Mary and Martha Worship
and Serve
Now it happened as they went that He
entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into
her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and
heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached
Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?
Therefore tell her to help me.” And Jesus
answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about
many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which
will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42
I have read this story many times in
the bible, and I am always left at the end thinking .. hmm, that Martha, she
sounds like my kind of gal! I would feel
the same way as she did if my sister was just loafing around while I was busy
preparing the house and food for our company!
Or ... am I the only one who relates to Martha? :)
I have to admit that I am definitely
the person who, while I absolutely LOVE to entertain, I am obsessed with
everything being perfect. I have to make
sure that I put on the façade of my home always being in perfect order and in
perfect cleanliness. I stress out the
kids telling them that everything they own has to be put away and out of sight
(much like I’m trying to create some sort of illusion that we don’t have
children living in our home!). I make
sure that tablecloths are perfect, flowers on the table, and a perfect buffet
of food and drinks put out on the counter.
Part of this also includes making sure I have picked the perfect serving
bowl or platter so that everything is displayed perfectly.
Some of my Sisters are thinking, and ….
How is this bad? ( LOL ) and for the
most part I agree with that. But what I
notice sometimes is that I neglect to enjoy the company that is coming over
because I’m so worked up over things being perfect. I am so busy keeping busy, I sometimes
neglect to sit down, relax and enjoy my company.
What I think is really interesting
about Jesus commenting on Martha’s insistence of Mary helping her, is that he
is telling her that Mary has made the better choice. It was interesting that Mary chose to sit and
listen, which at the time was a posture of a disciple (who in the ancient world
were men). In Martha’s complaint,
it almost seems like she is mad that Mary is breaking the rules for the
traditional way of behaving! But Jesus
encouraged Mary to think and learn. He
allowed her the right to listen and to think about ideas, and develop her mind
with His teachings. Now don’t get me
wrong, I don’t think Jesus was telling Martha that the acts of service are
unimportant, I mean, he was the ultimate servant of all. (For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to
give His life a ransom for many. Mark 10:45) But I think what he was saying is that
learning his teachings was even more important.
Especially in light of the fact that the housework would always be
there… He would not.
Nothing
is wrong with being sensible if it doesn't interfere with the more important
things in life. Martha
was worried about something that was important to her, but was it the most
important thing? Mary made a
conscious decision between two alternatives: She chose listening to Jesus over
preparation of a meal. This may sound strange to those who, like Martha, think
meal preparation is an important part of entertaining hosts. Mary saw this situation
differently. She chose to listen to the wisdom of Jesus, her Savior, while she
had the opportunity.
People
make choices. For Mary, Jesus' words were the most important
needs of her life. Martha needed the
reminder that her greatest need were the words of eternal life. God's Word will stand eternally. The
spiritual understanding we get in this life will be ours forever. But we must
not allow physical needs and duties to consume us. Martha stayed busy providing her guests with
things that, she thought, made their visit more enjoyable. She should be applauded
for seeing to the important needs of others.
Instead, Jesus commended her sister Mary. He praised Mary for choosing the good part,
the holy words, truth and faith of Jesus Christ, which will never be taken from
her. We should try to follow Mary's
example and desire God's truth above everything else.
But seek first the
kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to
you. Matthew 6:33
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