I am Mary, sister to Martha, whom Jesus praised for sitting at His feet and doing something special for Him. Without the help of my sister Martha and my brother Lazarus, I would not have been able to hang around our visitors and listen to their stories. Martha was hospitable and accommodating. She made people comfortable by working her hands off. She was always on her feet doing something for someone. Her home was a hostel for many. I, of course, helped her a lot, except when we had visitors. And since we lived in Bethany that was close to Jerusalem, many people became our acquaintances. One of them was Jesus of Nazareth. He became a very close friend. We also believed that He was sent from God to be our Redeemer. My sister Martha put out a special effort to please Him and His companions and she wanted me to do the same.

I am Martha. I do not think that it was my real name. I was called Martha for who I was and what I did. Martha simply meant, "Lady" or "Mistress." Indeed, I was the Lady or the Mistress of my household. Someone had to be in charge and I had to be it. My sister Mary and my brother Lazarus were just not inclined to keep our household in order. In fact, both of them required my help. Lazarus was sickly and needed attention himself. Mary loved to mingle with guests and listen to their tales. Both, Lazarus and Mary had a taste of the world and returned home after our parents died. I had stayed home and served my parents and they rewarded me with the ownership of their home. It was now my place and I continued offering my service to travelers, visitors and strangers. I believed in being hospitable and kind. Also, my home was in Bethany, close to Jerusalem and very convenient for my friends and visitors to stay with us while they had business in the big city. I was proud of being a hostess and made those that stayed in my place feel welcome. For many, my home was for them a home away from home.

We are prone to say things and act without giving it much thought. Paul, the Apostle, what did he mean when he wrote, "None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory" (I Cor.2: 8)? The question is, had they known, would we have redemption? Paul had a tendency to make a comment and then make us search his writings to determine what he meant. In this case, he argued that ignorant leaders did God's bidding. God's Spirit deliberately clouded their minds so that they would do what was necessary (I Cor.1: 18-25). The bad that humans do, God turned into something that benefits all of us. The Hebrews knew that without the shedding of blood there was no remission of sin (Heb.9: 22). Paul too agreed, "And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in you sins" (I Cor.15: 17). This was one time when human ignorance served us well. God turned what was bad into what is good.

I went to the Temple to pay homage to our God. To show my gratitude to our Lord, I put my last two pennies in the offering box. I noticed that a stranger was watching me and then turned to a group of other men. He looked my way and appeared to be talking about me. The group appeared friendly and I drew closer so I could listen to what their leader was saying. From whispers around me, I learned that it was Jesus talking about me. He singled me out as the greatest giver of all the other donors that day. The others had given from their surplus, but that I had given my last meal. It was true. I had given away my food for the day. I felt that the Lord needed it, more than I did. I had reached a point in my life when I had to live from hand to mouth daily. It no longer mattered whether I lived one day longer or died one day sooner. Somehow I kept on living even without the two shekels. I do not even remember how I got the two pennies in the first place. And I was more than surprised that my parting with them would attract Jesus' attention. I had heard that He was keenly interested in the little people and their contributions to God's kingdom. But I had no idea that my two shekels would be elevated and praised before His followers. I wondered why His followers had to be made aware of my donation? I had heard that they had given up their jobs and homes and even families to follow their Master and Teacher. Apparently, they had not given up their last meal. Indirectly, Jesus held me up as an example to follow. Perhaps, it was just to show them that nothing escaped the Lord's watchful eye of what His people do with what they have. And most certainly, the Lord had His eyes on me.

You may ask, "How can a human body house a legion of evil spirits?" How much space does a demon require? Demons are spirits and require no space. They inhabit the human mind and cause extreme confusion, depression and devastation. The demons, within me, were hostile and violent little devils. I did not control them. They controlled me and did as they pleased. The first thing they did was to rob me of my mental faculties so that I could not control my physical needs. They endowed me with enormous physical strength. No man could bind me and no chains could hold me. I over powered several men who tried to restrain me. My own family lived in fear of me and had me driven from my home. I ended up living in a cemetery and among graves and tombs. People were afraid to bury their dead with me around. I roamed the hillside scaring people with loud screams. Only strangers would pass that way and then run when they heard me make threatening sounds. These demons had infested me with such guilt that I would seek to atone for it by cutting and bruising myself with stones and then cry out in despair. I was a very sick man and no one would come near me to help me.

I would like you to meet a mad man. Yes, I was a crazy man. Everybody, in Capernaum, knew that I was out of my mind. At least that is what the people thought of me. My family had dragged me to the priests and leaders of the synagogue to cast out some demon in me. As you might guess, they were not very successful. My demon just did not budge. They did not have the power they claimed they had. But I was harmless so they let me wander the streets and market places. From time to time, I visited the synagogue and listen to their teachers and leaders. The demon, in me, did not fear these good people. He regarded them as religious fakes. I presume that some of the people regarded me as normal. I could enter a conversation and be rather pleasant. I had days when I excelled. Some times my demon was like an angel. Of course, when some one disagreed with me and called me crazy, I did not like it. Still, I would not reciprocate or retaliate. Those were the times when I behaved more appropriately than some of our outstanding citizens.

Jesus had an argument with the Pharisees about belonging to God (Jn.8: 31-47). They believed that being physical descendants made them legitimate sons of God. For God to be their Father; Jesus informed them, they would have had to obey Him. Their evil intentions did not place them in the family of God, but in the camp of the devil. He told the leaders, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here." The reason they did not hear Jesus was because they no longer belonged to God. To their displeasure, Jesus pointed out that their deeds did not even qualify them to be Abraham's children.

Jesus made this prediction, "I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Mt.8: 11-12).