“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 few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” — Luke 10:38-42
Jesus is going through Bethany when He receives an invitation to a meal from Martha. When He and his crew stop by they step into an uncomfortable environment– Two women in a cat fight in front of company. Martha had a set of expectations of Mary and it wasn’t her just laying around hanging with the guys.
With these expectations, Martha’s focus switches from the privilege of having the King of Kings in her home to an obligation of tasks at hand and gets overwhelmed.
- The place is a mess– Dishes, cooking, and cleaning. Why did I invite them over?
- How I am gonna feed all of these men because she isn’t helping me.
- How am I gonna do all of this by myself?
Martha was running on empty leading up to that invitation. She had too much on her plate which caused distraction and a loss of focus leading to stress, control, and angst toward Mary and Jesus. When this happens to me my tendency is to shift my eyes inward and add more to my plate doing things myself. But Jesus is pointing out that her distraction is a sign of emptiness not incompetency. She needed to do the opposite of her natural response and stop to fill up at that moment instead of keeping going.
How about you? Are events. activities, and commitments distracting you from filling up and resting at his feet?
Only one thing is needed– fill up.
Reflection |
Do you have margin in your life to stop for a fill up?