"That darn Mary...I can't believe her. Every time I ask her to do something she's always got an excuse: 'Oh but Martha I have to go to read,' or 'Martha, I'm sorry I told ___ I would walk to the well with her so she could tell me about her latest problems,' or 'Oh Martha I really wish I could do that for you this morning but I told the women of the town we could meet and have a Bible study at that time.' Okay, I get it. She's a good person. But sometimes it would be nice to have a little bit of help around the house! All I ever do is cook and clean and cook and clean and cook and clean. Guess who reaps the benefits but never contributes? Mary. What am I going to do about her?"
Martha's head was swirling was thoughts and complaints about her little sister who just didn't get it. Martha doesn't understand Mary, Mary doesn't understand Martha. They have a great relationship and they love each other a lot, but Martha has spite building in her heart towards Mary. She just wishes that Mary would help out for once and be responsible! Is that too much to ask?
"Poor Martha...she just doesn't understand the real purpose to life..."
Mary wants Martha to understand why Mary is the way she is, but she doesn't think Martha will understand. Mary has a simplistic, joyful view on life. She just wishes Martha would relax for once! Is that too much to ask?
"Mary. I need your help this morning, please. This time it's really not optional. We have a really important house guest coming to stay and I cannot and will not prepare alone. All I ever do is ask and ask you to help me and most days you just ig-"
"Sure Martha I'll absolutely help!"
"...Well that was easier than expected." Martha was utterly confused at Mary's willingness to help, especially considering she didn't even know who the house guest was that was coming to stay with them.
"MARYYYYY!! Come down and help me in the kitchen when you are done sweeping the floors and dusting the sitting area!!!"
".......Mary???????"
"Okay now, where did that girl go?! This is the time I need her help the most, our house guest will be here any second!!"
Martha panicked when she realized that she might have to finish the preparation alone because, of course, Mary had disappeared from all of the house duties. She was really going to have a serious talk with Mary as soon as the house guest left.
Martha walked into the living room completely distracted by all of the things still needing to be completed that she nearly tripped and fell over Mary. "Mary, what in the name are you doing sitting in the middle of the floor? We are not finished prepping and you told me you wou-"
"Hello Martha, your home is quite lovely! Mary has told me all about how hard you've been working to prepare for my arrival."
"Je..Je..Jesus, hi, welcome to our home! I didn't know you were going to be here so early, all of the preparations aren't completed yet I am so sorry! Let me run to the kitchen and bring you something to eat and drink. Mary please won't you come and help me?!"
Martha was shocked. Jesus had arrived hours earlier than he was supposed to, and she didn't even notice him when she walked into the living room. He hated her. She was sure of it. How could she be so blind to the most important house guest in the entire world? Martha didn't know how she would move on from this life-altering encounter.
Martha was about to walk to the kitchen when Jesus stopped her. "Martha, I don't need food or drinks. I don't need a clean house or a grand meal. I don't need or want any of this. Do you know what I deeply desire?"
"...you mean all of the preparation was for nothing? I worked so hard and spent days preparing and you don't even care?"
"No, Martha. Of course I appreciate it, I just don't need it. Let me ask you again. Do you know what I deeply desire?"
"Well, Jesus, I just thought you would've wanted me to prepare and clean and make your visit to our home perfect, so I guess I really don't know..."
"Martha, I want what Mary has given me, and what I know you can also give me. Quality time. I want you all to sit at my feet and listen to my teachings and let me share with you all how much you mean to me. Everything else in this world is so trivial and not important in the long run. Time with you all, now that is important to me. Please, come sit. Do not worry about the rest of the cooking and cleaning, we can worry about all of that later."
"Jesus, how am I supposed to be a good hostess if I don't even offer you food, water, or gifts?"
"Martha, believe me when I say I will be the happiest house guest in the world if you will just sit and enjoy my presence."
Author's Note:
For my storylab this week, I decided to do a blog story revision. I was really excited about this because this story was one of my favorites from the semester, and I was happy to get to read all of my peers' comments and make those changes. Most of the changes I made were gramatical and wording changes, but I did alter some sentences in the middle of this story. I wanted to make the beginning talking about Mary and Martha's annoyances towards each other more of a parallel, that way readers could see the differences in their personalities and why they struggle to get along. I also changed some of what Jesus said at the end, just to add more clarity. Thanks for reading [again]!
Bibliography: Mary and Martha, Luke ch 10 in the Bible.
Martha's head was swirling was thoughts and complaints about her little sister who just didn't get it. Martha doesn't understand Mary, Mary doesn't understand Martha. They have a great relationship and they love each other a lot, but Martha has spite building in her heart towards Mary. She just wishes that Mary would help out for once and be responsible! Is that too much to ask?
