Jesus entered a village
where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him.
She had a sister named Mary
who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak.
Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said,
“Lord, do you not care
that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?
Tell her to help me.”
The Lord said to her in reply,
“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.
There is need of only one thing.
Mary has chosen the better part
and it will not be taken from her.” (Lk 10:38-42)
Comfort.
Peace.
Security.
We struggle for many things in life. We spend an inordinate amount of our time trying to secure these.
Jesus, I would presume, was someone whom people identified as being able to provide those kinds of things.
You can well imagine the drama taking place in the household of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus.
Martha and Mary have been tasked with “providing” for the Lord.
Martha immediately keyed in upon material provision: setting the table, preparing the food, serving the beverages.
Mary, on the other hand, keyed in upon a deeper providing: presence. She spent her time with the Lord rather than on all the extraneous things going on.
How many times has that taken place in our own homes? At the holidays, especially, we invite family and friends over for a sumptuous feast.
However, the host, sometimes, does not even pay attention to the special guests because he or she is too busy with all the details. The guest is relegated to a far-off room and has to shout short answers to questions as the host prepares the room, the meal, and everything else.
Is not the guest worth our time?
That is what Mary discovered.
And it was that discovery that Jesus would not deny.
FAITH ACTION: Do not worry about your to-do lists. Spend quality time with the Lord in prayer today.