First Love - Part III

My friend Lizzie is always saying how important it is to look at the things that Jesus values. First Love is something he clearly values from his admonition to the Church in Ephesus in Rev. 2. Devotion is something he clearly values from looking at the life of Mary of Bethany. I'd like to open this post up for discussion about some recent thoughts I have on Mary's big sister Martha. You know the one who's always getting the bad rap for being a...well...a Martha. Look at that. We've used her name to coin a phrase. A phrase which would be commonly known in the bible world as less than complimentary. Being a Martha. We've taken that to mean, being too busy to love God. Being concerned with nonessentials. Fussin' over stuff that's not important, at least not priority. And yet I like to eat a good meal every day (several actually) and since I don't care so much for cooking I really appreciate people who do.
We find Martha busy in the kitchen at the end of Luke chapter 10. You'd think this story had taken an entire chapter to tell the way it's been written about and preached on. Are there not dozens of books and sermons about these two women? And yet the entire "story" takes only 5 verses. Let's look at them here.

"As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Jesus isn't saying to Martha "ya know, it would do you good to come in here and just sit down. What's your problem Martha? Be more like Mary will ya?" Here's a little insight I have about Martha that I'd like to discuss. If first love is to love God and others, then Martha needed an attitude adjustment not a new vocation. Man, isn't that true for all of us!
Martha is distracted. Distracted because she wasn't supposed to be in the kitchen at all or distracted because she was making a bigger deal out the meal than need be? Or distracted by her attitude? First love is to NOT be distracted in our hearts.
I love studying the temperaments. The ancient four Greek "humors" as taught by Tim LaHaye, Florence Littauer, and Gary Smalley (to name the ones I'm familiar with). I can see Martha's temperament at work here. She's not a sitter. She is just NOT going to sit still. She can't. And I don't believe Jesus is telling her to. He's not the type to compare and scold like we might be tempted to do; "Why can't you be like your sister?" "Your brother Billy never acted that way". Could you hear Jesus saying anything like that? But Martha is distracted and Jesus is clearly admonishing her here. From the text it seems that Martha is distracted from sitting at his feet and listening b/c that is the description of Mary in the preceding line. But the passage begins, "...Martha welcomed him into her home." She knows he's a rabbi and she knows he teaches. So why did she welcome him? To make an impression on him and his disciples as to what a great hostess she was? We learn from other passages about these women that they were actually very good friends of the Rabbi. I don't usually try to impress my best friends. I just want them near me. In fact the closer I am to them the less inclined I am to try and impress them. They know me too well. They would see through any phony charade in a heart beat. Jesus knows the heart beat of Martha. He knows she's more driven than Mary. He knows she has to be doing things.
I have a friend who doesn't like to take walks for the sake of taking a walk. She wants to go somewhere. "What's the point of just walking around the block?" This woman runs circles around me in terms of activity level (not mindless busyness - real accomplishments) She's driven. I love walking. Walking no where for no reason. I could spend an entire day sitting reading a book, rocking on the front porch, just sitting and thinking. Martha isn't like that. She's got business to accomplish. And I know Jesus loves her for it. What he is trying to teach her (I think) is that she can't be dissin' her sister or anyone else for not being like her, for not doing things her way. That Mary is worshipping Jesus her way and that Martha could be doing the same thing; worshipping Jesus her way. I picture Martha figuring this out later. Pouting maybe in the kitchen, maybe going a bit passive aggresive; "Fine don't make her help me. She always was your favorite. Why do the men always like the quite type with the big eyes?" And then later, as the love of Jesus sinks deeper and deeper into her being, she realizes her childishness, and wonders what it means for her to discover the one thing worth being concerned about. Which I believe the scripture tells us clearly is, loving God and loving others. Martha isn't demonstrating a lot of love here for her little sister. Jealousy, anger, resentment, yes, what's best for Mary, no. So, I can see Martha in the kitchen some time later when Jesus is passing through town. She's invited him over again. Now she's humming a hymn and "eaves dropping" on the conversation in the other room. She pauses to listen to the quieter parts. She peeks in to admire her little sister Mary as she looks up adoringly at Jesus. She is proud of Mary's expression of devotion. She smiles, her heart full of joy. She thinks about the privelege of serving the Master Rabbi and his disciples with the giftings God has given her. She's busy in the kitchen and loving it! She's not all worried about the details b/c her heart is really more absorbed with who she's doing all this for. She understands why Jesus didn't take away Mary's place and now she's found her own. May we do the same.