“Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42)
This extract from Luke’s gospel has always fascinated me as there seems to be such a strong contrast between the sisters, a gulf between worshipping at Jesus’ feet and working out the practicalities of preparing food for the table. However, is there really such a sharp divide?
What struck me today as this passage was expounded in church was Jesus’ corrective: “one thing is necessary”, which surely refers to “sitting at the Lord’s feet and listening to his teaching.” That’s where our journey with the Lord must start and from where everything should flow – all our service and our giving must happen for the right reasons, flowing from the grace He has shown us and the truth He has taught. Being “distracted”, “anxious and troubled” as we try to practically express our love for someone completely misses the point of what Jesus has been teaching (e.g. Matthew 6:25-34). Of course, such anxiety also leads us to judge others and lash out, as Martha does because Mary is not also running around like a headless chicken, which again contradicts what Jesus teaches (Luke 6:37-38). What is being critiqued here is distracted service that reveals a heart far from the Lord.
The one thing necessary is to learn from Jesus, to take His yoke upon ourselves, which we are promised is “easy” (Matt. 11:29-30). All service to Him must flow from relationship with Him. Notice what else the Master has just been teaching – “love your neighbour as yourself”, illustrated by the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). If we “sit at the Lord’s feet”, we will not just remain there – that contradicts the clear teachings of Scripture. This will be our launchpad for fruitful, gospel-centred ministry. He is the One who commaands “go and make disciples of all nations” but this is accompanied by the wonderful promise that “I will be with you always, even to the end of the ages”.
Given that the Holy Spirit was still to be poured out, the best place to be at that point for Mary (and Martha, who it seems from the text might have only just met Jesus!) was learning from the Way, the Truth and the Life. We must never try to twist this account from Luke’s gospel into overly-simplistic moralising that says you need to stop working so hard and spend more time listening to sermons. Maybe, particularly if you are new to the faith and falling into all kinds of pitfalls, there is a place to spend more time in studying Jesus’ teaching. However, what the Lion of Judah, the Lamb who was slain, the LORD eternal, longs most to see today is believers putting his words into action, Christians who catch the vision for His kingdom coming on earth, neighbours who (alongside the Samaritan) “go and do likewise” (Luke 10:37).
This is clearly demonstrated in Mary Magdalene holding on to feet of resurrected Jesus and not wanting to let go (John 20:17). The Master gently rebuke his follower and gives her a mission to fulfil: “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” Bruce Milne insightfully comments: “tragically, the Christian community has shown a far greater interest in sitting at Jesus’ feet, holding on to him amidst the comfort of His presence than in going out into the world to share the Good News of God’s love with broken needy hearts who have as valid a claim to know Him as we.” May the God of all grace, our heavenly Father, give us strength to pick-up our cross and follow Him.
excalibyte 