You Tell Her!

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: 40b)

Well, of course He cares. Jesus cares about this issue because He is concerned about Martha’s character. I’m guessing that the whining tone of her request is an outward expression of what’s in Martha’s heart. Once again, she wants to play the martyr role, exposing her sister’s weaknesses as she comes out like the victim of Mary’s unfair behavior.

Hmmm, yep…been there, done that.

-My husband: “do you need any help?”

-Me: “No!”

-My sons: “do you need any help?”

-Me: “No! I got it!”

A few hours later…

-Me: “Why doesn’t anybody help me around here? Can’t you see how much work there is to do? You guys are so lazy!”

I don’t know why I do this, but it happens quite often in my house. I get some sick satisfaction out of playing the victim’s role, I guess…I mean, sometimes, when I’m tense, doing housework helps me clear my mind, and that’s why I choose to do it myself when I can have someone else do it for me. But so often I must admit, I refuse help because of a subconscious desire to make those around me feel guilty or to get a card that I can hide in my sleeve so I can play the blame-game later and win.

I know, I said it, it is sick…but it is all-too-real. That’s why this portion of verse 40 touches me at such a personal level.

The worst part is that I keep accumulating those blame-cards until one day, when nobody is expecting it, I play them all at once, causing an explosion of whining and guilting others, blindsiding them into a corner where there is not much else for them to do than to sigh in frustration, wondering what’s going on.

Sigh…

Martha took her own frustration to another level. She went to the One she knew could end it with one word. She took the matter to Jesus and begged Him to basically give Mary a reprimand. She wanted Mary to feel humiliated…perhaps, because she was feeling humiliated herself.

Often, the kinds of feelings demonstrated by Martha’s behavior are a reflection of one’s own feelings of inadequacy. I’m not a psychologist, but speaking by personal experience, almost every time I want others to feel guilty is because I am feeling guilty myself and I want others to share that self-deprecating state. I feel guilty because of a misguided sense of inadequacy that warps my self-image, making me see myself as someone not worthy. I see myself as a failure who needs to compensate for her flaws by working harder than anyone around to somehow erase some of the character stains I see in myself. My insecurities lead me to a place of victimhood where the role of a martyr seems way more respectable than the perceived reality of a failure and a fake.

In the meantime, those around me are in the middle of a serious amount of manipulation that takes place to play these charades, leaving them exposed not so much to a game anymore, but rather to a time bomb.

May the Holy Spirit clear our vision and allow us to see through our insecurities to realize that we are more than the sum of our past mistakes. May we see ourselves with renewed eyes so we can finally appreciate who we are once we see ourselves through the eyes of Christ.

Distractions

But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. Luke 10: 40a

Mary’s got it right. We all know that. Her priorities were certainly straight. She didn’t worry about preparing the food. She didn’t care if the house was clean or not. She didn’t concern herself with the logistics of entertaining a large group of visitors, that probably arrived at her house with very short-notice. She didn’t think about the pantry, the supplies, the sitting charts, the washing basin, the drinks or whether-or-not-there were enough hangers in the coat closet. She saw Jesus and she found her place at His feet immediately.

Some may think of her as flaky. However, Mary didn’t have to worry about any of it because she knew that Martha had it all under control.

This was probably not the first time they had guests in their house. By now, Mary probably didn’t even bother helping Martha, because she knew her sister’s got it. Mary knew Martha could spare her. Selfish? Maybe. Wrong? Absolutely not.

Notice the problem with Martha’s situation is not that she would rather be doing the preparations than spending time with the Lord. I think she wanted to be there, hanging out with Him as well and that’s why she wanted Mary to get off her behind and help her so they could get things done quickly and get to the important business of spending time with Jesus.

Martha, however, allowed the circumstances to consume her…to distract her. She focused on the stuff that needed to be done and forgot that those things were not all that important when compared to focusing on the presence of the Lord.

This situation here is the classic scenario when one person blames the other for choosing what they wish they had chosen as well, but didn’t because of some misplaced sense of duty that made them think they just could not do that too even though they could have. Mind twisting, I know. “Look at all the stuff that needs to be done around here! And what´s my lazy sister doing? Nothing! Of course! She is not even thinking! She is so unreliable! So selfish! What am I going to do? I´m here stuck with all the work, while she is over there enjoying herself! Man, that is so unfair!” Been there, done that.

