Mary And Martha...Sitting Or Serving

By John Stallings



…Martha, Martha, you’re fussing far too much about nothing.--The Message Bible. Luke 10:41


I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “The devil’s in the details.” A general interpretation of the phrase is – “An important venture or enterprise can be ruined by the malfunction of even the smallest part of the plan.”

This principle proves true in things as complicated as the Space Shuttle & as elementary as baking a cake, or forgetting a button was missing on a garment. Attention to detail is very often the thing that sets excellence apart from mediocrity.

However, in the story before us, I suggest that just the opposite is true. Attention to detail & failure to see the pressing, over-arching need of the hour earned some rather harsh words from Jesus.

Mary, Martha and Lazarus were a family who lived in the hamlet of Bethany, two miles from Jerusalem. Because of that proximity, Jesus and His disciples stopped by often.

They were a family particularly loved by Jesus; a fact that’s made crystal clear in the Gospels.

This story of Mary, Martha and Jesus has always intrigued me. Preachers use it in all sorts of ways. Martha represents works, and Mary represents faith. When we want to teach that work and busyness is good, we lean toward Martha. When we want to stress being spiritual and less busy, we lean toward Mary.

You probably know a lot more Martha’s than you do Mary’s. When you read this story it’s undeniable that Jesus put His disapproval on Martha’s busyness, and His approval on Mary’s choice to sit at his feet.

Frankly, Jesus made an interesting yet perplexing house guest. What would you have served if He came to your house; how would you prepare for it? Would you go with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on paper plates, or Lobster on Grandma’s china?

Another complication was you could never know what Jesus would do or say. He called things as He saw them. Public opinion swayed Him no more than a gnat lighting on His sleeve. If a dog had plopped down at His feet, He probably would have scratched his neck a bit, pulled off a tick or two and used the occasion to talk about the love of God.

Jesus was massively unpredictable. He might stride into a room and start talking to a woman guest and ask about her fifth husband, (or live- in partner.) He might ask the prestigious dinner guests why they clamored for the best seats at the table. He might allow an uninvited woman to crash the party and make a spectacle of herself, pouring perfume on His feet; and defend her actions.

ONE THING IS SURE, THERE’S MUCH TENSION IN BETHANY TODAY!

Mary and Martha are a study in contrasts. Mary is a carefree, open spirit, & very tender hearted. She’s an “in the moment” type, less practical, more impulsive & demonstrative. She doesn’t live in the past or future but the present moment recognizing present opportunity & wanting to take full advantage of it. In many paintings she’s portrayed as the younger more beautiful of the two.

Martha is the hard worker who throws herself into her work. She’s committed, a dedicated water- hauler, chef, usually exhausted, a bit frazzled & stressed-out. She’s detail-focused if not detail-obsessed who knows how to get the job done. Jesus told her she was “distracted by her many tasks.” Luke 10:40. Martha was a prime-practitioner of Middle Eastern hospitality, self-righteous but also teachable.

Distant Martha- Devoted Mary. Angry Martha- Adoring Mary. Get the picture?

I feel somehow that Martha may have been an ancestor of mine because my mother and my grandmother were a lot like her. Though my mother was a preacher’s wife and a minister herself, she stayed so busy and frazzled; I believe it would have been possible that if Jesus himself had stopped by our house at certain times, she might have said as she ironed, “So, Lord, what brings you to our neck of the woods?”

Jesus was blunt with Martha in this story.
Some feel He was giving her a little pat on the head and telling her to calm down. The “Martha, Martha” comment seems to have a bit of “tone” to it. But I can also hear compassion in Jesus’ voice as He says… “Martha, Martha, don’t let the cares of the world weigh you down. It’s not worth it.”
Luke doesn’t tell us how Martha responded to this but I can guess. Though she loved Jesus dearly, I don’t think His words improved her disposition one bit.

