Thoughts for the Day

Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.’ But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.’

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

I admit I have trouble with this little story of Jesus, Martha and Mary, and over the years have been known to grumble to myself at Jesus' words to Martha, on her behalf, saying: "That's great! But we women are expected to cook and clean and wait on guests, and if you and your disciples had not been fed it would have been an insult to the rules of hospitality.....!" Built into this complaint is the fact that it has felt as if Jesus was having a go at those people who always end up having to prepare and then clean up things!

So lets look again at this incident. Martha invites Jesus into her home and works to provide food and a fit welcome for the visitors, and her sister Mary sits (the position of a student) to listen to Jesus, rather than help her sister. Mary is subsequently supported for her action by Jesus. This scene contrast Martha’s busyness and Mary’s devotion to Jesus. It's unfair to look at the incident in the way I have done in the past. We know from the Gospels that not every incident in an event or in a parable has equal weight. In this case the bigger message is much more important.

These verses illustrate the value of choosing to prioritise our growth and learning over worldly busyness. Martha exemplifies the way we get distracted by worldly activities, rather than seeking to nurture our soul and gain wisdom and spiritual nourishment. These verses ultimately challenge us to look at how we allocate our time and energy, and ask us whether we allow our daily concerns to get in the way of giving enough time and energy to the things of God. If we were measure one side of our life with the other many of us will see the balance is all wrong!

Lord Jesus,
when we get so involved and distracted
by the busyness of the day
help us to remember that our souls
need nourishment.
May we give time to learning more about You
and about Your plans for our lives.
Feed our souls so that we wake up from
sleep walking through life
and reallocate our priorities.
Amen.