Luke 10:38-42
38 Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. 40 But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; 42 there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”
Dear friends at Fairhope UMC, if you have been paying attention over the years, you probably know well that this is one of my favorite narratives in all of the New Testament. I have preached on it maybe 3 or 4 times in my years here. And if you have truly listened you know by now that I identify on a somewhat visceral level with the “pot-rattler” in this passage, but in my heart of hearts I want to be the “better-part” sister at Jesus’ feet.
When I read this scripture, I feel like Jesus is calling ME out, not Martha. And I really prefer to be the one in the crowd who gets the affirmation. Sometimes when I am at a restaurant and everyone orders and the server says to someone other than me, “good choice,” I am deeply disappointed and feel as if I have chosen poorly…and maybe contemplate changing my order so that I might earn the praise. Yes, I know I have some issues to work on. I am trying to grow, people, I really am. I promise I am not the people-pleaser I was back in my younger days.
But let’s don’t make this all about me. There are some wonderful lessons for all of us to learn from these two sisters. And one of those is all about how we compare ourselves to other people. (Maybe it is still about me.)
Mary’s perspective at Jesus’ feet is the very vantage point that helped her NOT to compare herself to other people. That is one of the benefits of sitting where she was, letting Jesus’ face fill her vision. Let’s contrast this for a moment with sweet Martha who is back there in the kitchen. She is not looking at Jesus at all, is she? She is back there in the kitchen looking FOR Mary, and then looking AT what Mary is doing. She can’t benefit from any part of the life-giving exchange that is happening between Mary and Jesus, because she is so busy looking AT MARY.
In some ways, it seems we are hardwired to compare ourselves to others (as I sometimes do.) Can you think about the angst inspired by an impending class reunion? We know so many comparisons will be made there. Who looks old? Who has gotten “larger”? Who has gotten rich? Who has the best-looking spouse? Who has the most successful children? Who has the most pictures of grandchildren at the ready? So, when the class reunion looms large on the calendar, people go on diets and look at their entire lives differently because they will be on display and up for comparison among all their old classmates.
Well, there is nothing much new under the sun. Comparisons started at literally the very beginning!
- Adam and Eve ate the apple—or pomegranate—because they wanted what someone else had.
- And the very next story in Genesis tells how Cain compared his gift to the Lord against his brother’s and when his gift didn’t measure up, he killed Abel. Comparison led to jealousy which led to the first murder.
- It doesn’t stop there: Sarah measured her worth by her inability to have children.
- Leah and Rachel were sisters and they compared their physical beauty in a race to get married first.
- Saul measured himself against King David and in doing so went mad.
- The disciples kept cornering Jesus. They asked him questions about which of them would sit on his right and which would take the left-hand side in eternity.
And then we read about these two sisters: Martha couldn’t SEE Jesus because she was so busy making comparisons to her sister Mary. Comparisons are dangerous to us as Christians in every way. Comparisons brought sin into this world and led to murder and diminished the self-worth of our biblical mothers and fathers. Comparisons were a trigger for mental illness and led to arguments and discord between people who were called to promote the kingdom of God.
Do comparisons get us any further today than they did in biblical times? I don’t think so. The challenge to look at Jesus FIRST is part of what Lent is all about. We choose for these 40 days to re-orient ourselves around what—or who—really matters. We seek to put Jesus at the very center of our lives and take a good, hard look at some of the other things that are distracting us. And then we do our very best to let those go.
What are you letting go of in this season of Lent? May it guide us to a much clearer perspective as we realize the glory of an empty tomb…and beyond.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus;
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace. AMEN.
Grace to you,
Laura
