Folia Theologica 6. (1995)
János Székely: Mary and Martha how to receive the divine guest?
MARY AND MARTHA 169 cience of Jesus about his death.32 In that way the whole journey is transformed in an ’existence towards death’ and the discourses receive the weight of the last words of the Prophet before his death.33 It is however also a way towards the assumption (9,51), also the glorious way of the Messiah who sends messangers before himself and gathers a new people of God to enter then with majesty in Jerusalem. The way can express also the irresistible continuation of God’s plan, of the Salvation history. Ecclesiological interpretation. Luke depicts Christianity as a ’way’,34 and in continuous movement. From Acts 1,8 the history of the church is a constant going towards the ’ends of the earth’. Paul is sent by the Spirit to his journeys (Acts 13,1-3), he has companies and sends messengers before himself like Jesus (Acts 20,13), and he ’must’ go to Jerusalem and to Rome (Acts 20,22; 23,11). In that way the journey of Jesus towards Jerusalem becomes a préfiguration of the church (and of the whole salvation) history, which has to pass through the cross and rejection, but arrives however - or precisely by the sufferings - to the ends of the earth, to Theophilos.35 Jesus’ journey préfigurâtes also the wandering apostles of the early church. The teachings during the journey in this way are referred first of all to the wandering church and not so much to the Sitz im Leben Jesu. Furthermore the wandering of Jesus is a paradigme of individual Christian life as well, since we have to enter in the glory through many souffrances (Acts 14,22), having no place to put down our head (Lk 9,58). ’God has visited his people’ (Lk 7,16) Luke presents Jesus during his wandering as a guest, who enters in houses, and where he enters, salvation is offered to that house (Lk 10,6. 19,9). The analogy for this presentation is taken from the O.T. expressions about God visiting his people (Ex 3,16. etc.), but probably also from greek legends about gods visiting men in human form. Luke in fact mentions these ideas (Acts 14,11-13) and alludes to them in his Emmaus 32 H. CONZELMANN, Die Mitte der Zeit (1964) p. 57. 33 Like the four discourses of Moses in Deuteronomy before his death. 34 Cf, note 19. 35 These parallels are largely dealt with in R. F. O'TOOL, L'unit della teológia di Luca (1994) p. 57-70.
