running to keep up...part 2

‘Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village.

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 [Jesus] and said,

“Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? 

Tell her to help me.” 

But the Lord answered her, 

“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled

about many things, but the one thing is necessary.

Mary has chosen the good portion which will

not be taken away from her.”’ 

Luke 10: 38-42

I am a Martha. I love to serve. When I am not careful, my identity and self worth get tangled into my service. I feel work is important. I firmly belive that God has created us to work and for accomplishing the good work that He has set for us to do (John 17). If you read the book of Proverbs, it is bursting with verses in regards to laziness, expecting something for nothing, and idle hands tying them all to poverty. I believe we glorify and fellowship with God through our service and that is why we were created. But, as we can see as we study these brief verses about two sisters, our ‘service’ can quickly become self focused, self honoring and exhausting. 

The first thing I would like to point out is Martha’s hospitality. I think so many people are quick to say, “I don’t want to be a Martha!” and we regard her as an example of what not to do rather than an example to live by. While that is true for the most part, I must first say that she was there to welcome Jesus. There is no mention of Mary’s name as Jesus entered the village. We get the idea that Martha was waiting for Jesus, possibly even searching for the opportunity to welcome Him to her home. Our hearts and homes have much to learn from this simple example. How often is there a new face in the pew next to you on Sunday morning or a new employee going through orientation at work? How easy it is to let the opportunity slip through our fingers simply because it may seem a bit awkward to introduce yourself to a complete stranger. Imagine how different this world would be if Christians started searching for opportunities to welcome others, show hospitality and open our homes! 

The Bible says, “Martha was distracted with much serving.” My question is: distracted from what? She opened her home to Him, isn’t it appropriate that she be serving Him? I see this in my own life. I have opened my heart to Jesus Christ and the natural byproduct is service. Paul even goes as far as saying that we are ‘created in Christ for good works’ (Ephesians 2). However, when my focus leaves Jesus Christ and turns to the service itself, my heart is distracted from the purpose of the ministry, which is to glorify God.  

I love the next part when Martha literally tattles on her sister and tells Jesus what to do. If I had a dollar for every time this happened in my home, I would be rich! If I had to give a dollar for every time I did this before the throne of my Holy God I would be indebted for eternity. Again, by nature, we see the faults of others all the while glorifying our service and work. We complain that others aren’t carrying their weight and we are left to pick up the slack. This happens in the workplace, in the church, in the home. We allow resentment to take over, the focus turns to self rather than the purpose of our service and bitterness becomes the product of our feverish toil. 

Jesus’ response is simply beautiful. He turns her question back on her, but not in ugly way. Rather, he acknowledges something that she may not even be aware of--she is anxious about many things. If you read the passage again, Martha only complained about one thing--Mary not helping, but Jesus knew there was more than that. Often, my stress goes far beyond the one event that finally brought me to my knees. It would take all day for me to list off every single stressor, fear, hurt, and failure before Jesus, and the wonderful thing is that I don’t have to! Jesus knows our hearts more intimately than we do. He sees the real reason for our frustration even before we do. 

He concludes the same way I will. He brought Martha’s eyes back to worship. While worship can and does occur through service, the heart of worship is found in the presence of God. When our service takes us away from that, we must redirect our hearts back to the presence of God. There are moments that we are called to just sit and allow the presence of God to wash over us. Worship exists in many forms. The mother tenderly caring for a child, the husband drawing a bath for his wife, the child coloring a picture, the nurse praying over her ill patient, the weary person on their face in the presence of God. Worship is simply existing in the presence of God, anytime, anywhere. Worship is not something that only exists in the stained glass sanctuaries of American churches but rather in the heart of anyone that longs for the presence of God. 

I pray God's presence over your heart, mind and life today. I pray that you will live your life in a spirit of worship and may all you do glorify the Holy Creator that sustains you and gives you life. To God be all glory and honor, both now and forever. Amen.

<><tce