Reading the story of Martha and Mary in Luke 10 with my Female Christian Ministry Leaders cohort this morning, a fresh perspective dawned on me. Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made - likely overwhelmed by fixing up a feast for Jesus and his entourage all by herself, while Mary, her sister, was sitting and listening to Jesus teach instead of helping. It’s not that Martha didn’t want to sit at Jesus’ feet and spend time with him like Mary did. But in a culture that valued hospitality and conditioned women into domestic roles, Martha felt obligated to all the busy work she was doing. But then Jesus’ response to Martha’s request for Mary to help was completely countercultural: Mary “has chosen” what is better, and it will not be taken away from her. Wait, what? Mary had a choice? This must have come as a shock to many who were present at the time. It’s mind-blowing, because women in that culture didn’t really have the option to not take on domestic res...