What is Better?

             Mary and Martha are two names that are well-known in Scripture.  These sisters, along with their brother, Lazarus, became great friends of Jesus.  He often spent the night in their home, which was only a few miles from Jerusalem. 

            On one occasion, during Jesus’ Judean ministry, he came to their home for a visit.  Martha immediately became the perfect hostess, taking care of all the preparations for His visit.  On the other hand, Mary sat at His feet, hanging on every word.  That did not sit well with Martha. While this may first appear to be a case of sibling rivalry or neglect of duties, Mary’s actions were unacceptable in the culture of the times.  They even bordered on being scandalous.

            In Jesus’ day, the Rabbi or teacher would sit on a chair or bench with his students surrounding him on the floor.  They would often be so close that they would be covered by the dust of the Rabbi’s feet.  By sitting at the Lord’s feet, Mary was assuming the role of a student—something that women did not do in that culture.

            To make matters worse, she was mingling with the men—also something that was not done in that culture.  Even today, that is often the custom found in Middle Eastern cultures.  Several years ago, I was on a mission trip to Southeast Asia.  During most of that trip, the other women and I ate separately from the men.  To do otherwise would have been offensive to the people of that area.

            Martha often gets a bad rap in this story because of her question, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself?” (Luke 10: 40 NIV84).  However, she may have also been concerned about the shame that Mary was bringing to the family.  I’m sure she was probably surprised by Jesus’ response.  “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10: 41, 42 NIV84).

            Jesus wasn’t concerned about whether the house was perfect or if the dinner was served on time.  He wasn’t even concerned about the cultural norms.  He knew what was important and commended Mary for recognizing that.  Mary was focused on the Master.  She was taking advantage of an opportunity to learn from Him.  She had chosen what was “better”—better than a clean house, better than a good meal, and better than being culturally correct.

            How many times do we neglect what is better so that we can impress someone with a spotless house or a fantastic meal?  Time with Jesu is important to our spiritual well-being.  If we neglect that, we may miss out on many blessings and opportunities to grow in Christ.  A house will only stay clean for so long (how well I know), and a meal is soon eaten and forgotten.  Time with Jesus will grow sweeter every day.

Luke 10: 38 - 42