Only one thing is required
“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41-42)
You are warmly welcome!
It may seem an obvious lesson, but we need the reminder; the lesson from Jesus’ interaction with two sisters when he visited them (Luke 10:38-42) in a certain village, which we learn in John’s gospel to have been Bethany, about 3km from Jerusalem. One was busy preparing the elements of material entertainment – eats and drinks in particular, while the other sat to listen attentively to the teachings of the Rabbi. It is good manners to entertain guests, and I believe both Martha and Mary knew it well. We all differ in our levels of generosity, and perhaps the story shows us the more generous Martha who both welcomed the Lord and ‘was distracted with much serving’; yet the context shows that there was something more important than the obvious entertainment needs and tasks.
The above story reminds me of the time disciples brought food to hungry Jesus, found him talking with a Samaritan woman at the well in Sychar, but he refused the food! They urged him, but instead he informed them of his ‘new food’ that they did not know about: ‘My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work’ (John 4:31-34). These are good things to remember during this official fasting season – the holy Lent: a special time for deeper and more careful self-examination and repentance; prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and reading and meditating on God's holy Word. In Adam Clarke’s commentary on the Martha and Mary passage above, he inserts the quotation: ‘Many dishes, many diseases’!
Truly there is time when feasting and its attendant preparations are a distraction from more serious and needful business. It is more of a paradox when you are busy preparing eats for a small fellowship you are hosting, or a visiting Church leader, or a visiting high ranking dignitary. But if Jesus Christ did not defend the generous woman who was busy preparing for him and the apostles, will he defend you? For you it may not be serving welfare; it may be your important coursework or discussion, your business analysis or supervision, your caring for relatives or friends… No distracting occupation or task will be excuse enough to neglect the ‘one thing that is necessary’ – to pay attention to the Lord’s teaching. Choose and commit yourself to sit attentively like Mary, read and meditate on God’s Word; listen also to the Holy Spirit in the still small voice during your attentive moments.
The good news is that thieves – who steal our food sometimes – cannot steal the bread of life you have already received. The Word of God will eternally nourish and strengthen you, and give you growth that will enable fulfill God’s purpose for your life.
God bless you all.