38As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40But 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, 42but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42)
As I think through chapter 10 in Luke, I notice a balance between activity for the Lord and intimacy with the Lord. The two go together.
- Activity (10:1-20). The seventy missionaries go out in obedience to Jesus and experience the joy of seeing His power work through them.
- Intimacy (10:21-24). Jesus’ prayer centers on those who are like “little children”–not proud in their own knowledge but trusting of their Father.
- Activity (10:25-37). Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan graphically illustrates our need to move out in love and compassion toward those in need.
- Intimacy (10:38-42). The story of Mary and Martha reminds us that our love must first be directed toward Christ if it is to be properly manifested toward others.
Martha is a good reminder to us that activity for Christ without intimacy with Christ is burdensome, distracting, and joyless.
As Jesus journeys toward Jerusalem, He goes through the village of Bethany. When Martha hears that Jesus and His disciples are in the area, she immediately opens up her home to them. Notice that it is Martha that invites them all in. Martha is the active one, the one always on the move.
With Jesus, and presumably His disciples, in the house, Martha cannot stop working. She is cleaning, preparing food, setting the table, getting drinks, organizing, dusting, decorating–all the things that seem important to her in the realm of hospitality. Meanwhile, her sister, Mary, is sitting in the living room listening to Jesus, soaking in the moment, enjoying His presence, hearing the words of the Lord of the universe.
This is too much for Martha to bear. I imagine that Martha clanged a few pots here and there and cleaned a few things around Mary in hopes that Mary would notice all the work she was doing and get up and help. But Mary didn’t budge.
Finally, totally exasperated and frustrated, Martha takes her complaint to Jesus. “Lord, can You do something here? As you can see, I am running around trying to get things ready for you and my sister, Mary, is sitting here doing absolutely nothing. Can you tell her to get up and help me out?”
Jesus responds differently than Martha expected. “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Whoa. I think of Psalm 46:10. Be still, and know that I am God.
It is so easy for us to get caught up doing things for the Lord. Running around in a swirl of activity. Such things are good. The Lord wants us to redeem the time. We are to go out on mission for him (vs. 1-20). We are to see the needs around us and respond in action (vs. 25-37). We are to serve Him, obey Him, work for Him. The Christian life is not a passive life. But, at the same time, our activity can easily be a substitute for our intimacy with Christ. We run around on our own agenda not His. We say it is for the Lord but it is really to soothe our own conscience or impress others or feel significant or gain approval. Why did Martha worry so much about the house being in order and the food being ready at a certain time? Was it for the Lord or for herself? She would have said, “I am doing this for the Lord!” But Jesus saw things differently.
If our activity is filled with worry and anxiety and frustration with others, then we are doing it for ourselves and not for Christ.
Now at some point that night, Jesus and the disciples ate dinner. At some point, Mary got up from Jesus’ feet and helped serve. Food was prepared. The table was set. Meals were served. Plates, cups, and utensils were cleaned. In real life, there are practical human needs that have to be attended to. We can’t just sit at Jesus’ feet all day. Life is not a perpetual spiritual retreat.
But activity for Christ and intimacy with Christ cannot be separated. I am still and silent before Him so that I can be active and effective for Him. I listen to Him so that I can obey Him. I learn in order to live. I love Him passionately in order to love others practically. I sit at His feet in order to learn how to wash feet. And in doing so, I experience His joy.
Lord, calm my spirit, remove my distractions, be my vision today. And after hearing Your voice and being filled with Your Spirit, move me out to love and serve others for Your glory.
