You, and You have overcome the enmity and alienation that plague relationships among those who embrace your rule and authority. Wherever the true gospel of salvation and sanctification by grace through faith has spread, people have been transformed in the wake. Because of the Good News, the old distinctions that separated and estranged people need no longer rule our hearts. In Christ, there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female, for we are all one in Christ Jesus. I praise You for the gift of freedom that overcomes the bondage of sin and unites us together into one Body, of whom He is the head.

In Jesus’s name, Amen