MARY’S AND MARTHA’S.

May, 2008


……..But one thing is needful: for Mary has chosen that good part which shall not be taken away from her ……..Luke 10:42.

The Bible tells us that Mary was the one who sat at Jesus’ feet.
In our imagination we can see Jesus entering the house of Mary, Martha and Lazarus in the village of Bethany.
The Bible does not at all relate to us how their house could accommodate 13 guests all at once, but apparently that was possible.
Martha sees all these (welcome) guests and just knows that suddenly, there is a lot of work to be done to make everyone comfortable. Water for foot washing, water for drinking, lunch to be prepared, etc.
Mary too, sees all these welcome guests, but what she really “sees” is Jesus, she has eyes for nothing or no one else but Jesus. She loves Him, that explains all.
Rabbi, she might have said, what is it wonderful for you to come, it makes my day.
And please, tell me more about yourself and your Kingdom, you told me so much the last time you were here and I long to hear more about it.
And it is as if we can hear Jesus say to her: “ O.K., sit down here and let’s talk.”
And Jesus begins to give her more of that living water, the same as what He gave the woman at the well of Sychar some time ago. Water that will spring up in her as a well into eternal life, John 4:14. Words that resonate in her and become Life in her, for the soil of her heart has been well prepared by the Holy Spirit of God.
Jesus is imparting His Life into Mary, His Life, which is eternal Life. This eternal Life is to intimately know the Father and the Son whom He has sent, John 17;3.
And for Mary and Jesus nothing else matters, food and guests, everything can wait.

Martha, in contrast, is happy also to see Jesus and all these guests. She too, has good memories of past visits. But for her duty goes before pleasure and she sets about to serve her guests. And she fully expects the same from Mary, her sister.
There is water to be fetched, a fire has to be started, food has to be prepared, the floor should have been swept this morning, too bad, it is too late now to do that.
And where is Mary hanging out, she should know what is expected of her without the need to spell it out. Martha makes herself busy with all these necessary things and all the while her blood pressure slowly rises: “Where is this girl, what has gotten in to her?”

Martha’s service is characterized by a sense of duty, this is what others expect me to do.
She in effect offers her service to Jesus and his disciples, that what she can do.
There is no doubt of her sincerity in what she is offering. In all her sincerity she is offering the best she knows how.
When Mary starts serving (and that time will certainly come), it will not be from a sense of duty, or what she believes is expected of her, it will be the natural outflow of her nature, the new nature that is synonymous to the new Life that Jesus gives to all who love His appearing.
Her actions are not called “service”, because “service” always depicts a master/servant relationship.
Mary’s actions will be known as “ministry”, for those actions are not the products of her brain, they are born in the heart of God, communicated to her by the Holy Spirit.
She knows that like Jesus, she is an instrument in her Father’s hands.
The thought of duty or what is expected of her will not even occur to her, because she knows that her acceptance by her Lord is not based on what she might do for Him.
She rests in the knowledge that Jesus loves and accepts her just the way she is.
And when the time comes that someone else is sitting at the feet of Jesus while she is doing all the serving, that will not be offensive to her.
For she will know by experience what it is like to sit at the feet of Jesus and she will have joy in seeing someone else having that same deeply satisfying experience.

And, says Jesus, Mary has chosen that good part which shall not be taken away from her.
Note well, Jesus does not reprimand Martha for what she is doing or not doing, but He does indicate that Mary has made the better choice.
It is as if Jesus is saying: “Martha, I love what you are doing for me, but I am not primarily interested in your service, I am more than anything interested in having you.
Allow me to have you, all of you and I will mold you and shape your character, your being, in what I have purposed for you.
For that is the good part that Mary has already chosen, the part that shall not be taken away from her.

The tragedy of the past and even more of our present time is that the Church has chosen to follow Martha’s example and is instilling Martha’s mentality into it’s people right from children’s Sunday school on up.
The church is always focussing on how it might find new and better ways to enhance the Kingdom of God in this world.
And that is a dangerous road to travel, a road that is focussed on our selves and what we might do for God. It will turn the Church into a social agency eventually.
Something we see happening already all around us.
Often the Church offers a message of forgiveness for sins of the past. It offers heaven for the future and in between a life of service to advance the Kingdom of God in this world.
And all the while the Church has little to offer hurting people than the words:”We will pray for you”, or otherwise often refers such people to counselors who in many cases do not know the Lord.

There used to be a time when the different denominations were very focussed on “purity” of their various doctrines. Now, in today’s world, when these distinctions that separate us from other Christians are losing much of their former importance, many churches are now emphasizing service as the all important thing with special emphasis on what we know as the “Great Commission”of Matt. 28:19 and 20.
The reasons why advertising slogans and so-called “seeker friendly services” are not working very well could be the subject of a small book.
If we missed the essence of our calling when we focussed on purity of doctrine, we are missing it again by emphasizing service, even if it is service (in our estimation) to the glory of God.
Service is always born in the heart of man, that which seems to be a good thing to do in the present circumstances and we then commence to pray that God would bless our plans.
It nearly always leads to conflict, disappointment, dissatisfaction with self and/or others.
Prov.14 vs. 12: There is a way which seems right to a man, but the end of it are the ways of death.
Service in itself is highly commendable, the problem is that God’s people are being motivated to serve as an act of obedience, Christian duty, something God expects from His people once they join His “army” of believers, many are told. Obedience as a response to many Biblical commandments, ranging from loving God to witnessing to environmental stewardship.
The result of that is that church services nearly always have a motivational character in these churches.
(It would be interesting to find out when and for what reason we started calling these Sunday morning gatherings “services”.)
In these churches people seem to be asked to believe that the more things they do for God, the more pleased He will be with them and the better they will feel about ourselves.
But no matter how it is dressed up, it remains a “Martha mentality”.


In Luke chapter 15 Jesus tells the parable of a father and two sons.
When the older son emphasized to his father all the good and faithful service that he had performed for him, he didn’t even get a “Thank you, but……”.
And when the younger son offered to be a servant in his father’s house, the man ignored that request altogether and pressed the dirty slob to his heart.
The older son had offered his service to his father, faithful, diligent service.
All his efforts were made for his father.
And as the parable indicates, that will often lead to bitterness.
Because the “younger brother” will one day come home in the life of any of God’s children who nurture an “older son” mentality, it is only a matter of time.
The faithful service of the older son, when all was said and done, was not recognized.
That truth will be frightening for many of us who believe that by faithful service we can gather treasures in heaven.
And the determination that we will be different, we won’t be bitter when brother comes home and gets all the attention, that is a pipe dream.

The younger son, in contrast, had nothing to offer but his dirty, ragged self.
That is all he had.
And he threw himself at his father’s mercy.
Do with me whatever you want, but let me be in your house.
Let me be a “Mary”, let me sit at your feet, teach me the way of Life, for you are the way of Life. He now understands that life in the Father’s bosom is greatly to be preferred than anything else. And he now knows that his Father prefers it that way.
…….But Mary has chosen that good part…….

That was in the end also the choice of the younger son.
And when the younger son begins service to others (and he too, like Mary will get to that place), it will not be from a sense of duty or obedience, it will flow from his nature, the nature of the Father. And that shall not be called service, it shall be called ministry.
For service is the response to duty and obedience.
But ministry is the reponse to love and compassion.
It shall be a reflection of the love and compassion of the Father, expressed and made known to us in the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
That is the good part that the Holy Spirit revealed to Mary, as recorded for us in Luke 10:42.

St.Thomas, May ’08.