I’m not 100% sure, but given the fact that the sisters are opening their house to at the very least 13 people (Jesus and the 12, not to mention any other followers that might be squeezing in, like us) makes me think they might be rather well off. Therefore, going out on a limb here, I bet they probably had servants that could have taken care of everything. Martha forgot that. She forgot that she really did not need to be so immerse in the chores.

Perhaps, pride had something to do with this? I may be willing to bet that Martha’s hostess abilities were well-known in the area. She did not want to fail…especially not during the most important entertaining session of her life! She wanted to have every detail be just perfect, which means she had to be there. And by not being able to let go, the task became the thing that prevented her from giving her full attention to the Lord. Her priorities were out of line…(shopping, wrapping presents, baking cookies, decorating, casseroles, parties, dinner…O yeah…Christ was born…)

But, better yet, why not allow the kitchen help and everyone else in the house to come and listen to the Lord and then get to the food and preparations later on?

Sigh…

Guilty as charged…I mean, me…I do all these all the time. I lose sight of what really matters because I become distracted by all what’s going on around it. And when I see others who were wiser than me, taking their place in the presence of the One and Only…I get grumpy. I begin the blame game. I play the martyr role.

Sigh…

It doesn’t mean that the preparations are not important. These men need to eat! But I’m sure they could wait a bit while we all share in the presence of Jesus first. May the Holy Spirit guide us as we go through life, so we don’t get sidetracked by the distractions that so easily entangle us. May the Holy Spirit give us discernment to sort through the tasks so our priorities are in line with what may as well be the main goal of every Christian: to seek Him first.

At the Feet of Jesus

She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. (Luke 10: 39)

Today, we enter the home of Martha and Mary along Jesus and His followers. We are the last ones to come in. We look around and we see the house full of live and activity. Martha is directing the guests to the gathering place, pointing to empty spots where they can find a seat to rest their tired bodies after being on their way for a while.

If they weren’t feeling the sting of hunger yet, by now their mouths are beginning to water just by the smells filtering out from the kitchen where Martha has already come back into to continue the meal preparations. I’m not sure what she is making, but it sure smells good!

We finally make it into the room where all the visitors are gathered. And, even though we had to squeeze in way in the back, we make sure we can still see Him…

Jesus reclines at a prominent place as the guest of honor, surrounded by all whom He attracts like a magnet. As usual, He is talking and we all listen in a state of awe for the power of His Words penetrate our hearts and souls. Out of all the people around Him, however, there is one whose state of contemplation exceeds all others so much so that she almost seems transported…as if she is not even there…as if she is in a place where nobody or nothing else matters or exists…only Jesus.

We finally meet Mary…at the Lord’s feet…listening…

We look at Mary and suddenly we get it. We know. That’s exactly where we all should go. She is at the precise right place, the only place where all Christians should be: at the feet of Jesus.

My eyes shift back to His face and there He is, looking at me…

Yes, we want to be Mary. She shows us what the priority really is. All else can wait. As long as we choose Him first…all else will fall into place, somehow because we trust Him. He will take care of it all while we dedicate our entire attention to Him.  While we worship Him.  While we surrender to Him.

May the Holy Spirit exchange our hearts of stone for hearts of flesh so we can discern the right choice, and how the right choice is always to put Jesus first!

A Woman Named Martha Opens the Door

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. Luke 10: 38

I love the words in this verse.  They serve as the opening to Martha and Mary’s story.  When I read them, I feel as if I’m crossing the threshold into their home.  But before that, let me just linger outside for a bit longer, as I take in the scene… 

“…a woman named Martha…”

I love that phrase.  Not the daughter of a certain Father; not the sister of a beloved brother…no…a woman, all of her own…with her own name: Martha. 

The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out…“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me..” (John 10: 2-3, 14)

He knows us by name, because He gave us our name.  And as He calls us, we recognize His voice because we belong to Him…and we open the door … and He enters: “opened her home to Him.” 

We may say whatever we’d like about Martha, but she opened that door for Jesus!  She was the one who actually took it upon herself to physically open that door.  She was the one who stood there as He walked inside.  It is undeniable that she is a woman of action.  And her action brought up the greatest reward: Jesus coming into her house!

