With a hurried voice Mom yells, “Stop what you’re doing, pick up your stuff, straighten up your rooms, set the table, and help me get ready for dinner! Father Tony will be here in an hour!” Motivated by fear of Mom’s wrath, three of the children scamper around picking up their toys, clothes, and any other item that makes the house look messy. Five-year-old, Molly, however, remains on the living room floor with her crayons and a piece of paper. “Didn’t you hear me, Molly, quit what you’re doing and help out! Get ready for Father Tony.” Without removing her crayon from the paper, Molly calmly replies, “I am getting ready for Fr. Tony; I’m drawing him a picture.”
During his visit to this home what do you think touched Father Tony the most? The perfectly neat house, the well-dressed children, Mom’s apple pie, or Molly’s hug accompanied by her picture that said, “I love you, Father Tony.” Molly wins, hands down.
Isn’t Jesus like Father Tony? He visits us frequently and what do you think would most please him? We hear the answer to this question in today’s familiar gospel story (Luke 10:38-42).
“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.”
No doubt Jesus was pleased and felt loved by Martha who greeted him with enthusiasm and then quickly pardoned herself so she could run to the kitchen and work on dinner. What about Mary? Mary not only greeted him but stopped all she was doing to sit on the floor at Jesus’ feet drinking in every word he said. Martha loved Jesus, otherwise why would she go to the trouble of cleaning the house and fixing dinner? Mary, however, loved Jesus so deeply that all she wanted to do was sit near him and listen to him speak. Which of the two sisters pleased Jesus the most?
“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.”
Mary loved her sister, and in any other circumstance, would have gone to the kitchen to help lighten her burden. At the same time, Mary loved Jesus much more. It was such a privilege having Jesus come to her home that she didn’t want to waste a minute of it. It makes us chuckle to listen to Martha telling Jesus what to do, as though he was not smart enough to figure this out for himself. This gives us an insight into why God doesn’t always answer our prayers, doesn’t it?
“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.”
How do you think Martha dealt with this? It doesn’t seem that Jesus was impressed with Martha’s anxiety and worry. Does God, even when our intentions are good, want us to be burdened with anxiety and worry? Of course not, the Bible makes that clear.
In this case Mary’s wisdom outweighed Martha’s. She knew what would please Jesus the most, just as little Molly knew how best to touch Father Tony’s heart.
We all know that in the end “only one thing” really counts. In the end each of us will stand alone before Jesus and receive our news of our final destiny. Did we make it our life’s purpose to please Jesus in everything? Did we love Jesus so much that we dropped everything so we could sit at his feet and spend our time listening to him?
In a way life is simple. If we stay close to Jesus and try to please him even more than pleasing ourselves, then all else will fall into place. If we don’t have time for Jesus now, will he want us to spend eternity with him later?
