Last week we had the parable of the Good Samaritan which started with the Lawyer’s question, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus asked him to answer his own question and he replied that, “you should love God and your neighbor.”

We got the neighbor part last week and this week we get the God part. This is very important, because in the 21st century everyone aspires to be a superstar Martha. Taking care of business is the name of the game, being busier than everyone else makes you a winner.

But in our lesson Mary is the one who is acting in accord with the great commandment. She is learning to love God sitting at the feet of Jesus. The best part is to love God, it is the first priority.

“Martha had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying.” Already we can feel the tension. Suddenly we have siblings, comparisons and the potential for jealousy. The Bible is filled with siblings who can’t get along. We remember Jacob and Esau, Isaac and Ishmael, Joseph and his brothers and of course Cain and Abel. Now we add Martha and Mary to the list.

The tension in the story builds as we discover that Martha and Mary have chosen to do different things in relation to Jesus. These sisters have different interests, different ways of expressing love. Which of them is right? Who will Jesus love the most?

You might think that Jesus likes Mary better because she sits there at his feet and listens to him. I don’t think he needs Marth’s attention to make him feel good. I think Jesus sense of himself rests completely on his connection to his Father. He doesn’t need Mary or Martha to reassure him of anything and I think he is ok with Martha being in the Kitchen.

The text says, “But Martha was distracted by her many tasks;” Martha gets sidetracked by all the things she has to do. She’s frantic with all the work of hosting and she doesn’t know how she will do it all. Overwhelmed and fragmented by the demands she is placing on herself she appears to have lost her center. She is like the story of Peter walking on water who the minute he takes his eyes off Jesus discovers himself sinking into the water.

So Martha has “lost it” in the kitchen. She has allowed herself to take on more than she can handle, been unrealistic about her limits. Does Jesus really want her to be frantic and upset; and unhealthy? I’ll think that instead, he wants her calm, centered and working in the kitchen or listening at his feet; whichever is her preference. Is there any way Martha could have hosted her guest and still kept her focus? After all, both she and her sister are serving their Lord—she by doing, her sister by learning. Both ways are honorable. So what is wrong?

In Martha’s distraction she realizes she is upset with Mary because she thinks Mary is not doing her part. So where is Martha’s focus? Is it on serving Jesus? Is it on hosting? No, it’s on her sister. Martha is distracted by her awareness of what Mary is doing. That’s Martha’s mistake. She has made Mary the center of her attention and there is no room for Jesus. Actually, I think Martha is jealous of Mary. It seems to me we don’t talk enough about jealousy these days, we as a culture have difficulty admitting another person could be that important to us, but I think it plays big in our lives.

Since Marth’s perspective is distorted she thinks that Jesus will see the situation the same way she does. She creates a triangle relationship between Jesus, Mary and herself and she assumes Jesus will think exactly as she does. “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself?” Apparently Jesus should feel guilty for not having sensed Martha’s need and sent Mary to the kitchen earlier. “Tell her to help me.”

But Jesus doesn’t see it the way Martha does and he tries to enlighten Martha, repeating her name twice. “Martha, Martha.” Why do you think Jesus uses Martha’s name twice? I know that when I am distracted that I can’t pay attention. I get distracted from the world around me and can only see things my way. Something has to get my attention. Something has to get me to pay attention.

Jesus after getting her attention gives her accurate feedback on the state of her mind. Martha, “You are worried and distracted by many things,” Worries cause me to live in the world of my own fears which are often unfounded. My distraction takes me away from what is important and gets me fixated on things that don’t really matter so much. So Martha finds herself scattered, afraid of missing something, and feeling out of control. Like our lawyer in last week’s story, she has lost sight of Jesus, her neighbor and herself. He was separate and alone because he had to win. She is separate and alone because she feels jealous.

Jesus’ gentle voice speaks again. Martha, “There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.” He says it so gently because he doesn’t want to fan the flames of jealousy that Martha already feels for Mary.

What has Mary done differently? Mary has focused on Jesus instead of her sister. She has learned that the way away from rivalry and jealousy, sibling or otherwise, is to make Jesus the center and learn from him.

When we listen to Jesus, when we do as he did, when we act in similar ways, when we love as he loved this kind of focus will pull you out of your triangles with your neighbor, or your family. It’s not that Mary is better than Martha or contemplation better than service. It’s that Mary has focused her life on following the One who leads her away from entangling traps of rivalry and jealousy. Focusing on Jesus is the only thing we really need to find ourselves living on the inside of what God wants. It’s the better way.

1.Why do we focus so much on what others are doing?

2. What was wrong with the way Marth was dealing with all the work that there was to do?

3. How can we stop being distracted and focus on Jesus as Mary was?