38: Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.
39: And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.
40: But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.
41: And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:
42: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her. 

You are sitting at home, in your comfortable chair, watching TV or captured in some engrossing new novel when the telephone rings. Since everyone else in the room seems to have gone suddenly deaf, you get up to answer the call, being fully prepared for a voice on the other end with an offer you can’t live without. But that phone call, that phone call, changes your life.

For instead of the persistent telephone marketer you are expecting, a heavenly voice on the other end announces that Jesus is planning to come to your home for dinner tomorrow night. Pretty scary stuff? It would be for me.

Once you were convinced this was not a crank call, what would your reaction be? I know what mine would be. My mind would start asking what food am I going to serve? Look at the yard – who can I get to clean it up? Can my cleaning lady do double time? Where is my best tablecloth, and on and on. I’m afraid I would be so busy, I would lose the importance of my guest.

How did you react? Did you give yourself over to the glory of the visitor? Or, like me, did you get so caught up in the details of the visit, that you were mentally tired long before the doorbell rang?

The story of Jesus’ visit to the home of Martha and Mary at Bethany is a story of basic human reactions. The story is full of the warmth of Jesus’ humanity – his dealings with human beings.

“Martha, Martha” he says, “You are too anxious and troubled about things. Only ONE thing is important. Mary has chosen the good portion, which shall not be taken away from her.”

With this mild rebuke, Jesus gives a message which speaks to us today.

But to take this view would be to do an injustice to Mary. Jesus realizes that Mary, rather than neglecting a duty, chose the highest good. She was able in a moment of tremendous importance—in the presence of the Master—she was able to choose the most significant course; that being to know Him intimately, to heed his teachings, to seek his kingdom. She sat at the feet of the Master. “One thing is needful” and Mary chose it.

How often do we get so involved in the things we have to do, saying we will do the things we want to do when we are finished? How often do we say we ought to go to church, or do a good deed, but the lawn needs mowing or the laundry must be done? We so often lose sight of the one thing that is necessary. And yet, do you ever notice that when we do choose the one thing that is necessary, the other chores somehow get done?

Mary chose the one thing needful. In the midst of all life, the one thing most important of all to Mary was her relationship to the Master, his teachings, His kingdom. Now do these words have any value to us, living in this century? Can modern people really take seriously the admonition that only one thing is necessary – seeking the kingdom of God? Think of it – one thing – our relationship to God is the important thing in our life. Only ONE thing—what a freedom that gives us.

If we were to list the priorities in our lives, sadly, the kingdom of God and His righteousness might not be high on our list. We live in a world of different values. We want success, social standing, education; we want money, a successful business career, a fine family. We want a nice house and perfect children. These are the items which top our wish list. The things of the spirit often get lost for most of us. We fit God into our scheme of things, or perhaps in time of trouble we actively seek Him. But He is seldom the top priority of our everyday lives.

And yet, in our most honest moments, we too, like Mary know that there is only one thing needed. In times when all of life’s ornaments are stripped away, we stand before the one great reality of life and acknowledge Him to be at its center. For it is only God who can stand when the winds of change blow away what WE consider important.

But if we learn so much from Mary in the story, is there not some positive truth we can learn from Martha? Certainly one sure fact is that Martha does not come out too well in this story and she has received her judgment throughout the years. Remember, in the midst of activity, she has lost sight of her major goal. In the company of the Master, she was busy with lesser things. But those lesser mundane things are what makes Martha so easy to understand. For is there not much of Martha in all of us? In reality, we too, would be concerned if an important guest were coming to our home. The house would be clean, the yard would be spruced up and perhaps both the host and hostess would be too tired to enjoy the fellowship of the honored guest.

Like Martha, we too become so engrossed in the activities of life that we sometimes lose sight of the main objective. We must not plow through life thinking ahead to what is next. We must work at staying in the moment, right here and now. This is all we have. Yesterday is gone and we may not have tomorrow. But we know we have NOW with all its challenges. How often do we miss our life’s experiences by focusing on the past or yearning for the future? We miss the look in our children’s eyes today because we are thinking about how to get them to the dentist tomorrow? We miss an interesting idea that has come across our desk, because we are worrying about what we said in the meeting yesterday. Stop, relax and BE HERE. This moment is all we have.

Martha’s qualities are still valuable today. For example, we can think of the importance of the life of service against the purely passive, thoughtful, Christian life. We are to be active Christians. Life is not only a personal, subjective road to salvation, but our Christian life must be lived in Christian service to our fellow human beings. Remember, you can’t keep it unless you give it away. Martha showed this concern, and that Christian virtue must be our example, for there is Christian virtue in our daily tasks of life, whatever they may be.

Not only is there Christian virtue in the ordinary tasks of life, but these tasks can take on a new meaning when done under the love and concern of God. Everything we do, no matter how small or trivial, becomes an important stepping stone in our lives when done in concert with God.

So, if there is a message to be carried away from this story, it is to be found in the blending of these two personalities in our scripture lesson. We can reinforce our faith that there is only ONE thing needful in our lives. No activity, no desire, no ambition, no need, should obscure the good portion which stands when all else has vanished. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all other things will be added unto you.” Or as my favorite bumper sticker reads, “Let go and let God.”

Even though we are all busy with the “lesser things” involved with making a living, the good news is that no job, however busy, need shut us off from God. We are His stewards and our jobs are callings, places where we can be witness to his love and concern. These words of Brother Lawrence bring this truth home to us. He who labored in the kitchen of the monastery wrote:

The time of business does not with me differ from the time of prayer and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in a great tranquility as if I were upon my knees at the blessed sacrament.

Here, then is the Christian blending necessary for a whole life. To combine the spiritual with the active, to sense the place of God in our lives and then to use His will. We must learn to combine a life of solitude with a life of service, a life of inspiration with a life of perspiration, a life of spirituality with a life of actuality.

Most of us won’t find ourselves performing such menial tasks, but these lines of a simple English maid of nineteen express a deep truth:

Although I must have Martha’s hands, I have a Mary mind. And when I black the boots and shoes, Thy sandals, Lord, I find. I think of how they trod the earth, each time I scrub the floor. Accept this mediation, Lord, I haven’t time for more.

Now, we know our phone will not ring telling us that Jesus is coming for dinner. But, as Jesus said to Mary and Martha, God visits us each moment of our lives. Oh, He does not come and sit in our living room or kitchen, but He visits us in our hearts and lives each day. What joy it is to meet him and what greater way can we greet Him than with the hands of Martha, dedicated to service and the mind of Mary, filled with the joy of the moment.

amen