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"A Visit With Martha" - The Rev. Vicky Ney
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July 29, 2007 “A Visit With Martha” The Rev. Vicky Ney
Text: Luke 10:38-42
Shalom! My name is Martha from Bethany. I was so happy to be invited here today to meet with you in person. You have probably only met me before on the pages of Scripture. You usually see my name paired up with my sister—Mary and Martha—which, I think, is very annoying. We aren’t joined at the hip! The fact is, we ARE sisters—but we are very different. We look differently. We act differently. We have different personalities.
I’m known to be outspoken and I tend to be a worker. If I see something that needs to be done, I get busy and do it. I’m a homemaker. I want my house to look right. I take care of my family. And when I have guests in my home, I practice hospitality.
Mary, on the other hand is not like me at all. She’s much quieter and more shy. She’s never been interested in housekeeping. Hey, she’s my younger sister. I was always looking after her. And I think my parents let her get away with so much—you know what I mean? “Oh, Martha, Mary’s just a baby. You do it for her!” I think we all spoiled her. She likes to sit and meditate and think about things. I like to be up and about and doing things.
Did you know that Mary and I, along with our brother Lazarus, were really close friends of Jesus? Any time Jesus and his friends were in Bethany, they stayed at our house. Jesus had an open invitation to come anytime. We just loved to see him.
Luke wrote in his book about one of his visits when we were first getting to know Jesus. Wouldn’t you know, that was the time I was complaining! How would you like to go down in history as a whiner?
I can remember that day like it was yesterday. You have to remember, I had a lot of guests in my house. Whenever Jesus came to see us, there were at least thirteen hungry men to feed. Sometimes there were more, because people were always following Jesus. They wanted to hear what he had to say. And sometimes he even healed people—cured diseases, gave blind people their sight, made lame people walk. It was just amazing.
There were definitely a lot of people in our house the day Luke wrote about. So many people. So many mouths to feed. So much to do! I wanted everything to be special. I wasn’t going to whip up ordinary soup or bread. After all, we were going to entertain the most famous teacher of our time. I thought he might even become the next king of Israel. So I pulled out all the cookbooks to make a banquet. I sent a servant to the field to slaughter a lamb, another to the market to pick up a few luscious pomegranates. I told one helper to soak the lentils, another to pound the grain and knead the bread. I had to find a centerpiece, get napkins, and pour the wine for each person. I knew Jesus and his friends would spend the night. Someone needed to change the sheets and fold some towels. There were so many things to do and so little time!
Where was Mary?
I found her sitting on the floor right at the Master’s feet, eyes glued to Jesus’ face, listening to every word he said. She was crashing a party meant only for men. And what was worse was that she was totally oblivious to everything else that needed doing—and completely ignoring my frantic gestures to come help me.
She just pushed me to the limit! I think there might have been steam coming out of my ears! I had had enough. I decided to interrupt the men. Surely Jesus would take my side and send Mary to the kitchen to help me.
I guess I had an edge to my voice when I said, “Jesus, don’t you care? Don’t you care that I’m drowning in work here? Don’t you care that my sister’s not helping me? Tell Mary to get up and do something constructive”
Jesus looked right at me, gave me a sort of sad smile, and said, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things. Only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the better part, which shall not be taken away from her.”
I swear, it was like the air went right out of me. My mouth must have hung open. I probably echoed, “The better part?” Here I was right in the middle of so much to do—a whirlwind of activity—and there’s a better part?
I couldn’t believe what Jesus had said to me. I really didn’t understand it then.
The next day Mary apologized to me. She said she had started out taking cloaks and walking sticks and putting away bedrolls. But then Jesus started to teach. He spoke like no one she had ever heard before. There was kind of a magnetism about his words as though they contained breath and life—breath and life she hadn’t known she needed until that day. She said she was aware of movement around her and things she ought to do. But she just couldn’t move—except closer to Jesus. His words just surrounded her—speaking right to her heart. All she heard was the call to listen.
I have to be honest with you. When I saw Mary sitting by Jesus, there was a part of me that wanted to be right there with her. I wanted to worship extravagantly. I wanted to sit at the Master’s feet. I wanted to take time to listen.
But there was so much to do around me—so much work that needed to be done. Who else would feed all those people? I felt I had to keep going.
Since that day, I’ve learned that we all have choices to make. The better part that Jesus talked about is available to all of us. It’s not a matter of personality. It’s a choice we each have to make. The choice may be easier for people like my sister—people who are used to life as a human being—not a human doing!
I hear Jesus calling me to come away and listen at his feet. And I say, “I’m coming, Lord. I’ll be there in a minute.” But then something gets in the way. I do something else. All of my good intentions about worship—about “the better part”—drift away. Word seems to call for instant action. All of the demands in my lfe pressure me.
Does that sound familiar to you? Twenty-four hours in each day rarely stretch far enough. I have a household, people who need me, commitments, deadlines, engagements. The hours are packed full. I still struggle with choosing the “better part” and still finish what really has to get done. I have to carve out a place in my life for time with Jesus. It’s a choice I have to make every single day.
Did you know that Jesus is our supreme example for this? He was never in a hurry. He was busy—he took care of people and had things to do—but he was never in a hurry. He knew who he was and where he was going. He wasn’t a hostage to the world’s demands or even its desperate needs. I think that’s because Jesus regularly spent time with God. No matter how busy he was, he took time away to be in touch with God. I think that’s why Jesus could say, “I and the Father are one. I do my Father’s business.”
That’s the same kind of relationship that Jesus invites us to share. He invites us to know him, to see him so clearly that when we look at him, we see the face of God as well.
Just like he welcomed Mary to sit at his feet, he wants me to leave the kitchen for a while and share in the “better part,” too. Jesus wants all of us to come to him.
Sometimes I think that the “kingdom of God” Jesus talked about is the biggest paradox in the world. While the world applauds working hard and achievement, God desires companionship. The world says, “Do more! Be all that you can be! Cram it all in!” But our Father whispers, “I have a plan for you. Be still and know that I am God.” God isn’t looking so much for people running in the “rat race” as he is looking for sons and daughters—a people to pour his life into. And once God has poured that life into us, what we do is not important in itself—it’s an outpouring of praise and thanks for being made God’s own child.
I know now that salvation isn’t about what I do; it’s about what Jesus did for me. The cross did more than pay for my sins; it set me free from the bondage of the “shoulds” and “if onlys” and “what might have beens.”
Do you remember what Jesus said to me? “Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed.” That “one thing” is not found in doing more. It’s found by sitting at Jesus’ feet. The only requirement for a deeper friendship with God is showing up with an open heart ready to receive and then giving back out of love and praise.
Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and carrying heavy burdens and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matt. 11:28-29)
Jesus invites us all to come and rest. Take time to sit at his feet. Share in the better part.
Shalom.
1Weaver, Joanna, Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, Waterbrook Press. |
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