Monday Motivation: Martha

Friends

When I selected “rest” as my one word for this year, I think God chuckled, fully aware of how much prompting I would need on this one. The good news is that it’s quite clear that I am not the only one who struggles with the concept of rest.

 

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“But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!””

Luke 10:40 – NIV

 

I have learned something new about myself. I am not good at resting. Neither was Martha. Martha was one of Jesus’ closest friends, but like me, she didn’t know how to rest either.

 

Now it’s not that I’m incapable of lounging in my recliner or passing some early morning time rocking in my front porch glider. I can certainly do those things just fine. No, the problem has more to do with the mental task list that always seems to be running in overdrive through my brain. It just seems like there’s always so much to do. Good work. Important work. Caring for my family. Tending to my plants. Doing my church work. Practicing my songs for Sunday. Writing these words to you. Always so much to do. 

 

Judging from the story in Luke 10, I’m not the only one who struggles with this issue. Apparently, Martha wasn’t good at resting either.

 

Jesus had come for a visit. He loved spending time with His good friends Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. They were His “forever friends,” His trusted companions, a surrogate family of sorts. In their home, Jesus felt at ease. He could rest. He could regroup. 

 

Everywhere Jesus went, people followed. They brought the lame, the sick, and the blind to Him, all in hopes of healing. They were hungry for His teaching, hanging on His every word. Whenever Jesus saw the crowds following Him, His heart was filled with compassion. No matter how tired or stressed He felt, Jesus stopped and helped them. He stopped and gave them what they needed most, His presence. 

 

The Scriptures don’t say it, but I imagine that Martha was a great cook. Jesus often visited her home, and I bet it was partially because there was always a good meal to be had at her table. It’s clear that Martha was a woman of great hospitality. 

 

But hospitality doesn’t just happen. There’s work to be done. It takes chopping vegetables and cutting up fruit. It takes tending the meal over the fire. It takes preparation. It takes planning. It takes time.

 

Martha had the gift of hospitality, and she used it well. But just because she had the gift doesn’t mean she didn’t get stressed when hosting a party.  In our humanness, it’s easy for us to get stressed when we feel responsible for an event or an outcome. Even when it’s something we want to do or something we are gifted for, we still feel the pressure of that responsibility. We get consumed by the to do list, overwhelmed by the tasks before us, and next thing you know, we start complaining. Yep, we get that shrill tone in our voices, and the fussing begins. At least, that’s true for me, and it was true for Martha.

 

Martha came to Jesus, her hands no doubt covered in flour, sauce splattered on her apron, and she let loose her frustrations. She was majorly annoyed with her sister, and she didn’t mind venting about it.

 

I’m sure Mary had been helping her sister in the kitchen. No  doubt, that’s how it worked in their household, the two sisters getting things done together. But when Jesus came, Mary couldn’t resist the opportunity to sit at His feet and listen. She didn’t get to see him often, and she wasn’t going to let this moment pass her by.

 

 

Mary had made her choice to sit with Jesus, abandoning the duties of the day, but Martha wasn’t happy about that choice, and she let Jesus know it. What was Jesus’ response? Many sources interpret Jesus’ words in Luke 10:41-42 as a rebuke, a reprimand, spoken in a harsh, disapproving  tone, much like the one we would use when correcting two children squabbling in the back seat of the car. But I don’t think that’s the tone Jesus used with Martha. I think His tone was softer, even gentle, just like His spirit. He looked at his dear friend Martha, and as He did so often when He wanted one of His disciples’ attention, He called her name. Not once, but twice. ““Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:41-42, NIV).

 

I’m sure Jesus wanted His supper. I’m certain He was anticipating a tasty meal at Martha‘s table, but He knew that resting in His presence was far more important than any task on the meal prep to-do list. He knew that they needed Him far more than they needed to finish their chores. He knew that His time with them was limited, and that they both needed to learn to come to Him, to rest in His presence, to receive His healing touch. 

 

Jesus use mary to be Martha‘s example. He showed Martha a different way to live. Jesus called her name, and essentially told her to “Breathe, just breathe. Let it go, Martha, come to me and rest.”

 

Friends, I believe that Jesus is speaking to me this morning. I believe He’s calling me from my to-do list to take my eyes off of those tasks and turn my gaze toward Him. I believe Jesus is calling me to breathe Him in, to receive His peace, to feel His joy, to know His hope. Will I listen? Will I keep that focus as the day moves on? I hope so. I hope I can find a way to rest in His presence, even as I move through the tasks of the day. It’s about getting my soul straight, my eyes fixed on the right things, on the good things, on the best thing I could ever focus on…Jesus.

 

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“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Matthew 11:28 – Niv

 

PRAYER

O Precious Lord Jesus, let us come to you. Let us find Your rest. Keep our eyes fixed on You. Guide us through the tasks of our day, helping us never to lose sight of You. Always and forever, may we rest in You, receiving Your peace, feeling Your joy, knowing Your hope.

In the Gentle Name of Jesus, we pray,

Amen

 

Blessings,

Anita

 

-APS 8/26/2024