In his immortal story, Luke portrays Martha as the busy, fussy hostess whose main concern is to cook a good meal, and Mary as the eager recipient of the Word of God. Down the ages, the theologians have argued endlessly about it, equating Martha's busyness with the active life of the Church, and Mary's preference for listening to God's word with the contemplative life. This latter is the better choice, according to many of them.

However, this is not a story to establish the supremacy of either choice. One writer puts it thus - "The story is not about practical housekeepers of budding contemplatives, but the primacy of the Word of God in the Christian life". What Jesus is telling Martha is that at this particular moment, preparing a meal is not the most important thing. The need now is to give an attentive ear to what He wants to say. Mary understands this, so Martha should not try to rope her into what she herself is doing.

The story speaks of the attitude of the disciple in the presence of the Word of God. The disciples should never overlook the opportunity of hearing the Word of God by being too busy about lesser matters. He must pay attention to why the Guest has come - to impart His Word and His Grace.

The disciples must be hearers before they are doers of the Word, for if God's Word is unheard in their lives, then it will be unspoken and undone in their lives as well.