Mary chose listening to the teachings of Jesus over helping her sister prepare food. Jesus responded that she was right because only one thing is needed, "one thing" apparently meaning listening to the teachings of Jesus. This goes in line with words by Jesus that Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God, and The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life, meaning eternal life. To simplify, this is frequently interpreted as spiritual values being more important than material business, such as preparation of food. Martha represents the anxious life associated with materiality. Two different verbs describe her distress, “worry” and “distract,” and Luke doubles her name and uses alliteration to draw attention to her anxious behavior.
Depictions in art
The episode is mostly found in art from the Counter-Reformation onwards, especially in the 17th century, when the domestic setting is usually given a realistic depiction, and the subject appears as a single work rather than in cycles of the Life of Christ, or the life of Mary Magdalene. However, it appears in some Ottonian manuscript cycles, including the one in the Pericopes of Henry II, where it is given a hieratic architectural setting. Many paintings show Mary washing, or just having washed, Jesus's feet, recalling the story in John 12.1–8. Via the story in Luke 7.36–50, however, Mary of Bethany was often conflated with Mary Magdalene, and this too may be reflected in art. Artists depicting the subject include Diego Velázquez, Rembrandt, Jan Vermeer, Caravaggio and Rubens. Individual works with articles include:
Christ in the House of Martha and Mary – an early work by the Spanish painter Velázquez
's poem The Sons of Martha, Kipling defends people who dedicate themselves to work like Martha. In his book The Doors of Perception, Aldous Huxley alludes to the story of Mary and Martha, addressing the distinction between what he terms "the way of Mary" and "the way of Martha." Huxley notes that, during his experiences with mescaline, time seems to stand still, and contemplation--the way of Mary--rules the day. Quotidian cares fall to the wayside. In one passage, Huxley writes, “Mescalin opens up the way of Mary, but shuts the door on that of Martha.” In the novelTime Enough For Love by Robert A. Heinlein, the character Minerva says, "I am a Martha, Lazarus, not her sister Mary." This, as a response to another character's attempt to describe her appearance, is a testament to her pride in being practically minded. In the novel, The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood, the women servants of the dystopian society are called, "marthas."
