Mary and Martha: Dealing with Differing Gifts

Luke 10:38-42

In the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory, people take multiple choice surveys that self-measure whether one is Extroverted (motivated by the response of others) or Introverted (motivated primarily from within), iNtuitive (following hunches and atmosphere signals) or Sensing (using the info from the five senses), Thinking (cognition and logic) or Feeling (emotion and empathy), Perceiving (concerned more with process and how people are developing) or Judging (results, planning and structure-oriented). For instance, my profile is ENTP. My wife, Tina, is an INFJ. Did I marry my near-opposite or what? Martha seems to have more of Tina’s profile and Mary seems to be an ENFP (which at certain times can fit me). It will not surprise you to find out that there are many times when Tina and I do not see things alike, nor do we respond to situations and information the same. Our spiritual gifts are quite different as well. When we are at our best, God is able to use us in a complementary relationship that makes us more useful to Him than either one of us by ourselves. When we are not, well….

Luke 10:38-42 describes Martha and her sister Mary in conflict over Jesus’ visit. The question is how do we deal with these varied styles and the variety of spiritual gifts that tend to accompany them? In these verses Mary demonstrates servanthood, helping and managing leadership. Martha seems to lean more toward faith and mercy. But Mary would tell you that Martha’s main gifts are laziness and impropriety. Martha would tell you that Mary’s gifts are works righteousness and controlling people and situations. They really want to change each other to be like themselves. In some marriages, the couple succeeds and they become opposites again, each on the other’s side! The same problem happens in the church as we try to fashion other people and their walks with God in our image. In this situation, Jesus honors Mary’s choice, not because it is always the best, but because it was the best in that moment. At other times, like feeding a few thousand people, the situation would require a Martha and Mary would be just left aghast at such a crowd.

John 11:17-44

Notice again that Martha is named before Mary, either because she is the older sister or just the more dominant one. Martha (the take charge gal) is the first to approach Jesus,expressing great faith in Jesus and disappointment. After all, Mary, Martha, Lazarus and Jesus were friends who hung out together often. Mary’s angle seems to be more emotional and relational. After Lazarus is raised, it is friends of Mary who become followers of Jesus.

Now read John 12:1-10 with a new set of eyes. Mary has the gift of generosity, born out of her extraordinary devotion to Jesus. Whole volumes have been written about John 11 and many sermons and essays about John 12:1-10, but it is interesting to see Martha and Mary and how they responded to Jesus differently and shared their faith differently. How can we nurture our openness to the God-given variety that is in each of us? How can we encourage the full operation of the gifts of the Spirit among us, not just for the church but for the world?