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Luke 10:38-42

 At the Home of Martha and Mary

     38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 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!”

      41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Some people think the Bible is from such a different cultural context that it’s not relevant to the lives we lead today. And it’s not hard to see why those people would say that – especially if they had never really taken the time to study the Bible carefully. After all, it is from a patriarchal Mideastern culture and the newest parts are twenty centuries old. And some parts, like the acceptance of slavery, are clearly from another time. But people who take the time to study the Bible in all its complexity are usually surprised by how much of its material still speaks to us in the digital age.

This story from the Gospel of Luke seems like a perfect example. It’s the story of a visit Jesus made to the home of the sisters Mary and Martha, and it has a lot to say to anyone who’s trying to follow Jesus in our time.

The two sisters seem to have been among the closest friends of Jesus. In the eleventh chapter of John, their brother Lazarus is identified to Jesus as “the one whom you love,” and Jesus stood with the sisters and wept before calling him out of the tomb later in that chapter. The family would hold a big dinner in Jesus’ honor a few days later, and at that dinner, Mary would anoint the feet of Jesus and wipe them with her hair. A very intimate gesture. So it seems that they were very close.

But in this story we’re thinking about today, the two sisters would respond to the presence of Jesus in very different ways.

There’s something about Martha that seems very familiar to lots of us. Luke says that Martha was “distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.” And the Greek word that’s translated “distracted” literally means ‘dragged around.’ And lots of us can certainly relate to that – one of the main features of modern life seems to be the feeling of being dragged around by all the demands that are placed on us.

But apparently it was sometimes a feature of life in first-century Palestine, too. Here’s a woman 2,000 years ago who seems to be having the same experience.

In the story, Martha takes responsibility for demonstrating hospitality, but Mary just sits at the feet of Jesus and listens to him teach. And Martha resents it. She winds up getting in Jesus’ face about it. “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself?” She’s had it with Mary sitting around not helping, and it seems like she’s had it with Jesus not telling Mary to help.

But for Mary, listening to those teachings and being in relationship with Jesus are apparently a higher priority than entertaining.

From my reading in commentaries, it seems to me that this passage is usually interpreted as one that tells us what we should and shouldn’t do. We should sit at the feet of Jesus, and we shouldn’t let ourselves be dragged around by “all the preparations.”

But I suspect that Jesus would want us to see this passage a little differently – maybe as a caution. I think he’d want us to see it as a warning of what can happen when we let ourselves get so caught up in the ‘busy-ness’ of life that we fail to take time to sit at his feet.

Because the truth is, it’s not quite a matter of black and white, is it? Clearly, there are things that have to be done. Lots of us have jobs. Lots of us have families. Somebody has to do the work of housework and childcare. But if we fail to make time to sit at the feet of Jesus the way Mary did, it seems inevitable that we will eventually burn out. We’ll find ourselves standing there like Martha, with one hand on our hip and one finger out saying, “Lord, don’t you care?”

But look what Jesus said about Mary: “Mary has chosen what is better,” he said, “and it will not be taken away from her.” And I suspect that he would say that this “better” part was not only better in terms of the kingdom, but also better for her.

We don’t get to sit physically at the feet of Jesus. But we do get to study his teachings. And we do get to go into the presence of God in prayer and worship and to have the very same refreshing love poured out on us that was poured out on Jesus himself. I’ve never heard of anyone getting burned out from being in the presence of God. But I have heard of lots of people being healed and refreshed by that presence, so they could go back to their daily routines with renewed energy, enthusiasm, imagination and love.

Let’s pray. Lord, you know how the demands of life can make us feel ‘dragged around’ and distract us from the opportunity to sit at the feet of Jesus and learn what it means to live an “abundant life.” Help us to choose the ‘better part’ of the life of faith, so that we will be renewed and refreshed for the work of your kingdom. Amen.

Have a great weekend, and worship God joyfully on Sunday!

Henry

(The other readings for today are Psalms 88 and 148; Micah 6:1-8; and Revelation 9:13-21. Our readings come from the NIV Bible, as posted on Biblica.com, the website of the International Bible Society.)