Folia Theologica 6. (1995)
János Székely: Mary and Martha how to receive the divine guest?
170 J. SZÉKELY story.36 Luke, when representing often Jesus in his Gospel as guest who brings salvation (5,27-32; 7,36-50; 14,1-14 of. also the many parables about banquet) gives to his whole account a salvific value. More speci- ficly the Mary and Martha story (with 9,51-56. and 19,1-10) gives to the whole travel account the depth of a divine visitation of the earth. And also the messengers sent by Jesus and arrived to Theophilos continue this divine visit, and must be accepted with the same attitude of Mary. A closely related theme to the divine guest is that of the banquet. An interesting contribution to the understanding of this lukan pattern has been offered recently by D. P. Moessner.37 The strongest part of his thesis - according to my opinion - is the comparison of Lk 9,1-50 with the events of the life of Moses. After having fed the people (like Moses with the manna), Jesus ascends the mountain where Moses and Eliah appear to him in ’glory’ and speak about his ’exodus’ (cf. Moses on the Sinai). In the meantime the people down mormours, the disciples being unable to heal a child, and Jesus fetches a sight: Oh, perverse generation, how much longer must I bear you? (cf. the golden calf and the complaints of Moses in Dt 1,12). Then Jesus foretells his death (like Moses, he had to die before the fulfillement of the promises because of the sins of the people), and warns his disciples to become like children38 (like Moses affirmed that none of the wicked generation will enter the promised land, only the ’children’). It seems to be clear that Luke wants to present Jesus as the ’Prophet like Moses’ (explicitely in Acts 3,22) in his exodus towards the promised land, rejected by his generation, but received by the outcast (sinners, women, tax collectors). When discovering this comparison the Jesus’ banquets as well obtain a further significance. In fact, the chosen people was wandering in the desert towards the Land flowing with milk and honey, where they will eat the fruits of the land and rejoice (cf. Acts 2,46s.) in the ’place’ (Jerusalem) where the ’Name’ of the Lord is present (cf. the importance of the name of the Lord for Luke) with their household, with the stranger, the widow and the poor (Dt 14,26-29; 26,12). The banquets of Jesus (contrary to the banquets of the pharisees not condivided with the poor and the sinner Lk 11,37-41; 15,1- 2) are that anticipation and realization of this eating together in the name 36 W. GRUNDMANN, Fragen des Komposition des lukanischen Reiseberichts in ZNW (1959) p.253. 256. 37 MOESSNER, Lord of the Banquet, quoted above. 38 Only Luke has the episode here.
