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Mary or Martha? (4 November)

The thought this week is written by Nick Lear, EBA Regional Minister

Last week I had a reading day booked in the diary.

I made myself a nice large glass of elderflower and fizzy water, settled into my comfortable chair, picked up my book (Tom Wright: God and the Pandemic – I highly recommend it) and began to read. I reached across to the book case where I had placed my drink (on a coaster, I am not uncouth) and managed to knock it over.

Fizzy (sticky) elderflower-flavoured water went everywhere. Books, shelves, floor, and various bits that were on the shelves all got liberally coated. I rushed from my study into the kitchen and retrieved several dry tea cloths to mop it all up. By the time I got back the fluid had got to the seeping stage so I had to rescue a couple more items as I mopped up. And then the phone rang. I could see it was one of the ministers I serve and I decided that they wouldn’t mind me talking with them while I mopped so I answered the phone and, having explained the circumstances, carried on mopping while talking. And that’s when the miracle happened. I, a bloke, was actually multitasking!

These verses came to mind as I mopped and spoke:

Luke 10:38-42 ³⁸ As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. ³⁹ She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, ‘Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!’

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.’

Martha was multitasking with the housework. She was distracted with all she had to do. Jesus seems to be saying to her that she should have been focusing on listening to him rather than all of the other things that needed doing. She was multitasking but forgot the main thing – Jesus was there with them.

With the impact of the new imminent lockdown on top of all of the things we have to do, including getting ready for online services, running meetings online (‘You’re on mute!’ may well be the most-spoken sentence of 2020), trying to work out how to do pastoral care and 101 other things we are expected to do, is it possible that we forget the most important thing? Jesus is with us and wants us to listen to him.

Are we Mary or Martha? And will we change?

Bad Martha

Devoted Mary

Busy Martha

Wise Mary

Multitasking Martha

Spiritual Mary

Bothered Martha

Commendable Mary

Distracted Martha

Brave Mary (going against cultural norms by sitting with the men)

Brave Martha (telling Jesus what to do)

Thoughtless Mary? (she didn’t offer to help)

Neglected Martha (working in the background)

Selfish Mary? (she did what she wanted)

Hospitable Martha

Smug Mary? (Jesus commended her)

Hurt Martha? (didn’t Jesus know she meant well?)

Jealous Martha? (would she have liked to be listening to Jesus too?)

It seems clear-cut at the beginning

Who is the heroine and who is the pantomime dame.

But later when their brother died and Jesus rocked up late

who showed faith In him and who gave Jesus the blame?

For your prayers:

This Sunday Beth is not preaching anywhere; Graeme is preaching online at Brentwood BC; and I will be leading the service online at my home church, South Woodham Evangelical Church.

It’s Remembrance Sunday and we have prepared some resources that you may find useful at https://www.easternbaptist.org.uk/news/resources-for-remembrance-sunday/

Our prayer focus this week will be Cherry Hinton Baptist Church in Cambridge https://www.easternbaptist.org.uk/our-churches/prayer-diaries/

Be blessed, be a blessing

Image by Mohamed Hassan from pixabay.com