Martha and Mary - The "Whole" Story
I’m sure you’re familiar with the story of the day Jesus’ dropped in to see Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, found in the New Testament book of Luke. I love the story because there are so many facets of it that can be explored.
First of all, I’m pretty sure that Jesus did not call ahead. Luke 10:38 states, “As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.” Now, if you read between the lines and use your visual imagination, you will find yourself chuckling because you may see yourself.
Martha is quickly scurrying around picking up things that had been left out by messy Lazarus. She picks up dirty socks and shoes that are right where he stepped out of them. She grabs the bottle of air freshener to kill the stale odors and then runs into the kitchen to see what she has in the refrigerator that would make a good meal. As she is foraging through the food, her eyes glance over to the sink and there they are: dirty dishes from last night’s supper. Mary had promised to do them, but as usual, she forgot!
The pressure is mounting inside her head. Martha reaches for her bottle of Tylenol, but it’s empty. Typical!!
The shock is wearing off and reality is setting in. We’ve got company! The house is a mess! There is nothing prepared for lunch, and my head is killing me. But . . . wait! If that were not bad enough, “someone” puts an extra thought into Martha’s head, “No one really cares but me!” She mulls it over in her mind and the more she thinks, the more angry and frustrated she becomes.
She first thinks about Lazarus, who is no where to be found. He never helps around the house and is constantly stating that it’s not his place or responsibility to do a “woman’s” job, so therefore, he’s not doing it! After all, he is the “bread” winner of the house. Martha thinks back to when their mom was a live. She always catered to Lazarus, he being the only boy. (We all know that mothers always favor the boys!) Martha cuts Lazarus a little slack because it’s really not his fault that he was pampered as a child. He just doesn’t know any better.
Mary, on the other hand, has NO EXCUSE! She knows what the woman’s responsibilities are in the home but has always claimed that she was an artist, and artist just had more important things to do. She must protect her hands, and the scent of cleaning fluids gives her a headache. Mom always called her the “sensitive” one.
Martha thinks, “It’s just not fair! If I didn’t do it, it just would not get done! I’m getting tired of being treated this way!” By now, not only is her head hurting but stomach as well. What can she do?
The predicament that Martha is in is completely self-inflicted. She thought that she was justified in her feelings of self-pity, but it’s not gotten her anywhere.
She, in a last ditch measure, runs to Jesus and pours out her heart to Him. If she’d gone to Him in the first place, it would have saved all the energy she wasted in self-pity. We’re like that many times. We wait until we have exhausted all our resources and are at the “end of our rope” before we seek the Lord.
Jesus always has a way of calming us and letting us see what we need to see, and that’s what He did with Martha.
In verse 41 and 42, Jesus answered, “Martha, Martha, 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." I’m not sure that is what Martha wanted to hear but it was what she needed to hear.
Sometimes the truth is what is needed to shake us back into reality. There is really only one thing that we need in life and that is God. Everything else will fade in the light of eternity. The things we count so important are really nothing compared to God and eternity.
I sometimes wonder what Martha did after hearing the truth from the Savior. Did she agree with him and join Mary at His feet, learning and gleaning from what He had to teach them, or did she run off to her bedroom and pout? The Bible does not say.
I do know that Jesus performed a miracle by feeding 5,000 men plus women and children. Don’t you think that He could have worked a small miracle in Martha’s kitchen if she’d let Him?
The shock is wearing off and reality is setting in. We’ve got company! The house is a mess! There is nothing prepared for lunch, and my head is killing me. But . . . wait! If that were not bad enough, “someone” puts an extra thought into Martha’s head, “No one really cares but me!” She mulls it over in her mind and the more she thinks, the more angry and frustrated she becomes.
She first thinks about Lazarus, who is no where to be found. He never helps around the house and is constantly stating that it’s not his place or responsibility to do a “woman’s” job, so therefore, he’s not doing it! After all, he is the “bread” winner of the house. Martha thinks back to when their mom was a live. She always catered to Lazarus, he being the only boy. (We all know that mothers always favor the boys!) Martha cuts Lazarus a little slack because it’s really not his fault that he was pampered as a child. He just doesn’t know any better.
Mary, on the other hand, has NO EXCUSE! She knows what the woman’s responsibilities are in the home but has always claimed that she was an artist, and artist just had more important things to do. She must protect her hands, and the scent of cleaning fluids gives her a headache. Mom always called her the “sensitive” one.
Martha thinks, “It’s just not fair! If I didn’t do it, it just would not get done! I’m getting tired of being treated this way!” By now, not only is her head hurting but stomach as well. What can she do?
The predicament that Martha is in is completely self-inflicted. She thought that she was justified in her feelings of self-pity, but it’s not gotten her anywhere.
She, in a last ditch measure, runs to Jesus and pours out her heart to Him. If she’d gone to Him in the first place, it would have saved all the energy she wasted in self-pity. We’re like that many times. We wait until we have exhausted all our resources and are at the “end of our rope” before we seek the Lord.
Jesus always has a way of calming us and letting us see what we need to see, and that’s what He did with Martha.
In verse 41 and 42, Jesus answered, “Martha, Martha, 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." I’m not sure that is what Martha wanted to hear but it was what she needed to hear.
Sometimes the truth is what is needed to shake us back into reality. There is really only one thing that we need in life and that is God. Everything else will fade in the light of eternity. The things we count so important are really nothing compared to God and eternity.
I sometimes wonder what Martha did after hearing the truth from the Savior. Did she agree with him and join Mary at His feet, learning and gleaning from what He had to teach them, or did she run off to her bedroom and pout? The Bible does not say.
I do know that Jesus performed a miracle by feeding 5,000 men plus women and children. Don’t you think that He could have worked a small miracle in Martha’s kitchen if she’d let Him?
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