In this vignette, The Sea Walker, The Blind Man healer, The Man the multitudes were following comes under one roof to enjoy food and fellowship with one family, perhaps his best friends. But He finds things a bit dysfunctional on this day and the air is crackling with tension. Martha, a “worker bee,” is in the kitchen preparing a meal and Mary has vacated the kitchen to curl- up at Jesus’ feet.

LET’S NOT BE TOO HARD ON MARTHA

Martha loved Jesus every bit as much a Mary did. Jesus was at this home this day by the invitation of both Martha and Mary. Martha had probably carried the scrub bucket under her arm all day and had cleaned her house from top to bottom. Remember, she didn’t have the options women have today.

She didn’t have a freezer. She probably had to kill a few chickens and grind flour to make bread. She had to walk into the center of the village to get clean water. Obviously Domino’s Pizza didn’t deliver in thirty minutes back then and KFC wasn’t an option either. Martha wanted to hear Jesus’ words too, but she was only hearing bits and pieces because she felt obligated to prepare the meal. Any woman who’s ever cooked for guests knows exactly the dilemma Martha faced. Another thing she needed was a microwave. Martha had places to go, people to see and things to do.

To me, this isn’t a “Martha bad-Mary good,” scenario. In Martha’s own words, “Mary has left me to serve alone”, indicating that they had both been working, & Martha was used to having Mary in the kitchen at her side. They both loved Jesus, and both wanted his fellowship. But obviously, on this day, Mary had all she could take, pulled off her apron and went to Jesus’ feet and sat down. As far as Martha was concerned, now the “fat was in the fire.”

Mary had a choice and she chose Jesus. In all probability, she had spiritual and physical needs that were crushing her, and she knew Jesus was the only one who could help her. Mary was sitting at the feet of infinite wisdom; the one whose words spun the planets, and she knew that a few moments at His feet would be life-altering.

I’m going to cut Mary even more slack here. We don’t know for sure because the text doesn’t tell us, but I truly believe she sensed in her spirit that this day & this visit was different than Jesus’ other visits. She sensed an urgency that caused her to believe this was an extraordinary visit. Maybe she truly felt this was the last time she’d have this kind of time with Jesus so she acted boldly & assumed a position of a disciple by sitting at Jesus’ feet.

Martha the entertainer was in a purple rage because she wanted Jesus to have an extraordinary meal and was extremely upset with her sister Mary for not helping her. Martha’s objective was an “event” to show Jesus a great time in her beautiful home and dazzle Him with her gourmet cooking. She wanted things perfect on this occasion and Mary was letting her down. Martha saw Jesus as her guest, but Mary saw herself as Jesus’ guest.

THERE’S A LOT OF MARTHA IN ALL OF US.

And yes, I’m guilty too. We are …“cumbered by many things?” We love to be busy. Don’t sit us in a room with nothing to do. It’s not that we like hard work all that much, but we’ve got to be doing something. If nothing else, it makes the time go faster.

Now Martha pulls the old classic triangulation tactic; pulling Mary into the mix to show the contrast between what she and her sister are doing. Martha said to Jesus, “Tell my sister to help me. Why do I have to do everything by myself?” Martha wants to make herself the pattern for Mary.

So now Martha decides to manipulate Mary through Jesus. But Jesus doesn’t bite. He sees that Martha has shouldered the weight of the occasion. He knows she’s slaving feverishly in the kitchen while Mary sits at His feet absorbing His teachings. Martha had opened her home to Jesus, while Mary had opened her heart and was soaking up every word He had to say. Martha was concerned with feeding bodies while Mary was interested in getting her soul fed.

Martha had invited Jesus into her house but didn’t have time to talk to Him. Before we judge her too harshly, haven’t you and I done the same thing at times? Mary was sitting in the presence of God and time had lost all meaning to her. Martha wanted to impress Jesus, but Mary was so impressed by Jesus that she could see only Him.

