“You’re such a Martha.”
“You have such a Martha spirit, you just need to learn to rest.”
“Stop keeping yourself as busy as Martha did.”
We’ve all said it, especially us women, that we have the doer-spirit, commonly referred to in many a Christian context as a Martha spirit. This frustrates me because while the passage of Scripture that is so often referenced from Luke 10 is a great example of the busyness we can get ourselves into, what about a different story, where Martha’s action is viewed highly and Mary’s overwhelming emotions render her unable to go to Jesus? We never talk about this side of the two sisters and that feels incredibly unfair to Martha, and those who are prone to action.
Context check. Let’s read, shall we?
As Jesus and the disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 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!”
“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 10:38-42
Without question, in this story, Martha was trying to focus on the right thing. Her heart was in the right place: she wanted to prepare a great meal for Jesus, however, Jesus seemed to be after her company by the way He defends Mary’s choice. Sometimes, it’s better to be near Jesus rather than serving Him. Agreed.
Now, let’s read this passage from a different gospel:
On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
“Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him.
John 11:17-30
Obviously, there is more to this story, but what I want to focus in on is the fact that Martha, moved to action, met Jesus on the road and was able to profess her faith in His ability to revive her brother. She was no longer distracted by preparations, but rather, she put herself in the presence of Jesus and went so far as to run to Him! Mary, on the other hand, was too overcome with her emotions to follow suit, and thus, Jesus had to summon her.
This is not a matter of comparison, rather a need to take a step back to realize that both sisters lived in their strengths and had their strengths become their weaknesses. In Luke 10, Martha’s action keeps her from Jesus because it was the wrong setting, however, in John 11, her action rapidly puts her where she needs to be: in the presence of Jesus. Mary, on the other hand, recognizes the need to sit in stillness, away from action, in Luke 10, and by being overcome with emotions, neglects to partake in the appropriate action to be near Jesus in the later passage. In the end, He calls her to action.
Both the drive towards action and the ability to be still are incredible strengths. Each is necessary for different circumstances in life, just like each can be a hindrance when applied incorrectly. In essence, we are all called to be both Mary and Martha. We are called to action and called to rest. What we often fail to recognize, is which disposition we need to use. The solution? Quit being a Martha hater and trust the Holy Spirit’s promptings of when to jump to action, and when to sit in the presence of our Father in heaven.
************************************************************************
NEWSLETTER AND LIFE UPDATE
************************************************************************
Many of you have emailed me to be added to my list of newsletter recipients! I am excited to announce that I will be releasing the first one by the end of this month. If you did not ask me to add you to the list already, send me an email: [email protected] and prepare to get an update from me!
The past week has involved a training camp to prepare a brand new set of World Racers to launch in January. I’ve been on a training team and it has been incredible. A blog update is coming about how the entire camp went. Get excited!
