“Now as they were
traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him
into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet,
listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and
she came up to Him and said,
‘Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone?
Then tell her to help me.’ But the Lord answered and said to her, ‘Martha,
Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary
has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.’” (rf. Lk. 10:38–42)
In continuing the train of thought
from last month’s entry on legacies, have you ever considered the difference in
importance between personal relationships and accomplishments, who we are vs.
what we do?
Often when we view the story here of
Martha and Mary, we typically think of it solely in the light of their
different personalities or that Mary was more “spiritual” than Martha. It is
easy to get caught up in superficialities. However, I believe that there were
deeper things at work, things that Jesus was pointing out to these women who
were both close to His heart.
In their culture, it must be
understood that hospitality to guests in one’s home was an expectation of the
highest order. To be invited in was to be treated with great dignity and
respect, not to mention, to be feted with the best that the host and/or
hostesses could afford, even to their own economic detriment. This kind of treatment
usually required the effort of everyone in the household to participate in
order that the comfort of the guest would be guaranteed.
Thus, we can better understand
Martha’s chagrin when she finds Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus, listening to
His teaching, rather than being in the kitchen, helping Martha to prepare the
meal for their honored guest! Not only was it a personal offense to Martha
(“you are not helping me with this responsibility”), but it was a cultural
affront (“you are not doing your part to make our guest feel welcome and
honored here!”). Though they knew Jesus and that He loved them dearly, still
the cultural dynamics were very much in play. How could Martha get past them
and make her Master feel respected in her home—with little or no help from her
sister?
Enter Jesus’ admonition to Martha.
It was not so much a chastisement as it was a “wake-up call” to reprioritize.
Like so many of us, Martha was so caught up in the moment that she failed to
see the blessing literally sitting in front of her. She believed that
circumstances required busyness, action and organization to the ultimate end of
positive results. Mary, on the other hand, perceived the setting well and made
the correct decision to take advantage of the situation. Jesus then brought the
difference to everyone’s attention. The conflict had nothing to do with their
culture. It had everything to do with the basic priorities of “doing” vs.
“being”.
If you have read enough of Jesus’
teachings (indeed, all of God’s Word), you will find Him dwelling on the
subject of “being”. It is a matter of who we “are” in relationship to Him. The
Apostle Paul terms it being “in Christ”: “Therefore
if anyone is in Christ, he is a
new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come” (rf.
II
Cor. 5:17 NASB). This form of “being” is founded and expressed in
terms of relationships. We are based in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. We are
connected with others who are likewise founded through His Church, His Body,
through the ministry of His Holy Spirit. Even as Jesus invited Mary to sit at
His feet, so He invites His followers to do the same, to hear from Him and to
commune with Him, relishing in His Presence while being blessed in the mutual
companionship of those who share in this experience.
It is not that in pursuing “being”
that we do not “do” anything. Jesus has given His followers plenty to do to
fulfill His will on earth. However, the concentration of our efforts should be
on our relationship with Him and with others, rather than on an ever-growing,
never-ceasing checklist of “do’s” that we concoct to keep ourselves busy so as
not to be perceived to be lazy or complacent.
Besides, when this life is over and
we look back over the seventy to eighty years plus that we have occupied on
this earth, God willing (rf. Ps. 90:10), what will all our
“doing” have accomplished for us? Will we look at our kitchen floors, pots and
pans, dishes, etc. and say, “You know, I kept my kitchen and all of its
implements so clean and shiny.” Will we be proud that we never spared a moment
to rest, but made sure that each one was occupied with activity? Or will we,
like Mary, have correctly prioritized our lives so that spending time with
people meant more to us than spending time doing chores and that “being” was
seen as greater than “doing”.
One final thought. Martha must have
gotten the message that Jesus conveyed to her that day. How do we know that
there was a change? When Jesus arrived after her brother, Lazarus, had died, it
was Martha who ran to meet Jesus. It was to Martha that Jesus gave some of the
most important words of Jesus’ life and ministry: Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes
in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will
never die. Do you believe this?” She said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed
that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even
He who comes into the world” (rf. Jn. 11:25–27 NASB). Her
response to His question showed that she knew who He was, but also that she was
devoted to Him and would follow Him regardless. She had become like her sister,
Mary, more centered on “being” than “doing”. Will our relationship with Jesus
lead us to do the same?
