Luke 10.38-42, 11.27-28: Marian feasts

[Anduril]

Luke 10:38-42; 11:27-28:

38 Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me." 41 And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her."

27 And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, "Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!" 28 But He said, "More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!"

This is the Gospel reading used by the Church for four Marian feasts, including the (upcoming) Feast of the Dormition. My question is, why? The main story - the dispute between the sisters of Lazarus - seems totally unrelated (saving that one of the characters is also named Mary). The only reference to the Theotokos is that made by the woman in Lk 11:42 - and the addition of those verses from chapter 11 has, to me, a sort of 'tacked on' feeling - like 'since it's a Marian feast, we'd better work in something about her'. It's even somewhat misleading, since His mild admonition to Martha was not the 'these things' of which Jesus was speaking when addressed by the woman in the crowd. Any thoughts on why the Church would choose this reading, not just once, but four times?

[Herman Blaydoe]

There are many verses throughout Scripture that talk about the Theotokos, why indeed, does the Church choose these particular verses for the days dedicated to her honor?

Possibly to counter movements within the Church to "deify" the Theotokos, not unlike certain recent movements within the Catholic Church to have the Theotokos proclaimed Co-Redemtrix? Maybe the Church, in its wisdom is reminding us that while we reverence her as the Mother of God, Christ is the ultimate reason?

I think that a lesson about the Theotokos is shown in the actions of Mary the sister of Martha. The Theotokos also chose the "good part". It also seems to me to be a lesson in humility. I suspect that the Theotokos approves of the Church's decision, and she might have been less pleased if other verses, focussing more directly on her, had been chosen instead. These are merely my opinion and I defer fully and freely to those better informed on the matter.

[John P. Nasou]

Your questions are well placed and we must always put ourselves in the = place of the Ethiopian who was reading the Scriptures and was asked by = the disciple Philip if he knew what he was reading. His reply was how = can I if I have no one to explain it to me. Thank goodness I have heard = the explanation in a sermon of why these readings from Luke are used on = the holy days of the Theotokos. They are repeated on each holy day of = the Theotokos because we all need to be reminded of her great sacrifice = (a pregnancy which would be difficult to explain) and her devotion to = her Son.

Martha is given as an example of those who do the worldly things - not = evil things, but worldly things which are necessary. These will soon be = forgotten.

But Mary - whose name is coincidentally the same as that of the = Theotokos - is shown by Christ as doing that which will not be taken = away from her. She illustrates the traits which were found in the = Theotokos - quietness, devotion and voluntary obedience to the Word of = God. This example would not be forgotten.

In the second part of that reading, Jesus first disposes of the = worldly - i.e. the womb that bore Him and the breasts that nursed Him, = and gets down to what the Holy Virgin did which was of the greatest = importance, "blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it." = Her obedience in the Annunciation.

I hope that this answers the questions you raise. Our lectionary = Epistle and Gospel readings for each day are not always obvious in their = meaning, yet are always of great significance. We all suffer from that = human trait of having eyes to see and ears to hear but find them = difficult to use when it comes time to understand God's truths. = Fortunately, our priests do explain the significance of the Scripture = readings through their homily.

John Nasou