APRIL 4 "IT'S ALL ABOUT YOU BABY"

  Mary and Martha, this has always been a peculiar story to me. As one that has hosted many social gatherings, I know and can relate to the stress of hosting. While everyone else is enjoying themselves, you are left with the responsibility of the dinner, the preparation, the serving and timing of all. You don't have the leisure to just sit around and chat, ie: Mary! Sometimes my wife is just sitting there enjoying the company while I'm up and down, taking plates away, serving the next dish, getting the coffee and I want to just scream, "what are you doing, hello, I need your help here!" At first we can think Jesus is being insensitive to Martha's predicament, after all, why isn't Mary helping, I sure can empathize with her? Wouldn't we all love to be able to just sit down, relax and be served. I'm sure Martha was relying on Mary's help. My impression of this story is that Martha is right in being vexed with Mary. Mary is in the wrong and should have been helping her sister out. However, Jesus does not agree with my assessment, so then I must go back and re-examine because I would think, Jesus' assessment is the right one, not mine. If you just make a judgement by what is being displayed anyone would make the same assessment, but Jesus is looking past the exterior, into the heart of the matter. Mary did slack off, no doubt, but her heart was in the right place; and Jesus is always concerned about "the heart". Mary was guilty of not helping, but why was she guilty? Is it because Mary is lazy? If that was the case, Jesus would have rebuked Mary for not helping. So we know Mary didn't leave Martha to herself because she was lazy, she left Martha to herself because she was consumed with Jesus. Somehow Jesus' being there just caused Mary to forget about everything else, nothing else really mattered. Somehow, even with Jesus being in her home, Martha was able to put that aside and concentrate on what was more important. What could be more important that Jesus? According to Martha, her meal, what she was preparing. What was more important than Jesus to Martha? Martha was more important! 41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one, Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Honestly, I've had guests in my home where I was more concerned with impressing them than I actually was "with them". In other words, in the end, it's about me, not them. This is about Jesus, not Martha, but she is trying to turn it around. Remember, Jesus had the ability (and still does) to see right through us, to see our true motives (blessed are the pure in heart). Sometimes we do things for others, but are true motive is to turn it around to make us look good. Martha is more concerned about how she looks, how she impresses Jesus; Mary could care less about how she looks in front of Jesus (even risking looking lazy), Mary has no hidden agenda but to be with Jesus and Jesus is able to see Martha's heart in this situation and he is able to see Mary's heart and he makes a judgment call. "Yes Martha, you're doing a lot, you're working hard (supposedly for me) but really it's all about you and I'm sorry, though on the outward it looks like you're in the right and Mary is in the wrong, I'm going to side with Mary on this one" and what a shock that must have been to Martha! What a shock it may be to some of us one day when Jesus tells us, "it was all about you", you made it seem like it was all about me, but in all reality, you and I know both know...., it was ALL ABOUT YOU!

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