Mary and Martha were both right

On Saturday morning, Elaine Pinto brought a message that served as a preparation for the main business session. A Winnipeg chaplain and a member of McIvor Ave. MB Church, Pinto spoke in words that were clear, confident and poetic (she is also a published poet). Without pausing for a preamble, Pinto immediately launched into a discussion of Mary and Martha. She began with the usual depiction of Mary, who chose to spend time alone with Jesus, and Martha, who was busy serving, getting things done (Luke 10:38-42).

However, Pinto did not end with the usual picture. A much different picture of Martha appears in John 11:20-27, where Jesus comes to the grave of Martha's brother Lazarus. Here it is Martha who wrestles alone with God, asking tough theological questions. Pinto compared Martha's experience to her own struggle with the apparent absence of God when a friend died of cancer and her son was lost in the woods for a few hours. Two Lutheran nuns advised her, "Keep talking to the Lord in your pain. You are closer to the Lord than you have ever been." Pinto observed that laments made to God are "as much about faith" as praises for success are.

A different picture of Mary emerges in John 12:1-8, where Mary, the quiet one, understands that Jesus is about to die and is moved to a colossal act of service: She anoints Jesus' feet with an expensive oil. Pinto concluded, "Both Mary and Martha knew the cost of a solitary walk with God. Both call us to community servanthood."

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