What about the doings of life?
I can count on two hands and possibly a few toes the times that pastors referred to scripture where Martha was asking Jesus to get Mary to get up off her rear end and help her get things accomplished. I have heard many pastors say, “We need the Martha’s! Where are the Martha’s?” Sitting in the pews when that is happening makes me wonder,”Is that what that part of scripture was about?” I am not saying that folks don’t need to help in the churches they attend or anywhere around the world, with their neighbors. What I am saying is that in this area of scripture there is a specific thing that Jesus points to when he is responding to Martha’s request. Let’s look at the area in scripture to get the context here…
Luke 10:38-42
“38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 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!”
41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one.[f] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
This scripture shows a scene where Martha opened her home to Jesus and his disciples. Mary was focused on Jesus, but Martha was covered in the weeds of life. She was distracted by all the preparations and, to such a degree that she was bothered that Mary was doing nothing to help. She was bothered enough to break through her well-mannered silence with agitation and appeal to Jesus to get Mary to do what is right! But, Jesus’ response, I am sure, completely confused Martha. Jesus said to Martha, “You are worried about many things,” and most telling later, “Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” When I read Jesus’ response to Martha’s request I don’t see what is customarily seen in this moment but work to see something behind the forces at work here. It often seems in scripture that Jesus speaks through the person that he is interacting with and not directly to them, like He is putting his finger on an issue that is not the initial focus of the person Christ is speaking with. He calls out the entity that is pulling the speakers strings and in this situation I believe it is important to look at what it could be that he is addressing.
I am going to try and analyze who Martha is on the face of it. She invited Jesus and his disciples in to her home, seemingly, while they were on their way to another location. I am not even sure if Jesus or his disciples requested a place to stay from Martha. She just offered it. Wishing to be a great host and a person who wishes to serve those who have visited her home, Martha focuses all her attention on providing for Jesus and his disciples in every way. This to me illustrates a person with great reputation in the town whose home probably was known for hospitality and excellence. The scriptures said that Martha was distracted by keeping up appearances or whatever she considered to be the appropriate way of hospitality within her home. Maybe even her efforts in hospitality were a contest to her? When her sister put down assigned duties to focus herself on Jesus, Martha became indignant to the point where she approached her guest to fix the issue, using her sense of duty and justice. But, Jesus’ response completely breaks Martha’s paradigm or possibly offends her even further. He tells Martha that she is over worried about many things, but little is needed, in fact only one thing is needed. In this instance it seems that He is referring to Himself. The phrase that clinches the meaning behind what entity Jesus is addressing is in the last sentence, “Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
That sentence seems out of place when you are simply seeing the scene as Martha simply being agitated that her sister isn’t helping enough. No, it is not simply that. It seems that what is behind Martha, the busy-ness of life, the weeds, is internal programming or an entity that can steal you away from what is most important. Another thing that I see when I look at what Martha is saying to Jesus is it reminds me of Matthew 7:22 – where it says, “22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’” The next verse says that Jesus said that He never knew them and then sends them away. The very last thing that Martha is manifesting in this scene, I perceive, is self-righteousness – being that her deeds make her justified and if someone else is NOT doing as she does then they can’t possibly be justified. This problem unfortunately is quite prevalent in the Church in the United States and is a major issue we have to deal with. In fact in some church doctrines have ideas like this written in. The spirit of Martha looks good in public and seems to fit the Proverbs 31 woman list but there seems to be a lack of love. Or simply a need to cover oneself in business so that they don’t have to listen to their heart that is full of pain. Or as in some cases people can’t stop and listen to what is inside themselves because they are afraid of what they will find there. The exercise goes from focus on Christ to a focus on how their justification comes from their deeds and how much greater those deeds are than others. Whatever the initiating reason, the entity makes its way into a believer’s life and creates a new type of law that asserts itself as righteousness. This process is counterintuitive and in fact puts one on the path that Paul refers to in Galatians where they are trying to attain heaven but their best efforts are as dirty rags. If you ever pointed to that truth these folks may mentally implode. (Don’t try it) This is an issue just as insidious as Jezebel but maybe even more so for its widely accepted tenets.
How does one walk away from a spirit of Martha? Choose what is better than your self-imposed, or community-imposed, set of laws to follow to show yourself worthy. Choose to seek first Jesus and His Kingdom and reconcile your life to that. Your priorities will be righted and you won’t need to hide behind a load of doings to ensure that you are accepted or righteous. Jesus has provided righteousness for all of us. You can’t provide it for yourself. Also it is important to note that the only way to judge if a believer is a believer is to see what their fruit is, and that fruit is not our personal accomplishments, though those things are great. But, if Jesus is the apple of your eye then you are of the vine and the vine will never produce bad fruit. The fruit that I want and hope for is that kind that can’t be grown on our own power or effort, but that requires the co-laboring with the Spirit of God. Is there prayer? Is there love through hardship? Is there forgiveness for evil? Are people blessed by them? The fruit that perseveres, that is what I believe God looks at. Not the kind of fruit that is attainable through grit and then is slowly erased in time. I am talking about the fruit that is eternal. Not a kind that is attainable through personal effort alone. This fruit requires your effort but is something that cannot be accomplished without the Grace of God working through you and the Faith that God gives to achieve and receive it. That is what we as believers need to seek. Of course take care of your homes, being a good host, and at the very least do what the world is able to do through sheer grit. Just know that that effort and accomplishment doesn’t make you righteous. Always remember that the fruit that makes the difference and what shows the life of a believer comes from what can not be done without Jesus.