Luke tells the story in his Gospel of a visit Jesus and His disciples made to the home of a woman named Martha, her sister Mary and brother Lazarus. Martha, at one point during the visit complained to Jesus about her sister not helping with all the work that needed to be done.
Mary, instead of helping, had spent the day at the feet of Jesus listening to Him. I can’t say I blame Martha for complaining. She had at least thirteen extra mouths to feed that day!
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” [10:38-42]
Too often this story is related as a battle between two incompatible ways of life. I don’t think it is that at all. Jesus doesn’t rebuke Martha for her service, in fact, the Gospel of Luke is all about service.
Jesus rebukes Martha, in love, for her worry – which indicates her service needed to be grounded in the same kind of personal, firsthand, experience of love that Mary had chosen – the “what is better.”
The choice is not to be a Martha OR a Mary. To serve the LORD is to be Martha AND Mary. We are to generously serve, but always from a living, personal, firsthand, experience of knowing Jesus Christ our LORD.
Service that flows from that will never have “worry” as its companion.
