Luke 10:38-42

 Luke 10:38-42

Mary and Martha give us a mirror for our own discipleship. Martha was not being evil she was being distracted. She was busy with her plans to honor the Lord with the feast.  But a couple of key questions escaped her. First, did Jesus want a big banquet? In the context of going to Jerusalem was a fancy celebration what Jesus wanted or would He, at this time, have preferred thoughtful conversation? A second question, which would have been harder for Martha to formulate because of cultural expectations would be, should service be divorced from the Word of God? Martha was fulfilling the expected cultural roles perfectly. In terms of cultural expectations Mary was the one who was out of line. But no culture has ever been very good at recognizing the priority of God's Word. That is our constant battle.

Jesus appears to offer a double meaning in verse 42, "…Only a few things are necessary really only one."  At first he seems to be saying, “We only need one dish for the meal.” But there seems to be a deeper meaning:  “The Word, the learning of a disciple is all that is necessary.” Service that is devoid of the Word of God will have no lasting impact. In so much of the life of the church we are like Martha busy with many things. We act as if the Word made flesh is not enough. We are so busy trying to satisfy our members or attract new people via a dog and pony show that we have lost the ability and the value of just listening to Jesus.

“Lord forgive me for being so busy that I am not thoughtful. Amen”