Saints Martha and Mary the sisters of Lazarus, June 4

ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ

 Ἐκ Βηθανίας τὰς ἀδελφὰς Λαζάρου,

Σῴζειν δύνασθαι καὶ νεκρὰς πιστευτέον.

Τετάρτῃ Μάρθα ἠδὲ Μαρίη ἔβησαν πόλῳ λαμπρῷ.

Mary of Bethany and Martha are persons mentioned in the New Testament and specifically in the Gospels of John and Luke. In the first it is mentioned that together with their brother Lazarus, they lived in the village of Bethania, near Jerusalem. Luke mentions only the two sisters, as residents of a village whose name he does not give.

Martha and Mary, together with their brother Lazarus, were for the Lord Jesus Christ the most beloved and holy family of Bethany. The Gospel shows us Mary absorbed in the teaching of Jesus, while Martha, who was an older sister, takes great care of the hospitality table.

In the Gospel according to Luke, Jesus Christ visits the house of Mary and her sister Martha in a certain village. Mary, in contrast to Martha, who is only concerned with service, has chosen "the good portion", that is, to sit and listen to Jesus' words.:

"But while he was on his way, he met them and he entered into a house. and a woman named Martha took him into her house. And there was a sister called Mary, who sat down at the feet of Jesus and heard his word. But Martha was distracted by many ministries, and I believed and said: Lord, do you not care that my sister alone has left me to minister? ἀπὲ ​​oὖν αὐτῇ, so that he may understand me. Jesus answered and said to her: "Martha, Martha, you worry and worry about too many things; one is needed; but Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her."

— According to Lucan i΄ 38-42

Mary's very initiative to sit "at the feet" of Jesus (and Jesus to allow her to do so) was unusual. With her, as one commentator notes, Mary took "the position of a disciple of Christ...it was unusual for a woman at that time to be accepted by a teacher of Judaism as his disciple."

In the Gospel according to John, Mary-sister of Lazarus is mentioned in two different incidents, in two successive chapters: the resurrection of Lazarus (John 10:1-2) and the anointing of Jesus' feet with myrrh (15:3). The fact that it is the same Mary/Mariam in both incidents is clearly stated by the Evangelist: "He saw the sick Lazarus of Bethany, from the count of Mary and Martha her sister. But it was Mary who anointed the Lord with myrrh and cleansed his feet from her sores, so that his brother Lazarus was healed" (v. 1-2) The reference to Martha's sister also connects Mary with the incident in Bethany mentioned by Luke .

In the account of the miracle of the resurrection of Lazarus, Christ meets the two sisters in succession: first Martha and then Mary. Martha rushes to meet Jesus as soon as he arrives, while Mary waits at home until Martha calls her. The quieter character of Mary agrees[6] with the incident mentioned by the Evangelist Luke (i΄ 38-42). In the meantime Jews had hastened to her house, to comfort her after the death of Lazarus, so when they saw Mary rise and leave the house in haste, they followed her, saying that she was going to the tomb to weep for her brother, and so she gathered world in the place where Christ was. As soon as Mary of Bethany meets Jesus, she falls at his feet and says to him: "if you had been here, my brother would not have died" (John 10:32), the same words that her sister had addressed to him earlier ( k' 21). But while Jesus' response to Martha is didactic, calling her to hope and believe, his response to Mary is more emotional: "when Jesus saw her weeping, and the assembled Jews who had followed her weeping also, he was deeply moved and disturbed (k' 33). And then: "Jesus wept" (v. 35).

Το άλειμμα με μύρο του Ιησού

Κεντρικό ρόλο διαδραματίζει η Μαρία της Βηθανίας σε ένα άλλο γεγονός, που αναφέρεται στο επόμενο κεφάλαιο του Κατά Ιωάννην Ευαγγελίου. Σε αυτό, εκχέει ολόκληρο το περιεχόμενο ενός δοχείου με ακριβό άρωμα στα πόδια του Ιησού (ιβ΄ 3). Μόνο σε αυτό το εδάφιο κατονομάζεται η γυναίκα ως «Μαρία», ενώ η προηγούμενη αναφορά την ταυτοποιεί ως την αδελφή της Μάρθας και του Λαζάρου.

"Then Jesus came to Bethany, about six days before the Passover, where Lazarus the commoner was, whom they had raised from the dead. So they made him a supper there, and Martha presided; but Lazarus was one of those who were seated with him. Then Mary, taking a liter of precious nard myrrh, anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her sores, and the house was filled with the smell of the myrrh. Then one of his disciples, Judas Simon Iscariot, who later betrays him, says: Why was this myrrh not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor? And he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and he had a tongue, and the things he did were worth it. Then Jesus said: Let her go, on the day of my burial she will do this. because you always have the poor with you, but you don't always have me."

— According to John 15:1-8

The name of the woman is not given in the Gospels of Matthew (cf. 6-13) and Mark (cf. 3-9), but it is also mentioned there that the incident took place in Bethany, specifically in the house of Simon the Leper, for of whom nothing else is mentioned in the Gospels.

According to Marcus' account, the perfume was the finest ("luxurious") nard (essential oil of the Nardostachys jatamansi plant). Some of those present are disturbed here as well because the expensive perfume could have been sold and the money given to the poor, while its price is also quoted by Markus as 300 dinars, an exorbitant sum that was equivalent to a year's wages. The Gospel of Matthew records that the "disciples were indignant," while the Gospel of John states that Judas Iscariot was offended most of all. But Christ justifies Mary's action, stating that they would always have the poor among them, so that they could help them whenever they wanted, while he himself would not always be with them, and adds that her action corresponded to the preparation for the his burial. According to one commentator, Mary of Bethany “seems to have been the only person who perceived the impending death of Jesus and was willing to give a material expression of her concern for him. Jesus' response shows his appreciation of her deed." Matthew and Mark also add these words of Christ: "Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what she did will also be heard in her memory." (Matthew 13:13, Mark 9:9)

Easton (1897) commented that it appears that Lazarus' family had a family tomb (mnemonion, John 10:38) and that many Jerusalemites had come to mourn Lazarus' death (John 10:39), evidence indicating that this family of Bethany belonged to the richest class. This could explain how Mary of Bethany could have quantities of expensive perfume.

