Марфа из Вифании: Библейская история и образ

Biblical figure

Martha (Hebrew: מָרְתָא‎) is a biblical figure described in the Gospels of Luke and John. Together with her siblings Lazarus and Mary of Bethany, she is described as living in the village of Bethany near Jerusalem. She was witness to Jesus resurrecting her brother, Lazarus.

The name Martha is a Latin transliteration of the Koine Greek Μάρθα, itself a transliteration of the Aramaic מָרְתָא‎ Mârtâ, "the mistress" or "the lady", from מרה "mistress", feminine of מר "master." The Aramaic form occurs in a Nabatean inscription found at Puteoli, and now in the Naples Museum; it is dated AD 5 (Corpus Inscr. Semit., 158); also in a Palmyrene inscription, where the Greek translation has the form Marthein.

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus visits the home of two sisters named Mary and Martha. The two sisters are contrasted: Martha was "encumbered about many things" while Jesus was their guest, while Mary had chosen "the better part", that of listening to the master's discourse. The name of their village is not recorded, nor (unlike in John 11:18) is there any mention of whether Jesus was near Jerusalem. Biblical commentator Heinrich Meyer notes that "Jesus cannot yet be in Bethany, where Martha and Mary dwelt [according to John's Gospel]". But the Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges claims that it was "undoubtedly Bethany". As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. 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 my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" "Martha, Martha", the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her. "|author=|title=|source=

In the Gospel of John, Martha and Mary appear in connection with two incidents: the raising from the dead of their brother Lazarus (John 11) and the anointing of Jesus in Bethany (John 12:3). In the account of the raising of Lazarus, Jesus meets with the sisters in turn: Martha followed by Mary. Martha goes immediately to meet Jesus as he arrives, while Mary waits until she is called. As one commentator notes, "Martha, the more aggressive sister, went to meet Jesus, while quiet and contemplative Mary stayed home. This portrayal of the sisters agrees with that found in Luke 10:38–42." In speaking with Jesus, both sisters lament that he did not arrive in time to prevent their brother's death: "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died". But where Jesus' response to Mary is more emotional, his response to Martha is one of teaching, calling her to hope and faith:
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 will rise again." Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" "Yes, Lord", she told him, "I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world. "|author=|title=|source=

As the narrative continues, Martha calls her sister Mary to see Jesus. Jesus has Mary bring him to Lazarus' tomb where he commands the stone to be removed from its entrance. Martha here objects, "But, Lord, by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days", to which Jesus replies, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?". They then take away the stone and Jesus prays and calls Lazarus forth alive from the tomb. Martha appears again in John 12:1–8, 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 one Simon the Leper. As the Catholic Encyclopedia notes, "We are surely justified in arguing that, since Matthew and Mark place the scene in the house of Simon, St. John must be understood to say the same; it remains to be proven that Martha could not 'serve' in Simon's house." Orthodox tradition also relates that Martha's brother Lazarus was cast out of Jerusalem in the persecution against the Jerusalem Church following the martyrdom of St. Stephen. His sister Martha fled Judea with him, assisting him in the proclaiming of the Gospel in various lands, while Mary Magdalene remained with John the Apostle and assisted him with the Church of Jerusalem. According to Cyprian tradition, Lazarus and Martha later came to Cyprus, where Lazarus became the first Bishop of Kittim (modern Larnaca). All three died in Cyprus.

Martha is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, and commemorated by the Lutheran Church and the Anglican Communion. Through time, as the reverence for St. Martha developed, the images of maturity, strength, common sense, and concern for others predominated.

The Latin Church celebrates the feast day Martha, Mary of Bethany and her brother Lazarus of 29 July. The feast of Martha, classified as a "semi double" in the Tridentine calendar, became a "simple" one in the General Roman Calendar of Pope Pius XII, a "third class feast" in the General Roman Calendar of 1960, and a memorial in the present General Roman Calendar. The Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Rite Eastern Catholic Churches commemorate Martha and her sister Mary on 4 June. They also commemorate them collectively among the Myrrh bearing Women on the Sunday of the Myrrhbearers (the Third Sunday of Pascha – i. e., the second Sunday after Easter Sunday). Martha also figures in the commemorations of Lazarus Saturday (the day before Palm Sunday). Martha is commemorated on 29 July in the Calendar of Saints of the Lutheran Church, together with Mary and Lazarus and in the Calendar of saints of the Episcopal Church. Martha is remembered (with Mary and Lazarus) in the Church of England with a Lesser Festival on 29 July.

The Sisters of Saint Martha are a religious congregation founded in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, in 1894.

A further legend relates that Martha then went to Tarascon, France, where a monster, the Tarasque, was a constant threat to the population. The Golden Legend describes it as a beast from Galatia; a great dragon, half beast and half fish, greater than an ox, longer than a horse, having teeth sharp as a sword, and horned on either side, head like a lion, tail like a serpent, that dwelt in a certain wood between Arles and Avignon. Holding a cross in her hand, Martha sprinkled the beast with holy water. Placing her sash around its neck, she led the tamed dragon through the village. In the Collegiate Church crypt is a late 15th century cenotaph, also known as the Gothic Tomb of Saint Martha. It is the work of Francesco Laurana, a Croatian sculptor of the Italian School, commissioned by King René. At its base are two openings through which the relics could be touched. It bears three low reliefs separated by fluted pilasters representing: on the left, Saint Martha and the Tarasque; in the center, Saint Mary Magdalene borne aloft by the angels; on the right, Lazarus as Bishop of Marseille with his mitre and staff. There are two figures on either side: on the left, Saint Front, Bishop of Perrigueux, present at the funeral of Saint Martha, and on the right, Saint Marcelle, Martha's servant.

The town of Villajoyosa, Spain, honors St. Martha as its patron saint and celebrates The Festival of Moors and Christians annually in her honor. The 250 year old festival commemorates the attack on Villajoyosa by Berber pirates led by Zalé Arraez in 1538, when, according to legend, St. Martha came to the rescue of the townsfolk by causing a flash flood which wiped out the enemy fleet, thus preventing the corsairs from reaching the coast.

Tradition recounts that in the 1800s, Saint Martha (who legendarily subdued the Tarasque), was invoked by the people of Pateros, a town in Metro Manila, Philippines, to vanquish a crocodile in the Pateros River that ate their ducks. These animals were the main source of the townspeople's livelihood as their eggs are the main ingredient of the delicacy, Balút (fertilised duck egg), which is what the town is known for. One evening, under a full moon, an unnamed female bayani (hero) went to the river to tame the creature. At the river banks, the crocodile saw a light surrounding the figure, who was actually Saint Martha. At the sight of the glowing figure, the creature disappeared and the local duck industry once again flourished. The people of Pateros attributed this event to Saint Martha and a grand fluvial procession in honor of her has been held yearly since, in remembrance of the event.

Martha appears in the sacred gnostic text Pistis Sophia. She is instructed by the risen Christ on several of the repentances that must be made in order to have salvation. She also makes several prophetic interpretations of different Psalms.