Lessons of Mary and Martha

“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.”

Luke 10:40-42 (NAB)

There has always been debate and different opinions in interpreting this gospel story of these two sisters. Some say both were right, Martha was actively serving Jesus, Mary was sitting at His feet, adoring Him, and both are necessary. 

Another interpretation that I’ve heard is that it’s about the sisters’ different attitudes. Martha was serving Jesus, but over burdened and stressed out. Mary abandoned all other things in order to spend time sitting peacefully before the Lord, listening to Him in adoration and worship. 

Sone interpret this story to mean that our labors mean nothing. Instead of taking one scripture out of one gospel and forming an opinion, we look at all of the gospels, and see what can be learned from the bigger picture. 

When Jesus told Martha she is too anxious about many things, He wasn’t saying that service and labor are not as meaningful as worship. In fact, He told us that there is a great need for more laborers in His Father’s harvest. (Matthew 9:38)

The key to understanding these two sisters is to understand which one’s behavior comes first. 

Our personal time in adoration of Jesus comes before our service and labor for Him. 

This is a very busy time of year, and  everyone feels a bit of Martha’s anxiety. We were all meant to do both; to serve God and to worship Him. Jesus said Mary chose the better choice, maybe because one has to precede the other. In being more like Mary, spending time alone with Jesus, we also become better servants, by doing so without the anxiety that Martha worked under. 

One of my favorite lay speakers once said:

“Lord, help us to be more like Mary so that we don’t have to work like Martha.” (Chris Stefanik)

He didn’t mean that we shouldn’t work at all, but that there is a proper order to follow, in order to work with fulness of joy, and not with the anxiety that Martha had. 

Adoring Jesus first, prepares us to serve Him, and not vice versa. I’ve found that if I spend time with Him first each day, then my labor is done with joy, not anxiety. 

Martha thought Mary was completely wasting her time, sitting at Jesus’ feet, while she was doing all the work. Martha finally complained, asking Jesus to tell Mary to help her. The difference between the sisters is that Martha wanted Jesus to talk to someone else, but Mary wanted Jesus to talk to her. Jesus saw Martha’s anxiety and told her that Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken from her. 

That was an interesting way to end the sentence, saying that the better part will not be taken away from her. Maybe Jesus was warning Martha that we can lose ourselves in our labors, even when our labors are for Him. Hospitality and serving Jesus is valuable, but we need Mary’s hunger to have Him talk to us. It is one of the treasures that last eternally and cannot be taken from us. Spending time with Him in prayer and worship will never be a waste of time, because it prepares us for eternity. 

Lord, help us to follow Mary in choosing to first spend time with you, so that we may serve you without anxiety. Bless our quiet time with you as well as our labors, which are all for your honor and glory. Amen 

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