Worried and Distracted

Martha is doing a good thing. That’s important to remember when reading this story. In first-century Judea, hospitality was an important responsibility. There were no restaurants to fall back on or grocery stores for a last-minute run. Preparing for guests required real work. Food had to be prepared, water carried, and a meal made from what the household had available. And Jesus was traveling with his disciples, so Martha may have welcomed many people into her home.

So, when Luke tells us that Martha is busy getting everything ready, it’s not difficult to understand why. She has welcomed Jesus into her home and is working to provide food and care for her guests.

Her sister Mary makes a different choice. She sits at Jesus’ feet and listens to him teach. Sitting at the feet of a rabbi was the posture of a disciple, and Jesus welcomes Mary there. Meanwhile, Martha is working. Eventually, her frustration boils over: “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to prepare the table all by myself? Tell her to help me.”

It’s not difficult to understand Martha. Most of us know what it feels like to be doing everything that needs to be done while someone else appears to be doing nothing. But Jesus notices something deeper than Martha’s workload. “Martha, Martha,” he says, “you are worried and distracted by many things.”

Kenneth Bailey, who spent decades living in and studying the culture of the Middle East and its connection to the world of the Bible, points to the anxiety underneath Martha’s activity. * Her problem isn’t simply that she’s serving. Serving is a good thing. Her problem is that she has become so worried and distracted by everything she’s doing that she is missing the person she welcomed into her home.

That can happen to us too. We can become so focused on getting everything done that we stop paying attention to the people right in front of us. We can fill our schedules with good things and still find ourselves exhausted and distracted. We can even become so busy doing things for God—serving, volunteering, attending, helping—that we leave very little room simply to be with God.

Jesus doesn’t tell Martha that her work doesn’t matter. He invites her to recognize what matters most in that moment. Mary has stopped long enough to listen.

There are times to work, serve, prepare, and get things done. But there are also times when the most faithful thing we can do is stop. Put down what we’re carrying. Pay attention. Listen. Be present to God and to the people God has placed in front of us.

• What are some of the “many things” occupying your attention right now? Is there something good that has nevertheless begun to leave you worried, distracted, or unable to be fully present?
• Mary chose to stop and listen to Jesus. What would it look like for you to intentionally make room to be with God today—even for five or ten minutes—without trying to accomplish anything?