Happy Monday! We are in our third week of studying the story of Mary and Martha. This week, we are looking for sins to repent of and commands to obey. We tend to either pick Martha apart or blow off the other good lessons. Really, compared to other Biblical scandals, Martha’s sins do not seem so big.
If we were to look at this situation from the lens of 2021, we could be tempted to say where she first went wrong would be not planning to have dinner prepped and ready to throw in an instant pot or crockpot. Dinner could have been going while she sat with Jesus and Mary. I mean, if she wasn’t going to set a fillet of fish, a loaf of bread and a glass of water on the counter, and let Him do His thing, she could of at least planned on how to make the best meal quickly. Something tells me this was not about a lack of planning and that Martha had some good mental lists going. Maybe to the point, that like me, she feels overwhelmed with it all. Sometimes it is the little daily things we struggle with and where our minds go that are holding us back from intimacy with Jesus, just as I think was the case for Martha.
This would be a great time to refresh on Luke 10:38-42, if you haven’t already. In verse 39 we see Mary sitting and learning at the feet of Jesus and in Luke 10:40 we see what Martha is up to:
“But 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!”
Martha was definitely in a close relationship with Jesus speak to Him like that. She also clearly assumed that she was in the right and Jesus would back her up. Martha was living up to the expectations she knew. We recognized before, that in this culture, Martha was doing what she was supposed to do. It was revolutionary in that time for Mary to have been sitting and learning at any man’s feet. Jesus came and turned a lot upside down, or maybe it’s better to say, right side up. How often do we let past experiences or the expectations of ourselves, and others make our own view of what we think He requires of us become hazy?
“Martha, Martha”, the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed-or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken from her.”
Luke 10:41
If I had to put it into words, the Sin I feel Martha is falling prey to is being distracted from Her God given calling. We can get so focused on using our gifts and trying to find our place or our calling, that we get distracted from the greatest calling: a personal relationship with Jesus.
We are called to follow Christ; to fellowship with Christ; to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. When we do that, glorifying Him with our gifts comes. If we follow Him, we will serve. We do not see Him telling her to stop working. While it is so very important we be still and know He is God, we are most definitely expected to do work and to serve. It seems that what this is most about, is the headspace Martha got into. It takes work, but we can dwell with Him as we work.
If we get consumed with using our gifts, but lose sight of the gifter, we are doing busy work. If we fast without prayer, we are simply restricting food. If we sing the words, but our hearts aren’t for him, our praise becomes noise. Our minds are prone to wander, and He knows this. Sitting with Him intentionally, helps us have the discipline of sitting at His feet in our hearts, and His ways in our minds.
We will always need His help to do this consistently, but it is what He wants. He wanted to take the worries and anxieties of Martha just as He does with us. Jesus wants to heal our anxieties, but we must take them to Him. Even more than He wants to heal, He wants us to know the healer. Leaving behind what we think He or others wants us to do, and before we try to get things right, He wants us to go to Him and let Him teach us who He is and what is better.
…
God, thank you so much for being so gentle with us. Thank you for seeing our hearts and calling us back to you. Help us look for and listen for your voice to call us back even when we are choosing what is good, but You have better for us. Help us choose You first, always. Help us learn to keep our gaze on You, in the big and the little things through our days. When trouble comes, help us go to You expectantly for help. Thank You that it is never to late to sit at Your feet. The invite is there. Helps us go through our week making even the mundane tasks feel like mindful worship to You.
Joanna is a contributing writer for Shaken and Stirred. She loves Jesus and hopes she never stops learning more about Him. She is a Life Coach working alongside women and adolescence, as well as a mom to amazing 11&13 year old young men. She loves hiking and yoga when she gets the chance to do it. She often enjoys writing, creating, coffee with a friend or book, and laughing while hanging out with her boys.