"Poor Martha...she just doesn't understand the real purpose to life..."
Mary wants Martha to understand why Mary is the way she is, but she doesn't think Martha will understand. Mary has a simplistic, joyful view on life. She just wishes Martha would relax for once! Is that too much to ask?
"Mary. I need your help this morning, please. This time it's really not optional. We have a really important house guest coming to stay and I cannot and will not prepare alone. All I ever do is ask and ask you to help me and most days you just ig-"
"Sure Martha I'll absolutely help!"
"...Well that was easier than expected." Martha was utterly confused at Mary's willingness to help, especially considering she didn't even know who the house guest was that was coming to stay with them.
~2 Days Later~
"MARYYYYY!! Come down and help me in the kitchen when you are done sweeping the floors and dusting the sitting area!!!"
".......Mary???????"
"Okay now, where did that girl go?! This is the time I need her help the most, our house guest will be here any second!!"
Martha panicked when she realized that she might have to finish the preparation alone because, of course, Mary had disappeared from all of the house duties. She was really going to have a serious talk with Mary as soon as the house guest left.
Martha walked into the living room completely distracted by all of the things still needing to be completed that she nearly tripped and fell over Mary. "Mary, what in the name are you doing sitting in the middle of the floor? We are not finished prepping and you told me you wou-"
Mary, Martha and Jesus in the home of Mary and Martha.
"Je..Je..Jesus, hi, welcome to our home! I didn't know you were going to be here so early, all of the preparations aren't completed yet I am so sorry! Let me run to the kitchen and bring you something to eat and drink. Mary please won't you come and help me?!"
Martha was shocked. Jesus had arrived hours earlier than he was supposed to, and she didn't even notice him when she walked into the living room. He hated her. She was sure of it. How could she be so blind to the most important house guest in the entire world? Martha didn't know how she would move on from this life-altering encounter.
Martha was about to walk to the kitchen when Jesus stopped her. "Martha, I don't need food or drinks. I don't need a clean house or a grand meal. I don't need or want any of this. Do you know what I deeply desire?"
"...you mean all of the preparation was for nothing? I worked so hard and spent days preparing and you don't even care?"
"No, Martha. Of course I appreciate it, I just don't need it. Let me ask you again. Do you know what I deeply desire?"
"Well, Jesus, I just thought you would've wanted me to prepare and clean and make your visit to our home perfect, so I guess I really don't know..."
"Martha, I want what Mary has given me, and what I know you can also give me. Quality time. I want you all to sit at my feet and listen to my teachings and let me share with you all how much you mean to me. Everything else in this world is so trivial and not important in the long run. Time with you all, now that is important to me. Please, come sit. Do not worry about the rest of the cooking and cleaning, we can worry about all of that later."
"Jesus, how am I supposed to be a good hostess if I don't even offer you food, water, or gifts?"
"Martha, believe me when I say I will be the happiest house guest in the world if you will just sit and enjoy my presence."
Author's Note:
For my storylab this week, I decided to do a blog story revision. I was really excited about this because this story was one of my favorites from the semester, and I was happy to get to read all of my peers' comments and make those changes. Most of the changes I made were gramatical and wording changes, but I did alter some sentences in the middle of this story. I wanted to make the beginning talking about Mary and Martha's annoyances towards each other more of a parallel, that way readers could see the differences in their personalities and why they struggle to get along. I also changed some of what Jesus said at the end, just to add more clarity. Thanks for reading [again]!
Bibliography: Mary and Martha, Luke ch 10 in the Bible.
Hey Piper,
ReplyDeleteI never read your old story on this, but I thought you did an amazing job with this one. I don’t know too much about Mary and Martha, but I feel that after reading this story I got to know them a little better. I often know that interpreting bible stories is hard, but I thought you did a fantastic job of it! The dialogue that was included in the story was perfect and really flowed well together! Keep up the great work!
Hi Piper,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this story. I didn't read the original or your first story, but you have done some really great work. I don't know the original story or much about the characters, but I think it is a great story. The way that the story began really drew me in. I like having access to people's inner thoughts.
I fully agree with the message of this story. Friends and family are the most important thing, and they do not need anything fancy, just some good quality time. I am very much like mary and always off doing something and never really focused on housework, but that is in part because my friends do not care and if they come over it is to spend time. I was a little bit confused when martha tripped over mary and exclaimed jesus. Did she actually trip over him, or only noticed him in that moment?
ReplyDelete