Then Martha brashly storms into the presence of God and starts ordering Him around; but He didn’t follow her orders. Jesus reacted to her brashness, but not as she may have expected. He saw something in Martha’s heart and whatever it was He didn’t like it a bit; then the stinging chastisement… “Now- now Martha, Martha, there- there- settle down. You’re up in the air about nothing.”
One thing Jesus sees is that Martha has slipped into self-pity. She pities herself and she implies, (no she comes out and say’s it, though she puts it in the form of a question) that Jesus doesn’t even care about her and her problem. In a sense she’s saying, “God, you don’t love me.” That’s where self-pity takes us.

SELF PITY IS A PROFOUNDLY DEEP HOLE, AND THERE’S NO BOTTOM.

When a person allows self pity to climb into the saddle, there aren’t enough hugs; there aren’t enough kisses or affirmations to satisfy them. A person in self pity will actually go so far as to indict the very God of heaven and call him loveless.

I can’t tell you exactly what’s going on with Martha, or why she seems to be so driven on this occasion, but it’s obvious that Jesus is having none of it.

However, I’m going to stick my neck out here and say that despite Martha’s complaints, it wouldn’t surprise me if she has no intention of sharing her work load with anyone. Maybe at first she did, but not now. She’s in a huff but really and truly she doesn’t want any help. If Mary had jumped up and ran to help her, she’d probably have infuriated Martha by peeling the potatoes wrong, and the two would have ended up in an intense standoff over where the soup spoons should go relative to the steak knives. Martha did what we all have done at one time or another; she got an “attitude.”

But Jesus would flatly not get involved in turning Mary over to Martha’s “fretting machine” and see her ground to emotional powder. He refused to affirm Martha’s attitude of “I do everything” and elevate her work above Mary’s sitting at His feet in fellowship.

JESUS ISN’T ASSAILING THE WORK ETHIC HERE.

As He would so often do, Jesus was taking this occasion to focus on a human problem; this time it’s the problem of learning to sit still. This “stillness” teaching has in it the very seeds of saving our lives and also saving our souls. Jesus is recommending Mary’s choice of activities, sitting quietly at His feet, marinating in his glory.

If you’re a “Martha” right now, something inside you is probably churning and saying, “Wait a minute, isn’t this the same Jesus who commanded us to work while it is day and to feed the poor and visit the sick? If everyone is sitting around at Jesus feet, who’s going to get out there and do the work? How are you going to get big extravaganzas’ off the ground without a few Martha’s on the planning committee? If everyone opts to sit and pray, then the work won’t get done and all the progress will stop.”

MARTHA-HOOD MAKES WRONG ASSUMPTIONS.

The “Martha” in us assumes that its “easy” to sit at Jesus feet like Mary did; and furthermore assumes that what Martha was doing was the hard work. BUT, if Martha’s work was harder than what Mary was doing and if Mary was shirking- not- working,------ then it seems to me that a lot more of us would be doing what Mary did; spending quiet time with the Lord.


It’s easier do dishes, balance checkbooks, wash our car, go canoeing, anything that has a little action in it, than to sit, listen, wait and pray.

God’s phone number is JER-33-3, Call unto me and I will answer thee and show thee great and HIDDEN things which thou knowest not.—but these things will be revealed only to those who seek His face in prayer.

Obviously we can’t stop all our work, but we need to embrace the thought that our church’s, homes and personal lives wouldn’t come to a grinding halt if we loosened up our schedules a bit and took more time to sit at the Lords feet. I’m afraid too many Christians these days suffer from an “overload syndrome.” There’s too much information flying around us to properly process, and if we don’t have a keen listening ear to God, our minds and spirits will be flying around also.

If our work, even our work for God, comes between us & hearing God, then in the final analysis, all of our efforts will be of non-effect.

WHAT DO YOU HAVE IN YOUR LIFE OF ETERNAL VALUE, THAT CAN’T BE TAKEN AWAY?

Jesus said at the end of this story in Luke 10:42 …One thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken from her.
Ask yourself, what do you have that absolutely cannot be taken away from you? You may matriculate from the highest halls of learning, build a successful business, travel the world and attain wealth and fame, but all of that can be lost and pales into insignificance compared to the incomparable riches in Jesus Christ. Mary’s “good part” sitting at Jesus’ feet included, greater understanding of the Kingdom of God, a closer relationship with Jesus, peace, joy, love, forgiveness, mercy, grace, all the benefits of The Kingdom of God. There are “many things”, and then there are the “best things.”

