Almoutran

Mary and Martha, the Sisters of Righteous Lazarus

June 4th

Together, they witnessed one of the most beautiful moments in the life of Christ Jesus, the Son of God – that extraordinary moment when He restored their dead brother to life. The two sisters, St. Mary and St. Martha, were devoted to the Savior, and he loved them and their brother Lazarus with a special kind of affection that resonates deeply throughout the New Testament. TAKEN FROM

Both young women had been born and raised in the Palestine town of Bethany, along with their faithful brother. When the two sisters happened to come upon Jesus preaching to crowds of amazed onlookers in the region of Galilee, they were both drawn to him with great energy and fervor. Soon they became extremely devoted servants of their Lord and accompanied him on many of his forays into the countryside.

Long before the Son of God would raise their brother from the tomb, Mary and Martha were believers in His message of salvation from death and sin. But these two enthusiastic sisters were also very human, as we learn from an amusing incident in Luke 10:

Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. 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.” And Jesus] answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10: 38-42)

This very human story provides a warm and affectionate glimpse into the lives of two high-spirited young women who quibbled at times over housework – but whose hearts were set on serving their Lord and Savior. The account of how their friend Jesus helped their brother Lazarus in his hour of greatest need also resonates with the enormous power of honest family affection.

Beautifully told in the Gospel of John, the narrative of Lazarus and his two sisters opens with a touching moment, as the two sisters dispatch a messenger to Jesus – whom they had been following for days – with a request that he come and help their mortally ill brother:

Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”

When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”

So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away. And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.

Now Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house. . . .

Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.”

Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus . . . cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.” (John 11: 1-44)

After the miracle of raising Lazarus had taken place, the Hebrew priests in the region were alarmed at the ever-increasing public acceptance of Jesus, whose miracles (and especially the miracle of Lazarus) were inspiring conversions throughout Palestine. In a very real sense, then (as underlined in the Book of John), the miracle at Bethany can be seen as a key turning point after which the Passion, Death and Resurrection of the Son of God begins to unfold step by step.

After His Passion had finally taken its course and the Resurrection had been accomplished, Lazarus and his two loyal sisters would continue to bring converts to Christianity everywhere. After a few years of this missionary work, Lazarus would be appointed bishop of Kition, on the island of Cyprus, where he and his two sisters would continue to evangelize for some time. Their flight to that island – located between what are today the separate nations of Greece and Turkey – would occur in the wake of the first Christian martyrdom (that of St. Stephen) in Jerusalem . . . after which Lazarus would be exiled from the city, along with Mary and Martha.

Although the precise details of their deaths are not known, longtime tradition says that they continued to preach in many lands until they eventually died of advancing age, probably about 100 A.D.

Mary is a great example of someone with an unwavering focus on Jesus. We need to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and to put Him above everything else in our lives. Our service to God may seem like foolishness to others, but He will vindicate our faithfulness.

As we can see, Martha is much closer to the comprehension and acceptance of salvation at the tomb of Lazarus, but even here she is still a step away. Once more Jesus asks her for total faith and it is at this point that she opens herself totally to the grace He offers, while crying out with all her heart, "You are the Messiah."

Martha stands as a warning to us to not get so caught up in the activities of serving God that we forget or are too busy to spend time with Him. Service is an important part of the Christian life, but it can't take the place of Christ Himself. Relationships – with both God and people – should take priority over tasks and earthly things.

Apolytikion in the Third Tone

Since ye believed in Christ with strong and ardent faith, and ever worshipped His divine and mighty deeds, ye both adorned yourselves with all the splendour of sacred virtues. With your holy brother now, ye are also vouchsafed to dwell with the ranks of Saints on high, O ye sisters of Lazarus; and with him, O wise Mary and Martha, ye pray for us all unto the Master.

Kontakion in the Third Tone

In the town of Bethany, ye dwelt of old; now in Heaven ye abide in Paradise, where our Lord's countenance shineth. For ye gave your hearts and souls up with fervent longing unto Him that is the Life and the Resurrection; as ye stand on high, O Mary and Martha, pray Him to grant salvation to us.