Rene’s Woman to Woman Blog

Learning from Martha

We all know the story of the two sisters Mary and Martha in the gospel of Luke

Luke 10:38-42

At the Home of Martha and Mary

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.”

Over the years this scripture has spoken to me on many levels and I have always desired to have more of a Mary heart. You see, God created me to be a bit like Martha – I am a Do-er!  God has gifted me with the ability to plan, prioritise, organise, serve others, so when there is a job to be done, I will volunteer. When a cake needs to be baked or a meal prepared or someone needs a lift, I’ll be there! These are all good things right? So why did I have this internal struggle to be more like Mary. Was what I did not good enough or simply, enough?

Allow me to share a bit of what I have learnt from Martha.

The scripture above starts with: “Martha opened her home to him”. From this I learn that Martha saw a need, she was hospitable and generous. She had a servant heart. Oh, this totally resonated with me – these are beautiful attributes to display love in action and something we can learn from Martha. However, the scripture then goes on to say that Martha complains to Jesus that she must do this all alone while her sister, Mary is not helping. There is always something we can learn from good and bad choices or actions. From Martha I take 4 key learnings.

Be hospitable

Be willing to open your home to receive and serve others. It is often when spending time with others at our kitchen table, over a cuppa or a meal that we create space and opportunity to connect, share our faith, learn from one another and indeed touch the lives of others. It is here where we can show love by investing our time in someone else.

Prioritise spending time in the presence of Jesus

What do our priorities look like?

Our willingness to serve, be hospitable and generous are all beautiful actions and characteristics, but we need to do it with a joyful heart and not become distracted from the important opportunities. Do not resent others for the choices they make.

Doing has it’s place, but not at the cost of spending time in the presence of Jesus. Mary chose to sit at the feet of Jesus and soak in His teaching. When we prioritise time in His presence, The Holy Spirit will fill us with His power to do the work that Jesus has called each one of us to.

Take our problems / frustrations to Jesus

Martha obviously had a close relationship with Jesus as she could boldly approach Him and complain about her sister. She must have been so confident and comfortable in Jesus’ presence to be able to say exactly how she felt.

Jesus then responds with “Martha, Martha, 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.”

This rebuke seems a little harsh at first, as Martha was only trying to be the perfect host to Jesus and His disciples. She wanted everything to be just right and perhaps have a little help in doing so. I can imagine she would want to get the best ingredients for her meal and serve it on the best crockery, not the kitchen plates, maybe even proper napkins, no paper serviettes, and host an unforgettable evening. Jesus points out that she was worried about too many things when she should be focused on one thing only.

Only one thing is needed

That ‘one thing’, the one that Mary chose, is to sit still in God’s presence. Listening to God, getting to know God and experience His peace. We need to leave ‘The Kitchen’ – ie ‘the doing’ long enough to experience living room intimacy. The Bible does not say how Martha responded to Jesus, but I like to believe that Martha responded in a way that we would call teachable. That she heard, learnt and acted on this rebuke and started to change her priorities.

The doing is needed and good, but the order of our priorities is fundamental.

We need to BE in the presence of Jesus, so that we can go out and DO his good work.