Oh no, not again….Martha heaved a heavy sigh as Jona Lewie's voice once more drifted through the café and into the kitchen where Martha spent her Saturday afternoons elbow-deep in suds and filthy plates.
It was 1978, and the local café had just been blessed with a jukebox; unfortunately, the choice of records seemed to be somewhat limited; Jona Lewie or a selection from the Bee Gees and in this little village, tucked into the Yorkshire hillside, there wasn't much Saturday Night Fever!
Martha began to understand why her name's sake had expressed such frustration with Jesus all those years ago. The similarities were startling; she also had a younger sister Mary, who, as Martha recalled, was attending a bible and social event at the church. It helped that the newly appointed pastor was young, attractive, single, and had invited a similarly blessed speaker!
She started questioning why she had chosen to work most Saturday afternoons in her mother's café. She had been told numerous times that her mother could manage without her. Still, since she was the oldest and her father had passed away, she felt obligated to be there for her even though Anna, Martha's aunt, was able to help most afternoons. Still, Martha had decided a while ago that her contribution was necessary.
Jona's latest hit broke into her thoughts once again; "You'll Always Find Me in the Kitchen at Parties" If ever a song title spoke of Martha's life at this moment, it was this one……
It hadn't always been this way; Martha could remember when she would listen to her dad reading to her from his bible, explaining the stories and narratives, bringing the words of Jesus to life. Martha ate it all up, imagining herself walking the dusty roads that Jesus walked, running towards him as he visited each village, bringing God's offer of redemption, His promise of a new life….hanging on every word He said.
But she no longer had her dad to sit and study with her, to hold her hand on the way to church; even at twelve and just starting senior school, she had not been ashamed to hold on to her dad's warm and firm hand, swinging their arms in unison as they walked down the village high street towards the church.
But during the past seven years, since her dad was killed in the horrific train crash of 1971, she had been overcome with fear and anxiety, and the words of Jesus had slipped from her mind like an ebbing tide.
Somehow the café had become overwhelmingly crucial in her life; helping her mum had morphed into an essential way of showing her mother love and support, and Martha found solace in clearing the tables and washing the dishes; her study of God's word had been replaced with simply serving in the café.
And as we consider the well-known narrative in Luke, how can we not sympathise with hard-working Martha? How can we not fail to identify with her frustration at watching her younger sister sitting at the feet of Jesus while she ran around serving everyone….in the same situation, how many of us would be content working in the kitchen while a younger sister sat captivated by the words of Jesus, oblivious to the work going on around her? And how many of us in a similar situation would have longed to be more like Mary, to set aside the serving, disregard the required hostess duties of that society, and sit and listen to what Jesus had to say?
Luke records the account of Martha and Mary, and he points out Martha's preoccupation with a lot of serving, Martha's complaint, and what amounted to a scolding directed at Jesus. "Lord, do you not care that I'm doing all the work on my own…tell my lazy sister to help me; tell her to give me a hand with all these preparations".
But Luke also records Jesus's reply, his gentle and loving rebuke of Martha; "Martha, Martha" Oh, the significance of that address, the deep personal affection evident as Jesus repeated her name. This was the same way Jesus had addressed Moses, Abraham and Jacob.
Jesus loved Martha just as much as He loved Mary, neither more nor less, but He was aware of Martha's distress and her worry at the obligations imposed on her by social expectations; "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her."
He hadn't said that what Martha had chosen was bad; there was nothing wrong in wanting to look after your guests, to put their needs above your own; Jesus simply stated that what Mary had chosen was the good part. One thing is necessary, and Mary has chosen that one thing.
My heart goes out to Martha, all those guests in the house; how could Martha not have been concerned about the look of the place and what she would serve them? Was there even enough room for them all to be comfortable? After all, wasn't having Jesus the great teacher in your home an honour, and wasn't He deserving of all the preparations she had made?
Surely Jesus wasn't implying she was being too fussy!
When faced with this situation, Martha must have questioned how Mary could have the nerve to shrug off the expected responsibilities of a younger sister. This was what the society of the day demanded; from Martha's perspective, it was required. It was definitely necessary!
But that was precisely the point…. Jesus had a different view on things.
As far as Jesus was concerned, it was Martha who was in the wrong…did she really think that Jesus did not care? Was she so consumed with a need to provide a fussy meal and well-set table that she had ignored the teaching, the wisdom, the enlightenment that the Son of God brought into the house?
It was appropriate that Martha, having invited Jesus into her home, welcomed and prepared a meal for Him and His disciples. She served and made her visitors feel comfortable; she was putting their needs above hers, but what Mary was doing was better still. She had "chosen the good part". Mary had discovered the one thing needful: she had learned that sincere worship, commitment of the heart, and total focus on Christ were the only things required.
Mary had chosen the good part, and it would not be taken away from her; not even something as kind and helpful as helping Martha to prepare a meal for Jesus would cause her to leave her saviour's teaching.
Mary realised that not even serving Jesus was as important as listening to and honouring Him with her heart.
Most of us will have been brought up with the notion that what we do is more important than what we believe….. "Put your money where your mouth is" or "Walk your talk" are the maxims that spring to mind. James also makes numerous statements about our faith, that it is dead without works. Galatians tells us that we must not grow weary of doing good. Titus says we should devote ourselves to good works, and there are many more examples. Good works are expected from Christians, but we must remember that our good works are how believers prove or demonstrate to others that their profession of faith is not just a matter of the mouth, but can be confirmed by the works that faith produces.
Although our works do not save us, we are indeed saved by works….just not ours; the works of Christ save us, and I wonder if this is why Jesus commended Mary because she took time away from works to spend time with Him and mildly rebuked Martha because she continued in her works…was He in this way signifying that His works were far superior and that eventually He would complete the ultimate work on our behalf…continuing to do so through His ascension and ceaseless intercession for us with the Father (Romans 8:34) Simply expressed, our works for Christ fade into insignificance compared to His works on our behalf.
Did Martha allow her anxiety about wanting to do things for Christ subconsciously overcome her gratitude for who He was and what He would carry on doing for her?
God has given His church gifts (Ephesians 4:7-8) different gifts for different people so that everyone in the church can work together to serve the body; they are to be used to edify and build up the church and bring it to maturity…..attending church is not a spectator sport (more on this subject soon!)
It is a privilege to be able to serve the Lord and His church, and as I grow older, I am grateful that I can remain active both in and out of the church. Still, I must confess that I am sometimes carried away by my desire to stay busy, sometimes forgetting that time spent in the Word and worship should take precedence over work and not the other way around.
Both women had tremendous gifts; Mary had the demeanour of a worshipper and was remarkably wise for her age. Martha was a woman with a servant's heart who was responsible and greatly desired to work. Both ladies demonstrated their love for Christ in their unique ways; if only we could combine the dispositions of both these women as we attempt to serve the Lord, remembering that serving God must never take the place of knowing and worshipping God.
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