Marta

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 few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
—Luke 10:38–42

The passage above captures Jesus in a domestic scene—reminiscent of the wedding feast at Cana, where he gently rebukes his mother—teaching timely lessons about prioritization, stress management, and ultimately, living a Spirit-filled life.

I have changed the usual arrangement of figures, placing Mary not at Jesus’ feet but behind Martha in a supportive posture. Martha, worried and upset, is a composite of several faces and hands, representing her busyness and frustrations. Christ is relegated to the background because I have four siblings, each with a distinct personality, and I wanted to focus on the intrapersonal relationship between the two sisters, which I show as loving and non-competitive.