Luke 10:38-42
Mary Sitting
at the Feet of Jesus
at the Feet of Jesus
Jesus and his disciples arrived at Bethany, a village
near Jerusalem, where Martha, Mary and Lazarus lived. They were good friends of
Jesus and they welcomed these preachers of the Word warmly into their house.
Martha was busy with food preparation as she desired
to serve the needs of others. She felt frustrated and she approached Jesus with
her complain, “Mary is just sitting there
listening to your words. Why don’t you bother about this? Tell her to help me,
please!”
How then did Jesus reply?
“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.”
Jesus corrected Martha for being too occupied with her
table serving, for she was worried and upset about many things. He commended
Mary for making the right choice to sit under His feet and to listen to His
teaching.
Jesus said this to teach those who offer their
hospitality to ministers of God, that they ought to differentiate between what is
urgent and important, and what is not. Jesus emphasized that the ultimate
purpose of fellowship for believers should focus on God and His Word. God’s Word
must be preached and heard. This is a good model of fellowship and ministry for
the community of faith.
There Must Be
a Balance between
Busy Serving and Listening to God’s Word
a Balance between
Busy Serving and Listening to God’s Word
Martha said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by
myself? Tell her to help me!” (v.40b)
Martha made “I” as her prime concern in her
conversation with Jesus. She did not put her focus on the Lord Jesus Christ. Though
Martha had addressed Jesus as her Lord, somehow, she still murmured over His
failure in meeting her needs. Instead of listening to Jesus, Martha commanded
Jesus to do and say as she wished.
Jesus reminded Martha that a prophet had come to her
house with the Word of God. The primary focus of the host should then be attending
to and serving the prophet by listening to His words and not to be busy with
her house chores. God desires us to receive Him by drawing near to Him and by
listening to His Word attentively, just like how Mary did by sitting at the feet
of Jesus.
In the context of the Gospel of Luke,
‘sitting at one’s feet’ means submitting to one’s authority. God wants to bless
those who receive Him by sitting at His feet. Jesus diverted their focus from
serving, as a community lifestyle, to receiving the grace of God.
Martha liked to serve while Mary loved to listen and
ponder upon the Word of God. Both of them were Jesus’ disciples, and they loved
Jesus dearly. However, those who are occupied with ministering and serving must
guard themselves well, so that they do not ignore the importance of feeding
themselves with the Word of God or drawing near to Him.
Sometimes, a conspicuous ministry which draws attention as well as
applauses from the crowd tends to draw us away from God too. We end up
neglecting God and we refuse to think in line with His Word. In such situations,
whatever we do become self-serving rather than serving God and His Word. Worse
still, we overlook God’s sovereignty above all.
There are issues which can be settled later in the
midst of our busy schedule. There is a time for ministry and there is a time
for us to listen to the Word of God. We must balance our serving with
listening, meditating and getting deeper into the Word of God. We need to guard
ourselves against the possibility of missing out the abundant grace that God
has in store for us. It is because we usually sacrifice our personal times with
God and forget to rely on Him fully when we are too occupied with our work.
Men and women in the business world enrol themselves
in MBA courses so that they can advance their career. For us who serve God,
there is a need for us to constantly quiet our hearts before God in order to
listen, meditate and learn the Word to be equipped further in His truth.
We will experience burnt out situations quickly in our
spiritual walk and come to our bottleneck if we focus merely on our ministries
and lack in listening, learning and studying the Word of God. God is not
pleased with such a serving model.
Why not Examine
Own Self First?
Own Self First?
The narrator projected Martha as someone who was
over-concerned for others. She questioned Mary’s priority in life, and she
expected Mary to flow in line with her ideal way of serving. She complaint to
Jesus about Mary, and asked Him to uphold justice by commanding Mary to rise and
give her a hand.
Nevertheless, Jesus pointed out Martha indeed was at
fault. She was worried and upset about many things. Hence, she was unable to
concentrate on listening to the Word of the Lord, and was distracted in her
worship as well.
Jesus once shared a parable of seeds sowing. When
seeds are sowed among thorns which stand for worries and anxieties of this
life, the growth and fruits-bearing are halted (8:14). Jesus also warned His
disciples to get rid of worrying about what to eat and what to wear on earth.
All the worries of this life become a barrier to men when they want to focus on
seeking God’s kingdom (12:22; 21:34).
Jesus knew Martha intended to do everything in order
to serve Him, but she did not receive Him nor listen to Him wholeheartedly. God
was not at the centre of her life. In view of this, what made Martha different
from Mary was not because she was busy with work while Mary was sitting there
listening to Jesus. The distinction was about Martha’s distraction and Mary’s concentration.
Jesus said whoever obeyed His Word were truly His
servants and whoever followed Him wholeheartedly would inherit the kingdom of
God. Therefore, Mary had the right attitude whereas Martha was to change her
response to God.
We might be concerned about criticizing others without
considering our own deeds. What have we done for God? Do we do the right thing?
Why do we do it?
Martha was called to serve the table, yet she also
spent most of her energy criticizing others. There are people who do so little in
church but are enthusiastic in airing their opinions and being critical and
judgmental towards those who serve. They do not realize that they are indeed
wrong while others might be doing the right things. A community will not be
effective if too much time is spent by people scrutinizing and judging one
another.
People who only bother to look outwardly but unwilling
to look within themselves are inclined to see a world full with injustice and
ugliness. They will automatically see themselves victimized. They complaint, “Why
should I keep my hands clean when everybody does evil?”
They raise more and more questions and they start
rationalizing their faults. They end up deceiving themselves to be the righteous
ones, so that their conscience will not be troubled.
We should be aggressive in our self-reflection and be
willing to be responsible for our actions. We have to be strict in
self-discipline while be lenient to others.
What are you complaining now?
Do you feel that you have lost your
peace and your joy, and you are defiant and everything seems to be loathsome in
your eyes?
What you need to do is to sit down and do a
self-searching. You might have a wrong expectation of others or you might have
an attitude problem of over-concerning about others’ businesses. Let’s get our
emotion right and do our part faithfully. By so doing, you will be a happier
man or woman on earth!
Do Silly Things for
Jesus
In the ancient society where Jesus lived, people
expected women to play the role and responsibility of serving their guests and
making them feel at home. Martha’s complaint seemed to be reasonable under the
expectation of such a culture. What Mary did, signified a breakthrough in their
tradition – to sit down and to listen to Jesus. Jewish women had no right to
access to proper education.
Yet, Mary loved the Lord and she hungered for Him. She
set her heart to want to hear the Word of the prophet as a way of receiving Him
personally. She owned no significant ministry, yet she was blessed to take her
bold step to break free from the bondage of Jewish tradition, and became then a
silent witness for Christ.
Martha was trapped in the bondage of tradition where
people thought that women were supposed to occupy themselves in serving others.
Jesus did not completely deny her worries and upset,
but He considered Mary’s desire for His Word and the fact that she did listen
to Him attentively, to be something better (v. 42). It was something that could
not be taken away by their social value and expectation.
Indirectly, Jesus set women free from their role which
was defined and confined by their culture. He enabled the role and position of
the women to be enhanced.
The power of the Gospel breaks every boundary! Those
who hunger for God and those who love God must break free from fear of being
demeaned and doubted in order to accomplish a new thing for the Lord. The Holy
Spirit shall give us grace and strength as we move a step forward.
Do you experience any breakthrough in your journey of
faith this day? Have you ever done something for Jesus out of expectation of
others, something that is silly? What is the most important thing in your life
you feel worthwhile to invest your time and money?
May God, grant you wisdom to make a right choice.
