The Better Part
38 Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he was saying. 40 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." 41 But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; 42 there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her." (Luke 10:38-42)
When Martha welcomed Jesus to her home, she likely set out to offer him (and his disciples) all of the customary hospitality: the place was clean and inviting, food had been prepared and was being served, and all of the guests were made to feel comfortable. This was traditionally the responsibility of the women in the home - even when the woman was also the host and head of the household, as Martha was. However, Martha's sister Mary, placed herself with the other disciples at Jesus' feet - listening as Jesus taught. Distraught over Mary's seeming lack of responsibility, Martha asked Jesus to tell Mary to do her part, but Jesus gently told Martha that Mary
had made the right choice.
Certainly Jesus understood the traditions of the day - he did not ask Martha to neglect her guests. And certainly Jesus was in favor of serving others - most of Jesus' time was spent doing just that. But Jesus is the host of every gathering he attends, and he came to serve rather than to be served. God knows that our worries and daily distractions can make serving just another thing on our to do list, causing us to forget that how we serve is as important as our desire to serve. We can't serve well out of emptiness. Taking time to sit with the Word will fill us, prepare us, and strengthen us to serve with joy and without comparison to others - to the glory of God.
2 Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 3 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. (2 Peter 1:2-4)
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