Martha and Mary, mentioned by St. Luke, are most likely sisters of Lazarus of Bethany, about whom St. John the Evangelist wrote, although some believe that they are completely different families. The Aramaic name Martha means “lady”.
Martha is presented by St. Luke as a meticulous housekeeper who “has been troubled by various services.” Jesus rebukes her because, out of concern for hospitality, she neglected to listen to His words. In fact, however, it is not about being opposed to two different ways of behaving. Mary does the right thing not because she does nothing in particular and does not care of the visitor. Rather, her attitude of listening to Christ’s speech shows the model of a disciple who is always looking for what is most important. Martha, on the other hand, is “devoted to things”, she is immersed in what she absorbs, but does not decide about a person’s value. It is not work itself that distances you from God, but the one that makes man lose sight of God in his pursuit of activity.
Jesus tells the woman: “Martha, Martha“. The repetition of the name shows a special feeling, is an expression of an emotional approach toward the other. In this way Jesus also speaks to Simon Peter, this is how He speaks to the inhabitants of the ungrateful city: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill prophets, and you stone those who are sent to you. How many times have I wanted to gather your children like a bird, its chicks under wings, and you did not want to.”
If Martha was the sister of Lazarus, she learned a lot from the lesson she received at the meal. In Bethany, it is she – and not her sister Mary – will demonstrate a luminous faith in Jesus and His messianic mission: “I still believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God who is to come into the world”.