A leader in a seminar on leadership showed a demonstration. He took a wide-mouth jar and filled it with rocks and asked the audience “Is the jar full?”. “Yes,” came a reply. Then he poured smaller pebbles into the jar to fill the spaces between the rocks. “Is it full now?” “Yes,” said someone else. “Oh, really?” He then filled the remaining spaces with sand and shook the jar to fill the spaces. “Is it full now?” he asked. “Probably not,” said another, to the amusement of the audience. Then he took a pitcher of water and poured it into the jar. “What’s the lesson we learn from this?” he asked. An eager participant spoke up, “No matter how full the jar is, there’s always room for more.” “Not quite,” said the leader. “The lesson is: in order to get everything in the jar, you must always put the big things in first.”
Martha and Mary were sisters who sincerely welcomed Jesus to their home since they were close partners in the ministry. Women had played a great part in the ministry of Jesus including financial support. Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many other women who were helping to support Jesus and disciples out of their own means (Luke 8:3). Jesus engaged women as well as men without discrimination of any kind. Christian history indicates that women in the early church served as deacons, and some likely were ordained as well. There is convincing evidence that women were active as leaders in the early church.
The story is placed by Luke immediately after the Parable of the Good Samaritan where Jesus taught how to become good neighbor and the importance of loving others beyond barriers. Then Jesus passed through Samaria, a land of the gentiles, and then goes to Bethany. We read in John’s Gospel (Chapter 11:1) that the village is named as the place of Martha and Mary. It would be nice if scripture writers and God refer to our towns based on our names. The usual explanation of this story pits the two women against each other, usually as a way of focusing on Mary as the more favored and righteous of the two sisters. In contrast, poor Martha is portrayed as so distracted by fixing dinner and cleaning up afterwards. We assume that Jesus must scold her for not putting her domestic duties aside and joining Mary for the study session. The lesson we usually hear is : be like Mary and don’t be like Martha. Placing these two important women as adversaries seems to be the only way most commentators have explained. It is hard to find a commentary on this passage that didn’t do this.
Jesus explains what it means to minister with out distraction in the conversation with Martha. Jesus wants her to understand the root cause of her exhaustion. It is not the work that stressed her out. Jesus tells Martha that she was exhausted because "she was pulled apart by many things" (Verse 40). Suddenly 13 guests showed up for dinner and Martha was worried. There was no refigerator to store food. They did not have fast food places to run out to get something quickly. Martha had to cook, clean and serve. She was under pressure. Distraction and a lack of focus on what we do will exhaust us quickly. Martha was divided in that her ministry has become an “activity of an in-between kind", a divided attention" that continued to exhaust her. Martha not only has a to-do list of her own, but she has one for Mary also. She is getting frustrated that Mary is not helping her as she likes and that is one of the causes of her exhaustion. She was stressed out of the fact that her focus was on what her sister was not doing, rather than what she was doing. She wants Mary to fall in line with the social customs of the day, to be just like her. We get exhausted when we try to make others follow our pattern of doing things.
Multi-tasking is the norm and not an exception for us now. Operating with a divided mind is a highly praised skill. We try to do too much in our daily lives and are being pulled in too many directions, without some kind of a center or priority. This ideology has even spread to our online presence. Internet usage without some discipline can make us tired. A young mother posted on facebook, “You know, sometimes I am exhausted by five minutes on Facebook. Then I realize that if I had an in-person in real life, had conversation about international politics, saw four cartoons sent by a friend, I watched someone’s cat do something funny right in front of me, met two new babies, congratulated a friend on a wedding, saw someone leave the country, and read two articles I would have had an exhausted a full day. Well, all these were done only in 5 minutes online–no wonder I’m tired!”
Martha was also frustrated because she was not content with the state of affairs in her home. She says, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”. Jesus responds to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and pulled apart by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.” It is ok to have a kitchen that is not glittering and spotless. Sometimes the bathrooms may not be as clean as you want it. Jesus is saying, it is ok Martha, I am still here. Jesus will come regardless of how the dinner is, or how the home looks like.
Martha was so exhaused now that she even tells Jesus what to do for her stressed out situation. She is giving tasks to Jesus as well to tell Mary to follow the priority lines that she believes in. She knows the solution. It should be the other way around and to acknowledgeJesus knows the answer. Mary listens to Jesus while Martha wants Jesus to listen to her. Martha strives hard to provide a welcoming home to Jesus. That is her priority which is genuine and valuable. It is easy to be Mary, when you are not Martha. Both of these are valid and equally important ministries. It doesn’t clearly say that Mary did not help with the house work earlier. May be she had helped out and when Jesus and the crowd showed up, she decided to stop cleaning and cooking to be with Jesus. Mary recognized that she needed to give her focus to the words of Jesus. "The builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself" (Hebrews 3:3). She chose the better part to be with Jesus. Devotion brings peace and rest while distraction will bring frustation and exhaustion. Paul says on focusing on the main thing, "One thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those that are ahead" (Phil 3:12)
Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese Buddhist monk, talks about doing things mindfully. Be aware when you are walking that you are walking, when you are sitting that you are sitting, and so on. He says that the present moment is the only moment that is real. Your most important task is to be here and now and enjoy the present moment. We often become so busy that we forget what we’re doing or who we are. Even when we have some leisure time, we don’t know how to relax. So we turn on the television or pick up a magazine or the smart phone as if we might be able to escape and rest. We are not escaping, rather we are deeply getting immersed in the commercialism that exhausts us. We are missing the present moment. The present moment is what matters and so focus. Don’t get distracted, be devoted. Remember work will never end. There is always so much work to do: at our place of employment, at home, in the yard, at church, school and at various other places. It is impossible to sit down with Jesus after all the work is finished.
As believers in a soverign Creator, we begin each day intentionally and with gratitude. Each day is a gift from the Creator. Dedicate the day in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit to become a blessing. Spend some time at night before bed reflecting on the faithfulness of the Creator God. Turn the mundane daily work into holy moments. Pray that God will open up our eyes to see His presence in the details of events. This way we can transform our perception, showing us the holiness in each moment. The Good News is that Jesus is with us always whether we are distracted like Martha or devoted like Mary. We can turn the busy schedules of life into holy actions. “Whatever your task, put yourselves into it, as done for the Lord and not for your human masters”. (Colossians 3:23). “Render service with enthusiasm, as to the Lord and not to humans” (Ephesians 6:7).
Blessings
Mathew Philip
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