Worried and Upset

Gracious hospitality certainly has its place. This was a
lovely breakfast in Germany. 

Scripture:

Luke 10:38   Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. ³⁹ She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.” ⁴¹ But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; ⁴² there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”

Observation:

Luke places this scene directly after the story of the Good Samaritan. What has just been demonstrated is love of neighbor, and now Mary becomes the example of one who loves the Lord. Both individuals serve as models of discipleship. 

Jesus is making his way to Jerusalem and continues to have encounters with different people along the way. He had spoken much about the need for hospitality but then he takes us beyond hospitality and to the heart of discipleship. Martha had done all that was expected of one to be hospitable. She had welcomed Jesus into her home and provided for him and the disciples.

Over and over again Luke provides us with examples of disciples who are willing to go on a deeper walk with Jesus. Many of us would find ourselves in Martha, pre-occupied with doing many good things for the Lord. Mary’s presence is disconcerting on many levels. First of all, she is not fitting into the cultural norm which would have been expected of a woman in her time. Her job was to be doing the work in the house. Technically, Martha was not wrong to complain about Mary, for she was not fulfilling the responsibilities that would have been normally assigned to her. Martha was becoming worried and upset because she was trying to take care of all the details on her own. Unfortunately, Martha was not wholeheartedly dependent upon the Lord, nor was she in love with Jesus. Mary is a challenge to us for she bookends the story of the Good Samaritan. 

Mary takes the place of a disciple which is counter-cultural. Women did not get to sit at the feet of a rabbi. What’s amazing is that Jesus affirms her position as a disciple and that she has every right to sit at his feet. Not only does she have the right, but it is the preferred place. Mary isn’t worried and upset, because her entire focus is on loving God with her heart, soul, mind and strength. 

Application:

I’ve often been a passionate defender of Martha, because I think she tends to get a bad rep from this story. It’s not necessarily bad to be serving the Lord, but it’s the way in which she serves that becomes the problem. Martha is worried and upset, and that’s where we find ourselves when we allow the things that we are doing to become more important than falling deeply in love with Jesus. 

We are to find ourselves sitting at Jesus’ feet, soaking in everything that we can learn. If I am worried and upset about life, I probably need to take time to evaluate whether I’m too consumed with the business of the Lord, rather than soaking in his presence. Those of us who are distracted may need to stop complaining about others and take the posture of Mary, focusing on our Lord. 

Prayer:

Lord, may you be the central focus of everything in my life. Amen.