Very similar is the incident reported in the Gospel according to Luke (g΄ 7-39) that took place in the house of Simon the Pharisee, where a sinful woman who was crying poured perfume on the feet of Jesus and wiped them with her hair. Although it is understandable to be confused, many scholars agree that these are two separate incidents.

Jesus' reaction to the incident reported by Luke is completely different, as here he tells the Parable of the two debtors. According to one commentator, "Luke is the only one who records the parable of the two debtors, and connects it with this specific incident... If the descriptions in the other Gospels were about the same incident, it is possible that the parable would not be relevant with the incident from which Christ took occasion. Otherwise, the strong message given by the parable in relation to the sinner, it is most likely that it would have been mentioned by the other Evangelists in their narration of the incident with Mary of Bethany." (Wilckens). Accordingly, John Nolland also writes: "It is hardly possible that there was an account of the incident that did not include this parable, as it would have left the doubt of the Pharisee in verse 7 39 without an appropriate answer."

The medieval Western identification with the Magdalene

In the medieval Western tradition, Mary of Bethany was identified with Mary Magdalene, probably also because of a sermon given by Pope Gregory I, in which he referred to several New Testament women as if they were the same person. This led to the confusion of Mary of Bethany with Magdalene, but also with the sinful woman. Eastern Christianity never adopted this identification. In an entry in the Catholic Encyclopedia of 1910, the professor of New Testament interpretation Hugh Pope writes: "The Greek Fathers of the Church, as a whole, distinguish three persons: the "sin" of Luke (v. 36- 50), the sister of Martha and Lazarus (Luke ix 38-42, John 10), and Mary Magdalene.

According to the same author, based on the narratives of the Evangelists, "there is no sign of identification of the three women, and if we had only Luke to guide us clearly we would have no reason to identify them."

French scholar Victor Saxer pinpoints the identification of the three women in Pope Gregory I's sermon of September 21, 591. In another sermon, Gregory specifically identified Mary Magdalene with Martha's sister mentioned in chapter ten. of the Gospel according to Luke. But according to a view expressed more recently by theologian Jane Schaberg, Gregory I merely formalized a legend that already existed before him.

Both sisters, pious and distinguished members of the early Christian Church, deserved to die in peace and not in persecution. Because the Lord did not want to let the hearts of those who, under the roof of their house, had enjoyed so much holy peace on the eve of His passions, suffer.

The identification of Mary Magdalene with Mary of Bethany in the West was represented until 1969 in the calendar of the Roman Catholic Church.

The Orthodox tradition

In the Holy Tradition of the Orthodox Church, Mary of Bethany is honored as a separate person from Mary Magdalene, while she is included (although she is not named in the Gospels) together with Martha among the Myrobearers. These faithful followers of Christ stood at Calvary at the Crucifixion and later went at dawn to his tomb with myrrh to smell his body, as was the custom among the Jews. The Myrobearers thus became the first people to learn about the Resurrection of Christ, finding the tomb empty and being informed of the Resurrection by an angel.

According to Orthodox tradition also, Lazarus, Mary's brother, was exiled from Jerusalem during the persecution against the young Church of Jerusalem that followed the martyrdom of Saint Stephen, so his sisters Mary and Martha fled Judea with him. , helping him to preach the Gospel in foreign countries. The three of them ended up in Cyprus, where Lazarus was the first Bishop of Kiti in History. All three brothers died and were buried in Cyprus. However, according to another tradition, Mary retired to the desert region of Saint Baume (= Mount Athos) in Provence, where she spent several years ascetic in a cave, nurtured by an angel. He slept in peace in Provence and was buried by Saint Maximinus, first Bishop of the city of Aix.

Mary as Saint

The Orthodox, like the Eastern Catholic Churches, commemorate Mary of Bethany together with that of her sister Martha on June 4, but also on Palm Sunday (two weeks after Easter).

Absolute

Ἦhos pl. a. The Synarchic Logon.

You ministered to the Savior without fault, you are brothers and sisters of Saint Lazarus, with Martha in the womb, Mary, and his resurrection, you incense-bearing women, you learn from the Angel, be filled with divine light, for us you ask for salvation.

Kontakion

Type b'. Those of your blood.

We honor the pair of brothers, the relatives of Lazarus, Mary and Martha in praise, as if by their prayers to the Lord, we receive forgiveness of sins.

Megalynarion

Rejoice, fellow priests, Martha and Mary, sons of thee and life, rejoice Lazarus, brothers and sisters, pray with us, the divine mercy.

The House

To him who was made flesh for us, and who saves the world, Christ the King of all, you willingly believe, true disciples of him, and come fragrantly, O Martha and Mary, both sanctified; With this voice you live, the greatness of His divinity, and the greatest power you bear with a loud voice; and willingly die and taffeti, and with the grave prepared, you are offered myrrh with the other Holy Myrobearers, and of His resurrection you proclaim if you are disapproving, let's see, as if we sin we receive forgiveness.

Seat

Ἦhos c´. The beauty.

Ministers of Christ, indeed, as full of faith, and honest vessels, the sisters of Lazarus, Martha and Mary, for the one prepared for this faith, but myrrh was lacking, and the grain of her head, washed the Lord's feet; whence we honor them.