By Sheila Barnett
You’ve probably heard my story, but it’s not a very flattering one for me. I always feel portrayed as “the bad example” in the event, and I’d like a chance to explain my side. My name is Martha, and I live with my sister Mary and my brother Lazarus in a town called Bethany. I’d describe us as a fairly typical Jewish family. We work hard, we observe all the religious traditions, and we maintain close social ties within our community. In our culture, a woman’s role is to serve others. Mary and I keep quite busy maintaining our home. There is always firewood to gather, a garden to care for, meals to prepare, and washing or sewing to do. As the older sister, I’m responsible for overseeing our daily tasks.
The best thing about my life right now is my family’s friendship with a Rabbi named Jesus. He is truly fascinating! He describes all these new ideas about being saved and eternal life. I’ve heard others say they think He’s the Messiah. All I know is that when He looks into my eyes, I feel like He can see all the way into my soul. I could sit and listen to Him teach all day. However, that’s not always possible, as you will see from my story.
It was a morning like any other until our neighbor’s son came running into our courtyard. Breathless, he announced, “The Teacher and His disciples are on their way!” My heart leapt with joy as I ran to tell Mary and Lazarus the good news. Our friend, Jesus, would be here soon! I immediately began to make plans for His arrival. We would need to create more places for our guests to sit, and they would be hungry and thirsty, so of course a meal needs to be prepared and served, and do I have enough food for at least 16 people? I’d better plan for 20, since there is always an extra friend or two stopping by, especially when they hear that Jesus is visiting. So many things to do and so little time! But no matter, I was going to see Jesus!
Mary and I immediately went to work on the preparations. I sent Lazarus next door to ask for any extra food, honey, or oil that could be spared. Mary retrieved our extra cushions and added them to the floor around the table. She then started the fire for the oven while I started mixing the ingredients to make bread. Lazarus walked into the kitchen, carrying a melon, several cucumbers, a bag of figs, and some olive oil. Everything was going smoothly because Mary and I have worked efficiently together for many years.
Mary was putting the bread into the oven when we heard familiar voices outside. I hurried to the door and ran outside with a huge smile on my face. I greeted Jesus and His disciples with Mary and Lazarus right behind me. Warm words and laughter surrounded all of us. I wasted no time in inviting Jesus and His disciples into our home. Lazarus and our guests headed to the inner courtyard while I returned to the kitchen.
As I continued with the meal preparations, I realized that Mary wasn’t in the kitchen helping me. “She must be attending to something else,” I thought. “She’ll be back soon.” I sliced the melon, cucumbers, and some cheese. The bread was almost ready to come out of the oven. Funny, still no Mary. Where is that girl? I was beginning to feel frustrated about doing all this work alone and irritated with Mary for not helping me.
I left the kitchen and headed towards my guests. As I approached them, I saw Mary. She was sitting at the feet of Jesus, looking intently into His face. I realized that she had been sitting there, listening to Jesus, the entire time that I had been working alone in the kitchen! I guess that was the last straw for me. I would love to be listening to Jesus, too, but that wouldn’t get the meal ready. I felt jealous, left out, and punished for being the responsible sister. I thought to myself, “Jesus should tell her to help me! It’s only fair!” And then my mouth took over and I blurted out, “Lord, don’t you care that I’m doing all the work alone? Mary needs to help me!” Jesus looked at me with so much kindness in His eyes, that I felt a glimmer of hope. I might get what I want! He gently said, “Martha, you are worried and upset about many things.” Well, that was certainly true! At least Jesus understood how I was feeling. But then He went on to say, “Only one thing matters. Mary has chosen the better way, and it won’t be taken away from her.” My hope evaporated and my cheeks became hot. Embarrassed, I mumbled, “Of course,” and turned back towards the kitchen. I wasn’t upset anymore, though. Jesus had given me a lot to think about, and now I was actually happy for Mary. She had obviously been blessed by spending that time with Jesus. And I had learned a lesson about taking advantage of my opportunities to spend time with Him, too. I think in the future, my priorities will be different. Even though my service to others is important, making time to learn from Jesus is even more important. And I know this is true, because I learned it from Jesus Himself!
(Reference: Luke 10:38-42)