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What Jesus Didn’t Say
I find it interesting that when Jesus corrected Martha, He didn’t say, “Why can’t you be more like your sister, Mary?” He knew Martha would never be Mary, and Mary would never be Martha. But when the two were faced with the same choice—to work or to worship—Jesus said, “Mary has chosen the better part.”
To me, this implies the better part was available to both Mary and Martha. And it’s available to each one of us, regardless of our gifting or personality. It’s a choice we each can make.
The Bible isn’t clear whether or not this was Jesus’ first visit to the home in Bethany. Whatever the case, it isn’t every day God visits your house. So Mary ignores tradition, she breaks social etiquette, and she presses closer. It doesn’t matter that she might be misunderstood. She cares little that the disciples look at her strangely. Somewhere in the distance, she hears her name, but it is drowned by the call of her Master. The call to come. The call to listen.
Against this Bethany backdrop of unexpected guests, I see the struggle I face every day when work and worship collide. Part of me is Mary. I want to worship extravagantly. I want to sit at His feet. But part of me is Martha—and there’s just so much to do! How do we choose the better part and still get done what has to get done?
Jesus is our supreme example. He was never in a hurry. Someone has said that Jesus went from place of prayer to place of prayer and did miracles in between. How incredible to be so in tune with God that not one action is wasted, not one word falls to the ground!
That is the intimacy that Jesus invites us to share. He invites us to know Him, to see Him so clearly that when we look upon Him, we see the face of God as well.
Just as He welcomed Mary to sit at His feet in the living room, just as He invited Martha to leave the kitchen for a while and share in the better part, Jesus bids us to come.
When in your life have you sensed Jesus calling you to come sit at His feet? How did you respond?
About this Plan
Often we feel as if we’re not doing enough. Then we feel guilty because we’re supposed to be having quiet times with God too—but when we try to slow down, our hearts and minds are still busy. The story of Mary and Martha offers us guidance as well as grace in this tension. It’s a story of two sisters. It’s a story for each of us.
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