The scriptures read are Numbers 36, Psalm 52 and Luke 10.
Numbers 36. The matter of land inherited by a woman migrating to her husband's clan is cleared up.
Psalm 52. A warning to a particularly perverse, if brave, fellow.
Luke 10. Jesus sends out 70 disciples out two by two as advance teams for him. And he lists some towns who rejected him, saying they'll do worst than Sodom in the last judgment! He even lists Capernaum, his headquarters during his ministry.
Did you notice that in v. 22 Jesus sounds for a minute the way he sounds most of the time in John's gospel?
The question of the 2 Great Commandments is illustrated by the parable of the Good Samaritan. As in Matthew 25, the sin of neglecting one in need is rather high on Jesus' list. We, on the other hand, rarely think of sins of omission as worse than sins of commission.
There is a revisionist moral to this story these days that commends Martha for doing what's necessary. But Martha is only doing what women were supposed to do. Mary is doing what they were forbidden to do--study God's word. An old saying goes "it is better to burn the Torah than to entrust it to a woman." And Jesus was breaking taboos teaching a woman. So kudos to Mary! Martha, let her be.
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