I have heard many lessons about Mary and Martha, the sisters who, along with their brother, Lazarus, were friends of Jesus. He visited in their home, He raised Lazarus from the dead, and He sat and just talked to them. We have 3 stories in Scripture that I can think of involving these two ladies: Mary and Martha when Jesus came to visit and Mary sat listening while Martha was busy serving, the day Lazarus died, and Mary washing Jesus’ feet with her hair.
Many of us know the story in which Jesus and His disciples
stop in to visit in the home of Mary and Martha. Scripture tells us that Mary
sat at the feet of Jesus just listening to Him talk while Martha was “cumbered
about” with serving. Martha got frustrated and demanded that Jesus tell Mary to
help her, but Jesus told her that Mary was doing the only thing that really
mattered, and He wouldn’t take that away from her.
I have heard many “takes” on this passage – opinions about Mary
and Martha’s respective spiritual status, intentions, etc. We aren’t told a lot
of the details, so the passage lends itself to a certain amount of harmless
speculation, and in the process, there are many lessons we can learn from these
two sisters and their interaction with Jesus. With that said…let me share my
latest thoughts about Mary and Martha.
When we have guests in our home, I rarely “rest.” Even when
I am sitting, my mind is usually still partly preoccupied with “serving.” I’m watching
the clock to make sure I start the next meal on time to have it ready to eat
when everyone is hungry. Often, I have forgotten something I need from the
store and I am looking for the least obtrusive time to go get what I need
without making a meal or dessert late. I’m dreading washing the dishes because
I have cooked and cleaned until my feet are killing me, but I will need clean
dishes for the next meal…and on and on. I don’t mind this aspect of being a
hostess – I enjoy caring for guests. But it’s definitely a time of “doing,” not
“resting.” And more often than not, I don’t sit much at all. I am usually cooking,
prepping the next meal, or cleaning up the last one. I always encourage our
guests to relax, and if there is a lady, I make sure she knows she is welcome to
either sit in the kitchen and visit with me or sit in a more comfortable chair
in the living room. The open floor plan in our home allows me to listen to the
conversations in the living room, and even participate in them with a comment
from time to time. It’s certainly not like just sitting down for a nice visit
with nothing to do, but it’s also not unpleasant.
I wonder if Martha was “visiting” with Jesus and his disciples
the way I often visit with guests in our home. She heard most of what Jesus was
saying, she may have even tossed in a random comment from time to time. She was
enjoying having them there. She may have settled into a chair for a few minutes
here and there and listened more attentively, but part of her mind was on the
next task to be done as she rested her feet. Jesus told Martha that there was
only one really important thing to be done – listen to Him. I wonder if Martha
had asked Jesus and His disciples if they were hungry, or when they would like
to eat. Or if she simply made a plan as the hostess and began carrying it out.
I learned years ago that I have a tendency to walk into the
presence of God in “serve” mode. I do this as a pastor’s wife now, but in years
gone by I have done it as a musician, a sign language interpreter, a youth
minister, and various other capacities. I have been busy leading up to service
time – the printer is not intuitive and the children’s minister needed a couple
extra copies, but when I went to make them, ink cartridges needed replacing.
Another sister needed to sort through something that happened this week, so we
talked a bit to help her get it into perspective. I am leading worship, but my
voice behaves very differently depending on time of day, allergies, etc., so,
it works best to find keys right before others arrive at church. Our saints are
wonderful to drop by and do random tasks around the church to help keep it
clean, but there is usually something nobody got to that week that I need to
pitch in and take care of. Someone was sick and that left another saint without
a ride to church so I have been either arranging a ride or going to pick
someone up. And the list goes on. The time leading up to church services is
HECTIC. Add to that, the days prior have been busy. As is often the case for many
of us, we have a full plate, but we are also “squishy” and therefore also get
used to “plug holes.” We pitch in and make things happen for family, friends,
coworkers, others in the Church…and most of those things are good and healthy.
But it means we walk into church already fairly “high strung.” And then there
is the service itself. I am keeping an eye on the visitor to make sure they are
made comfortable and welcome, while also keeping in mind that Sis. Susie had a
hard week and probably needs me to find an appropriate time during the service
to go pray with her and be an encouragement. Someone has gone to the altar and
we don’t let anyone pray alone in our church, so I join them and begin praying
with them, or I’m leading worship and I’m constantly seeking direction for when
to change songs, what to change to, etc. I hear the service, I get a blessing,
and I learn something from the Word that I can apply and work on in the coming
week. But ultimately, what that looks
like is Martha, sitting perched on the edge of a chair for a few minutes
listening while her mind is partially busy with things that still need to be
done.
I have been there, enjoyed being there, and gotten benefit
from being there…but, I haven’t been Mary. Mary wasn’t perched on a chair ready
to jump up at a moments’ notice. She was sitting on the floor at the feet of God,
and nothing else mattered to her but absorbing everything He had to say. It didn’t
matter if He said something encouraging or something that would cause
conviction – she was just there to soak it all in without distraction.
I’m going to say something some of you may disagree with –
but I don’t think it’s always wrong to be Martha, hearing and interested, but
also ready to jump and serve on a moment’s notice. Yes, I believe we should spend
some time putting the week behind us and even the busy-ness from before service
aside and refocusing. But there are needs within a service to minister one to
another, lead in various capacities, and be used of God. There is work to be done
in the House of God in each service, and it’s not wrong to do those things. But
there are also times when it’s time to land at the feet of Jesus and just not
care about anything else. Maybe we need to ask Jesus, “Is this a service where
I need to be focused on serving others or is today a service where I need to
just sit down here at your feet and let you pour into me?”
I do not resent the work I do in the Kingdom, I do not
resent the busy chaos that goes with ministry, and I do not resent the
necessity of making pouring into others my top priority. But I have learned
that every now and then, I have to sit at the feet of Jesus and not move. Not
jump when I see an empty tissue box. Not go pray for someone I know needs
encouragement. Not fill in on the drums because the drummer left and went to
pray. I will be honest, that takes a while to be able to do that. Often, I have
to grit my teeth and force myself to sit still for quite some time as I SLOWLY
shift from “high strung” servant mode to quiet, focused, and receptive to the
voice of my Savior. But, oh how I love those times! It matters not at all to me
if He chooses to take me apart piece by piece, clean the pieces and put me back
together, or if it’s a day of building me up and giving encouragement, or if it’s
a time for Him to give me a direct rebuke and redirection. I don’t care WHAT He
does – I just need to be safely in His hands, completely and without reserve. I
will go back to serving soon enough, but every now and then, just let me crash
at His feet and stay there until He has finished with everything He wants to
say.