No one can interfere with our personal relationship with Jesus unless we allow them to. We all have a right to that, and no one should be allowed to demand so much of us that we can’t enjoy our relationship with Him. Everything else that Mary had, or ever could have, could be taken away from her, but Jesus said.... “The part that Mary has chosen won’t be taken away.”

Nothing is as important as knowing Him. Jesus said in Matthew 12:29-30,

Take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly of heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls, for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Mary wasn’t going to stay at Jesus’ feet forever. Soon He would be gone and she would be back to her duties. Her work would always be there. However she was wise enough to take that golden opportunity that very well may have never come again.

Others, like Mary, reached out for “that good part” as Jesus passed their way. Some were leprous, others were blind, and some were tax collectors who had swindled good people out of their money. Some were Samaritan. Some were prostitutes. All were sinners and all of them found a “that good part” in Christ.

This story isn’t about Jesus disapproving of activity. Mary’s choosing “that good part” isn’t about being idle or living a cloistered life on our knees like Monks. Neither is it a story downplaying our physical needs, for a hallmark of Jesus’ ministry was feeding the physically hungry. This is a story about priorities, and it deals with the balancing of our WORK and our WORSHIP; about keeping our devotional lives strong so that we can better lead our lives supernaturally nourished by Christ’s fellowship.

Jesus said in Matthew 6:33 - But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteous and all these things shall be added unto you.

MARY CHOSE BEST THAT DAY ---BUT DON’T DISMISS MARTHA.

No matter what conflicting thoughts Martha’s behavior that day in Bethany might conjure up, there is something about her that is absolutely awesome.

In John eleven, there’s another story about this family that Jesus loved. Jesus heard that Mary and Martha’s brother Lazarus was sick and by the time He arrived in Bethany, Lazarus had been dead four days.

When Jesus came into town Martha heard He was there, and leaving Mary sitting in the house, she ran to meet Jesus. The interaction and exchange they had there is most phenomenal, and it’s often overlooked.

Jesus was comforting Martha about her brother Lazarus and assured her… I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.
Then Jesus got in Martha’s face and asked her if she believed this statement. What Martha said to Jesus next is astonishing. Martha said:

…Yea Lord; I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God, which should come into the world.

Do you realize how profound that statement is? Later Jesus and his disciples were in Caesarea Philippi when Jesus asked Simon Peter the same question He asked Martha … “who do you think I am?”
Peter answered…. Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God.
Before Peter spoke those words; the declaration that became the foundational proclamation upon which all of the Christian faith stands, Martha had already spoken them! Martha was actually the first one to know who Jesus truly was!

How much of Mary do see in yourself and how much Martha do you see? Do you share with me the deep desire to excel in Mary-hood? Aren’t you challenged by her example of patience, devotion and gentle nature?

If I admit that I’m a little more like Martha, then let me be the best Martha I can be. Don’t let me be the Martha who allows the pressures of life to overcome her; who lets the performance trap ensnare her, who feels she was “saved to serve” and is trying to work her way into God’s favor. Let me be the transformed Martha, the teachable Martha; the Martha with the revelation of The Christ, the Martha with the servant’s heart.

So you see, in the final cut, we can’t chose Mary, and dismiss Martha. Or vice versa. We all need a Balance of what both these sisters possessed.

I think Titus blended the two beautifully in Titus 2:14; speaking of Jesus,

Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

I don’t know about you but I’m ready for “that good part.” I’m ready to claim my full relationship with Jesus. I’m not satisfied with simply a DESIRE to be near Jesus, and I am willing to release whatever is keeping me from sitting down at the feet of my lord.

AND THE GOOD NEWS IS THIS: THERE’S PLENTY OF ROOM THERE FOR US ALL!

Blessings

John