Episode Transcript
[00:00:24] Speaker A: Hello, I'm Josh.
[00:00:25] Speaker B: And I'm Gabriel.
[00:00:26] Speaker A: And today on Reading the Gospel, we are studying the event Mary and Martha. This is found in the Gospel of Luke, chapter ten, verses 38 through 42. Join us as we read.
[00:00:41] Speaker B: Now, as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village and a woman named Martha welcome him into her house.
And she had a sister called Mary who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching.
[00:00:59] Speaker A: But Martha was distracted with much serving and she went up to him and said, lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me. But the Lord answered her, martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion which will not be taken away from her.
This event that we're studying is almost in some ways, an opposite of the previous event, the Good Samaritan.
We have works being called out as not appropriate at the time.
And I have to say, for me, this story always bothered me.
I'm more a Martha when it comes to after church, having people over at our house. My parents would always invite people over to our house and my favorite place was helping out in the kitchen and getting things ready and taking things out. And I would get annoyed at my siblings who would just go sit on the couch and talk to the guests and the visitors who had come over. It's like, no, we got to get stuff done. I very much relate to Martha here and, yeah, I guess this is a message for me as well.
[00:02:22] Speaker B: It's for everyone, because serving on one side is the essence of this circuit of grace. Throughout the universe, everyone is called to serve. The angels are serving God the Father, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit are serving in nature, plants and animals are serving a purpose.
But the story is about a situation when serving can be a distraction from our relationship with Jesus Christ.
In fact, the servants should be an outcome, a byproduct of our relationship with Know.
[00:03:11] Speaker A: Martha is coming to Jesus and saying, tell her to help me.
Am I supposed to serve alone? And Jesus is saying, no, Martha is where she needs to be, and that.
[00:03:25] Speaker B: Is at the feet of Jesus Christ. What does it mean when someone will sit at another person's feet? That means the message was, I want to be your disciple. I'm learning from you. I consider you a master. So here we see Mary as a disciple and in fact, she's called later one of the disciples of Jesus Christ. And it seems that some of the day to day responsibilities, like serving in the kitchen, might be, in specific situations, a distraction from our spiritual growth, from our discipleship life.
[00:04:13] Speaker A: And I think that is the key to this story.
As I said, I like to be the behind the scenes, the active.
I've always thought if God didn't call me to be a preacher, I would be the one in the sound booth running the sound equipment, or being out in the parking lot parking cars. And it's wanting to be active when really what I need most of that time is to sit and to listen.
This event speaks to me. I know that's our question at the end, but it really pushes me out of my comfort zone to sit and listen. And I don't like just sitting.
It is not comfortable.
It is not the happy place for me.
[00:05:08] Speaker B: I like, again, as you suggested, to connect this story with a previous story about a Good Samaritan. And this is the lesson for us, that we should not develop a belief system based on only one story in the Bible. In the previous story, the Good Samaritan, Jesus told that teacher of the law, what is important is not what the Samaritan believes or where he worships, or what kind of version of the Torah he uses. What is important is what he does in this story, Jesus Christ complements with the other side, because our belief system should be based on both stories here. What is important is what you learn from the teacher, what you believe, and how you translate that into your day to day living.
I remember the story of Lazarus. We're going to study it in a couple of episodes. When Lazarus died, mary goes to talk to Jesus Christ and she says, I know that the righteous will resurrect in that day. That means she learned something from Jesus Christ.
We know also that during the last week just before crucifixion, jesus Christ spent almost every night in the house of Mary and Martha and Lazarus because he was resurrected.
It seems that Mary got something out of this relationship with Jesus Christ. And indeed, beliefs are important.
They are the foundation of our worldview. They are the foundation of what we do in life.
[00:07:10] Speaker A: Yeah.
So what is this passage telling us about God?
[00:07:18] Speaker B: For God.
Relationships matter.
For God, it's very important that we prioritize our relationship with Him, that we pause, that we listen, that we learn and translate that into action.
[00:07:41] Speaker A: Yeah, I think that's exactly what I would say. For me, it is about relationship, that God wants relationship with us. He's not looking for works. He wants relationship.
And out of that relationship comes the works. As we talked about last time, that sitting at Jesus'feet is the good portion, as this passage says.
[00:08:06] Speaker B: And I want to build on what you just said in Matthew, chapter seven.
Jesus talking about the last day, the day of judgment, when some would feel that they are placed on the wrong side and they come to contest Jesus'decision. And they would say, Lord, don't you remember that we preached the Gospel in your name, that we did cast out demons in your name that we healed in your name.
And Jesus Christ will look at them and will say those terrifying four words that none of us, none of my friends or even enemies should hear I never knew you.
Knowing Christ and being known by Him is the essence of eternal life. In fact, that is what Jesus said directly in John chapter 17. And this is eternal life, to know the Father and the Son that was sent by the Father.
[00:09:18] Speaker A: So how's this passage speaking to you today? And what are you going to do about it?
[00:09:27] Speaker B: In life as well as in church, like in a small group, in any organization, we need both Marys and Martas.
They together make a team. The question is, what is the starting point and how we get to be a Martha? And it seems that you have to be a Mary first before you become a Martha.
Not that you have to change your temperament and your character and your priorities, but first we have to pause to sit down. There is a time to learn, there is a time to grow, and also there is a time to serve.
So it seems here in this story that Martha chose the wrong time or inappropriate time to serve, because it says here in verse 40, martha was distracted with much serving. So serving has its own place, but it has to be done at the right time, also learning. And a relationship with Christ has its own place and also has to be done at the right time. And this is what I'm trying to apply to my life. And I'm asking, Lord, what do you want me to do today? And sometimes I hear that whisper, that small voice, today you need time to recharge.
And I turn off my phone and I then check my email and I focus on my relationship with God. That can be pure meditation, can be reading, can be prayer or a combination of those.
So other times I woke up in the morning and after a short devotional, I feel that I have to accomplish so much that day. And throughout the day, I feel people who needed me, I feel people who were looking for a word of encouragement, for someone to talk to, for advice, how to make a decision in life. So alternating those two needs wisdom from God. And I'm praying for that wisdom every day.
[00:11:58] Speaker A: As I look at this, again, it comes back to this personal call to me. It speaks to me every time, the same thing take time and sit down and sit at the feet of Jesus and listen.
I like filling my day, I like being busy, I like having the next thing going.
And taking that time just to sit in quiet is very hard for me.
And so I think that's how it's talking to me today. But it's also, again, getting back to it, realizing that as a Martha, there are. Marys and Marys are doing different things. And I shouldn't sit there and condemn them just because they're not doing what I'm doing.
So I think it speaks to me in a two part way today.
But we can share this with others. We can lift up one another and point them to Jesus. But as you said, it gets back to that relationship.
[00:13:06] Speaker B: And I'd like to emphasize once again the way Jesus finishes his words.
Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.
Service can be taken away from you.
You can be appointed to do something else. You might be given a new job or so, but your relationship with Christ cannot be taken from you. Your experience with God is yours will stay in your heart forever. Nobody can snatch it out from you.
[00:13:48] Speaker A: Let's pray. Father god, we want to be close to you for all eternity. We want to be able to sit at your feet like Mary and to spend that time with you. And Father, I pray that we would devote time each and every day in the quiet, in the solitude to connect, to let you know how much we love you, to express our adoration and appreciation and thanksgiving, to get to know you more.
Father, please help us with this. In Jesus name, amen. Amen.
