Martha of Bethany was probably born during the Roman Empire in Judaea Province. The name Martha is a transliteration of the Koine Greek Μάρθα, itself a translation of the מַרְתָּא Martâ, "The mistress" or "the lady", from מרה "mistress", feminine of מר "master" (Wikipedia, 2018).
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, they came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a brother called Lazarus and a sister called Mary. One day, Mary sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he taught. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that I'm the only one serving while my sister just sits and listens?"
"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "I know that you're concerned about serving me and making things comfortable, but only one thing is important right now and Mary has chosen it."
In the account of the raising of Lazarus, Jesus meets with the sisters, Mary and Martha. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
"Lord", Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask."
Jesus said to her, "Your brother shall rise again. I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he were dead, shall live again. Do you believe in this?"
"Yes, Lord", she told him, "I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world."
After that, Martha calls her sister Mary to see Jesus. Mary brings Jesus to Lazarus' tomb where he commands the stone to be removed from its entrance.
"No, Lord! He's been dead for four days! The body is decaying by now!" Martha interjected.
"Didn't I say that if you would believe, you would see the glory of God?" Jesus replied. They then take away the stone and Jesus prays and calls Lazarus forth alive from the tomb.
In John 12:1–8, Martha appears again in where she serves at a meal held in Jesus' honor at which her brother is also a guest. The narrator only mentions that the meal takes place in Bethany, while the apparently parallel accounts in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark specify that it takes place at the home of Simon the Leper.
Martha was venerated Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Christian Church, Anglican Communion Church, and Lutheran Church. Based on Catholic, Anglican , and Lutheran liturgical calendar, her feast day is June 29, while based on Orthodox, her feast day is June 4. Saint Martha of Bethany is patroness of dietitians, domestic servants, homemakers, hotel-keepers, housemaids, housewives, innkeepers, laundry workers, maids, manservants, servants, servers, single laywomen, travellers, cooks, and butlers.
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Book of Ancient Saints: Volume 1
Non-FictionSaints are people, who are accepted as being holy, religious, and virtuous. In Christianity, more than thousands of saints gave up their life for God or died for Jesus Christ. This volume are true-to-life stories of saints who were born between BC...
