MARTHA! MARTHA! MARTHA!

Update

Oh, dear! This is taking off and seems to be landing in all the right places (mostly right in my lap) as I begin to see all the pieces fall into place. I am beginning to learn so much about myself and others. I am beginning to see that what I have to offer is just as important as what Sister Suzie has to offer. We all need to recognize that what we do in the name of ministry needs to be done ‘as unto the Lord’ and not unto man. I am sensing from comments, chats, and inbox conversations that others are feeling the same way. I have two stories in particular I want so badly to share that demonstrate the point I have been trying to make….BUT, for today, I really must get to the encounter between Martha and Jesus so we can gain a better understanding of just what Christ expects from us, and it’s not nearly as much as we tend to imagine, yet, at the same time, it is much more than we tend to understand.

Martha, Martha, Martha!

“Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!” How many of you remember that line from “The Brady Bunch"? ( BTW-I was sooo in love with Barry Williams!-but back to the topic at hand!). With a little imagination, I can hear Jesus saying, “Martha, Martha, Martha” in Luke 10:38-42.

Before we look specifically at some of the details of this passage, I want you to imagine with me the following scenario:

Imagine your favorite Christian writer or Bible teacher (and his/her staff) ringing your doorbell about 4:30 in the afternoon and announcing that their RV has just broken down. They ask if they could spend the evening (and maybe even the night) while it is getting fixed. After the initial shock wears off, and you actually invite them in, the panic sets in! “What are we going to eat?” “I should have vacuumed this afternoon!” “Is the bathroom clean?” “When did I last change the sheets in the guest room?”   OH, DEAR!!!

You ask your kids to PLLEEAASSEE keep the guests ‘entertained’-- ‘occupied’ would probably be the better word choice, as you slip into the kitchen and go into Martha mode. Meanwhile, your guest immediately starts to share with your kids all about his/her  day and how the Lord has used the events of the day to teach some valuable lessons about the provisions and protection that could only come from God. Now, tell, me—would YOU remain in the kitchen making cookie cutter sandwiches, OR would you bring a tray of cookies and crackers (and, maybe, your Keurig and its selections) into the living room and sit and listen?  I can’t imagine anyone remaining in the kitchen making cookie cutter sandwiches!  But, if you choose to, remember that is your choice!!

That is exactly what took place at Martha’s house some 2000 years ago-and she CHOSE to stay in the kitchen making cookie cutter sandwiches when Jesus, the Messiah, whom even unbelievers considered the greatest teacher of all time, was sitting and teaching in her living room!  I would think she would AT LEAST stand in the doorway and listen!  I mean (as my grandson says whenever he shares stories about the kids in his class that get in trouble), “what was she thinking?” Surely, this is an extreme example of Marthaness!

The Bible says in verse 38 that Martha was "distracted with much serving."  I also like the word picture of the word ‘cumbered’ used in the King James. Can’t you just see her running around the kitchen loaded down with trays and pitchers trying to get everything arranged just right? The Greek translation of this word is actually ‘over-occupied’—not just preoccupied, mind you, but rather, OVER occupied!  Can you imagine Jesus telling you that you are over-occupied in your ministry! (By the way, the word Luke uses for ‘much serving’ is the same word used throughout the New Testament for ministry-HMM???).

Finally, Martha has enough. She goes to the doorway with her tomato stained apron and flour in her hair, places one hand on her hip, and raises the rolling pin in the other hand, and boldly says to Jesus, “Don’t you care that I am slaving away trying to make things nice for you?”  Then she tells Jesus to make Mary come and help her. I wonder if this is the only time in Scripture that anyone TELLS Jesus what to do? I don’t even think Peter tried to pull that one off!

In her frustration, Martha asks the Lord in verse 40, “Don’t you care?” Of course He cares-and that is a topic we will deal with at a later time. “Martha, Martha, Martha!”-What shall we do with you?

But, Jesus didn’t respond by saying, “Listen, young lady, you don’t talk to me that way! Get yourself in here and listen to me right now!”  No, he calmly said, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.” I’m thinking she was probably ready to listen.

Now, the whole concept of worry is enough to cover an entire new topic, so I am not going to spend a lot of time here. But, basically, Jesus is telling Martha to ‘chill out’. Worry is a distraction. Luke was so on target when he described Martha as being ‘distracted with much serving.’  Mounce, in his Complete Expository Dictionary.. describes this usage of worry as to be concerned about something-usually in a negative sense,  or an unhealthy concern about events and circumstances. He goes on to say that this worry usually stems from a focus on physical and temporal matters, rather than spiritual matters. In this and other passages, this worry leads to anxiety, distractions, and criticisms. It gets you nowhere and just weights you down.  That is exactly what has taken place in Martha’s heart at this point.

Now, I really don’t believe Jesus was rebuking Martha merely for her actions, as serving and hospitality are taught throughout the New Testament (See Romans 12:13 and Galatians 6:10).  No, Jesus was , instead, rebuking her attitude. He wasn’t rebuking WHAT she was doing, but, rather, HOW she was going about it. He may have even been questioning WHY she was doing it. Max Lucado asked the following question in a Grace for the Moment devotion (January 12, 2011): “Was she serving Jesus, or Martha?” That is an interesting question we need to ask ourselves!  Joanna Weaver, in her book, Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, quotes Charles Grierson on the topic of Jesus’ rebuke of Martha’s attitude.  Martha was rebuked by Jesus, “…not for her attentive service of love, but for allowing that service to irritate, agitate, and absorb her.”   

 Martha’s service ‘over-occupied’ her entire being and affected her attitude towards others. After all, isn’t demonstrating a proper attitude towards others what it means to love our neighbor, which is part of the GREAT commandment taught in Matthew 22:38-39? AND, it is interesting to note, the events of Luke 10:38-42 come immediately after Jesus had shared the parable of the Good Samaritan with the prideful lawyer earlier that day. I am sure Jesus had that encounter fresh in His mind as He spoke with Martha. It may have even been what He was sharing in the living room as Mary and the others listened so intently.

So I ask--Are WE ready to listen?

Jesus continues with His diagnosis of and His remedy for Martha’s over-occupied and stressful attitude in verse 42. But that will have to wait till next time!