Today's Readings - Judges 11-12, Luke 10:25–42, Psalm 47, Proverbs 10:31-32
Today, on Good Friday, take some time to reflect on the death of Christ and all that it means to you.Devotional
Historians have argued for hundreds of years about the history of my denomination. Who were the first Baptists? From whom did we descend? I think that today's reading in Luke makes that abundantly clear.
We descend from Martha, the friend of Jesus from Bethany. Luke 10:38-42 tells the story. She loved Jesus, no doubt about it and she welcomed him into her home. That's when her true Baptist-ness came to the surface. Verse 39 introduces us to her sister, one of the many women named Mary in the gospels. She sat at Jesus' feet the whole time he was there hanging on every word Jesus said.
And Martha got upset. It wasn't fair! She was left in the kitchen doing all the hard work while her sister did nothing but listen to the preaching. There were styrofoam plates and cups to stack, there was coffee to make, someone had to make sure the dishes were done, the trash cans were emptied and the bags all carried out to the dumpster. There was so much to do and someone had to do it.
I've always loved verse 40. Martha was "distracted with much serving." She was a good Baptist - a busy bee, working her fingers to the bone. Her idea of relating to Jesus was measured in how hard she worked for him, how much she did, and, well, how little others did.
It bothered her that her sister was lazy. All she did was sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to his words. How could Jesus let her get away with that? Didn't he see that her love was stronger and her dedication more sincere? This prototype of all Baptists, this hard-working, sweat-soaked, don't-just-sit-there, do-something-for-Jesus lady thought Jesus would back her up, rebuke her sister, and tell the lazy girl to get up and get to work.
She was in for a real shock. Jesus blew her neat little world all to pieces.
“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.”
You are so wrapped up in busywork, Martha, that you have forgotten the one thing that matters most. Mary's choice, to sit at Jesus' feet, it better than your choice, to wear your fingers to the bone working.
No, Jesus was not advocating laziness nor was he rebuking Mary's diligence. But he was making clear what mattered most. Hard work in the service of Jesus is a good thing, but it cannot replace sitting at his feet and worshiping him. It cannot replace listening at length and in depth to the words of Christ so that we might know him. Working for Christ cannot replace knowing Christ. Know him first and you will serve him better!
My Baptist buddies, our passion for work, for kingdom busyness, can be noble, but only if it is rooted in a deep grounding in the Word of God and a passion for spending time with Jesus. We need not abandon "Marthaism," but we must make sure that the way of Mary is also at the root of our ways.
Father, I thank you for this people you have placed me in - this Word-loving, hard-working, Jesus-serving people called Baptists. But may I remember, may we remember, to always be like Mary as well as like Martha, to both LOVE you and to SERVE you.
Think and Pray
It is easy for us to choose a side in this story - either to be Mary or Martha. The answer is balance. We must be diligent in the cause of Christ like Martha but that becomes empty and dry if we do not sit at Jesus' feet as Mary did.
The key to life is to find that balance between the two.
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