Martha’s in the kitchen, Mary’s in the living room. A familiar story made more familiar by real life experience. We work hard, we long for rest, but we know there’s more to be done. We resent those responsibilities that weigh us down, but we enjoy the accolades our public labors bring us. When Martha goes to Jesus with her complaint, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me,” does she really want the help, or just the recognition?
“You are worried and distracted by many things,” Jesus says, and then, “there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”
Though we might like to think that the work we do could never get done without us, it is more often the case that in our absence someone would step in and life would continue. How easy it is to neglect the time and effort required not only to build a relationship with God, but also with ourselves, effort that no one else can provide on our behalf.
As summer’s days draw on, consider how you have and will continue to make time and space for Christ to dwell within you.
In Christ,
Pastor Erik
By Proclamation 