“There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:42
Dear People Who Keep Company with God,
Early on Christmas morning in 1997, I had a dream where I opened the Bible to a beautiful page colored green. That page had a Christmas message titled, “The Story of Mary and Martha.” As soon as I finished reading the story, I woke up. It was 5:45 AM. I immediately grabbed my Bible on the nightstand next to the bed, wondering if there was a forgotten Christmas Card or green sheet of paper tucked in it. There wasn’t. I lay back down, knowing the dream was a message from the Holy Spirit, and fell back asleep, wondering about its meaning.
Mary, Martha, and their brother Lazarus were friends and followers of Jesus. He visited and perhaps stayed in their home on more than one occasion. Jesus loved the three of them (John 11:5). Martha was preparing the meal on this particular visit, serving and doing all she could to make Jesus feel welcomed and blessed. Mary chose to sit at Jesus’ feet, listening as He spoke. While doing all the work, Martha becomes frustrated. She comes to Jesus and says, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to help me.” Jesus replies, “Martha, Martha. 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 10:40-41)
Taking into account the context of the story brings much more clarity to its meaning. It comes at the end of Jesus speaking of the need for workers in His harvest, the sending out the seventy to heal and preach the Kingdom of God, and the Parable of the Good Samaritan. The overriding narrative of Luke 10 is the importance of taking action. Jesus exhorts us to “Go and do the same (take action).” (Luke 10:37) And then, in the account of Mary and Martha, Jesus supports and encourages Mary’s desire to sit and be attentive to Him. He said, “This is the better part.”
Jesus doesn’t question Martha for her serving. It is that she is “worried and upset about many things.” Her work is “distracted” (Luke 10:40), and it is anxiousness and frustration while working that Jesus contrasts with “the one thing that is needed,” which is Mary’s attentiveness. Martha got so caught up trying to be hospitable and making sure everything was right that she neglected and lost sight of the reason Jesus was there: to spend time with them and enjoy their company.
It is not a story contrasting the life of sitting at His feet over a life of action. Instead, it’s about guarding our hearts against life’s cares and distractions, whether while serving or sitting with Him. Martha’s ministry to Jesus distracted her from Him because the work became her focus. Jesus doesn’t tell Martha to stop working, but He does challenge her to refocus her attention on Him as she works. Out of that will come much more fruitful service in His Kingdom. That was the message on the beautiful green page in my Bible that the Holy Spirit gave me in 1997. And that is His message for us in this time of uncertainty, turmoil, and transition in which we find ourselves.
Many Blessings, BW