I’m not saying that our actions cause our salvation. Only the actions of Our Lord can achieve that.  But I believe that once Jesus calls us by our names and knocks at our doors, the next move is on us.  Our hearts need to surrender to Him and the doors must be opened by our hands as an act that demonstrates our surrender.

What a glorious day, the day we open the door.  May we be quick to obey the call, so as soon as we hear His voice calling out our names.  May we swiftly stand at the doorway, with the door wide open to welcome Him into our home.

At the Door of Martha and Mary's House

38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 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!”

41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 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: 38-42

A few years ago I decided I was not going to make a New Year’s resolution.  Instead, I opted for prayerfully considering a guiding word.  A word that would encompass an ideal goal for the year.  My guiding word for 2017 is surrendering.  The ideal goal is surrendering to God completely.  As I write this, I notice that the word surrendering is, indeed in the progressive form.  You would have to excuse me, but as a humble grammar enthusiast, a verb in the progressive form indicates exactly that, progression…something on-going…not done yet…but progressively moving forward.

The essence of surrendering to God implies just that…something on-going…not yet there, but progressively moving towards the goal.

I know that surrendering to God totally and completely won’t be achieved in one year…but I believe that my job is to never lose faith and to continue striving toward that state of being under the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit.  I think that’s how we train our hearts to be hearts after God´s own.

As I take baby steps in this journey, I´d like to take a look at my two favorite sisters in the Bible, Martha and Mary.  Much has been written about them.  Wonderful lessons have been drawn from the little we know about these two women.  But I think it is appropriate for me to revisit them now since I still have much to learn from them.  So, I´m going to pretend to be another visitor in their house to witness Martha´s impeccable hospitality skills as well as Mary´s enviable free-spirited soul.  Let´s wash our tired and dusty feet at the door and hang out for a few days at their home.  I´m sure it will be an unforgettable treat.

The Only Thing

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one. (Luke 10: 41-42)

The New Year is here...and with it, a long to-do list unfolds as well.  From laundry and cleaning, to grocery shopping and cooking, preparing for class, getting the kids ready for back-to-school and everything in between...the tasks pile up faster than I can sort them...and stress mounts higher than I can bear it. 

But then, the Good Shepherd calls my name and reminds me that all the frantic fretting this world brings amounts to nothing at the end, for the only thing that truly matters is Him...peace is found in His presence.

My devotional reading reminded me of that...it reminded me of the constant need to go to Him and seek His presence above all else.  Rather than allowing my thoughts to jump all over the place, from problem to problem, from task to task, I need to re-direct them to His face!

We are not to skimp on our time with Christ.  Instead, we need to resist the clamor of tasks waiting to be done and choose the only one that is needed: Him!

I want to have a heart like Mary´s as I live in Martha´s world.  

May the strength of the Holy Spirit dwelling in me keep my eyes focused and my thoughts under control so I can learn how to seek the only One that matters.

A New Beginning

I like to think of the first day of every year as the beginning of a new adventure.  It is like an opportunity for everyone to become explorers into a great unknown.  It is like we can all be astronauts, making big leaps into the vast expanse of uncharted territory.

The greatest challenge we face, not unlike the one faced by all adventurers, is the decision of how to make of our voyage.  Are we going to embark on a boat of fear and anxiety, limited by the restrictions of our own meager power and confused by our own blurry vision? Or are we going to leave our own pitiful, self-made boat behind and finally board the ship the Most High has prepared for us, allowing the Light of His Presence to be the Lamp that guides our journey ahead?

Every first day of the year we face the same choice.  Are we going to hang on to our old ways of doing things? Or are we going to open our hearts, spirits, souls and minds to the The Word who "became flesh and made his dwelling among us." Are we going to be the same we've always been, or are we going to be transformed by "the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth?" (John 1: 14)

Today, I choose to make 2017 a year of surrendering to my Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ!

Today, I choose to make this new year an adventure of trust in Him, the Only Faithful One!

Today, I pray I can navigate in that river of peace that flows from the very Heart of God so I don't have to be afraid or anxious or worried anymore.

Here's to a new beginning, filled with the Hope of the Peace of Prince!  Come, Lord Jesus, come.  Come, Immanuel, come again soon!