Martha, Martha
Luke 10: 38-42
I don’t know if I’ve ever related to a character in the Bible more than I relate to Martha in this passage. Upon the arrival of Jesus into her home, Martha is ‘distracted,’ whisking herself away into a frenzy of activity, attending to tasks that she likely feels are her duty to complete. As someone who lives by to-do lists, Google Calendar, and the Reminders app, I can absolutely relate to the feeling of getting compulsively sucked into tasks that present themselves in front of me.
Furthermore, I often find myself bent in a self-righteous mood, quick to condemn others who I feel are in the wrong or who I perceive to be lacking in effort. Similarly, Martha comes to Jesus, seemingly asking Him to reprimand her sister, Mary, who has chosen to listen to Jesus instead of helping Martha with the many tasks Martha has charged herself with. I’m sure that my parents could attest to the fact that I would often report on my younger brother, Nic, in a similar way when I was younger. To me, it felt like a grave injustice for him to get away with freeloading off my diligent work in completing chores that we shared.
This passage leaves me to wonder: How often have I missed the arrival of Jesus Himself because I am too pridefully caught up in completing my own to-do lists? Even more alarmingly – How often have I condemned others for taking the time to rest in the presence of Jesus?
Slowing down is undoubtedly hard for me to do. Admittedly, I have a hard time focusing my thoughts when praying, and restful days sometimes leave me feeling more anxious. However, I believe that God understands this struggle. In the passage, Jesus recognizes Martha’s sense of urgency when he says, “you are worried and upset about many things,” but He follows up this statement with “but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” This tells me that while Jesus understands our preoccupation with self-imposed tasks, He wants us to pause in attending to these burdens so that we can spend time in His peaceful presence.
As I move forward, I wonder: How can I practice the discipline of resting in the presence of God? Where am I missing the arrival of God in my life because I’m so caught up in daily tasks?