As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 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, Martha,” the Lord answered, “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.”
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There is a worship song I learned years ago while serving at a summer camp. It had three parallel verses, two of which said, “I want to love you, Lord, much more than I do …” and “I want to serve you, Lord, much more than I do …” They captured the yearning in my own heart back then. They still do.
I realize that devotion to the Lord can be expressed in many different ways. Indeed, the whole of life is given to us as a vehicle of expression. Paul tells us: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men … It is the Lord Christ you are serving”(Colossians 3:23-24).
All of which provides context for this story of two sisters. One was bustling about the kitchen, preparing a meal, presumably because she wanted to honour Jesus. The other was simply sitting at his feet, listening intently to all he had to say. Both postures are possible expressions of Paul’s exhortation to the Colossians.
But in this account, clearly Martha’s activity misses the mark while Mary’s doesn’t. Why?
Before answering that question, I want to backtrack. It seems Luke intentionally records this story at this very point as a complement to the Parable of the Good Samaritan. That parable was introduced with a restatement of the Great Commandments from the Old Testament, namely to “’Love the Lord your God with all …’; and, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’” (Luke 10:37). The Good Samaritan provided the example of what it means to truly love your neighbour. Now Mary provides the example of what it means to truly love the Lord.
Why? Compared with Martha, why? It’s not simply a matter of Mary’s inactivity over against Martha’s energetic bustling. No. Rather, it has to do with focus.
Mary had eyes on Jesus. Martha didn’t. At least in that moment. She was “distracted by all the preparations,” the phrase meaning “to be pulled or dragged away.” Yes, she had initiated hospitality out of devotion to the Lord, but the activity itself had pulled her off focus. Later, the Apostle Paul, using a word from the same root, tells the Corinthians he wants them to live “in undivided devotion to the Lord” (1 Corinthians 7:35). Instead, Martha’s focus had gotten “divided.”
Jesus himself describes her as “worried and upset,” that first word often indicating a worldly attitude in which a person’s attention is drawn away from true focus on the Lord. It’s not Martha’s active hospitality that is the problem – it’s that she has lost focus on Jesus.
Meanwhile, Mary is sitting attentively at his feet. She’s listening to his every word. She’s focused on him. In this, she expresses devotion. She is loving the Lord with all her heart and soul and mind and strength.
Tenderly, Jesus speaks Martha’s name twice over, gently capturing her attention afresh, calling her back to what’s needed. “Only one thing,” he says. The attentiveness of Mary’s devotion. It’s that singleness of focus that Jesus invites Martha to recapture.
So, too, for us. Whether we are sitting quietly in his presence with a Bible in our lap, or actively engaging in acts of service, it is possible to get completely off-focus, to be distracted from the Lord himself. Come back, this passage tells us. Be focused like Mary. Hear Jesus’ voice, gently drawing our attention to him once again. As we carry out the acts of service he has prepared for us before the foundation of the world. Or as we lift our hearts in worship. Or as we soak in his word once again, or enter into prayer, or give wise counsel to a friend, or write another cheque as offering to the Lord. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord.”
Just like Mary.
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Lord Jesus, I lift my sights to you again, choosing to focus on you with the whole of my being. In all that I do, in all that I say, in all that I think, may it be “eyes on Jesus.” To your glory. Amen.
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Reflect: What threatens to throw you off-focus today? Talk with the Lord about it now. Commit yourself to listening for his voice calling you back, calling your name.
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Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash
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