Eating with Mary & Martha - Meals with Jesus | Cath Burke

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Cath: 00:06

Yeah today we are continuing on our meals with Jesus topic. We are looking at Mary and Martha today. And whilst I was planning this, it very much reminded me of planning Connect. So a little bit of a plug. If you've not already been to men's or women's connects, and this is the kind of thing that you like to do, that you like to pull out meaty chunks from the bible.

Cath: 00:33

This is what we do at Connect. But at Connect, rather than just listening to me drone on and on about this passage, you, get to give your thoughts, and your ideas about that. So if you are on, the edge of your seat because, you know, you've got some things that you wanna chip in, well, connect is the place that you can do that. It doesn't matter how small, trivial those thoughts are or very very complicated in some cases, Mary. You know who you are.

Cath: 01:08

So a little bit of an insight there for ladies connect and what happens. So Mary and Martha, we know that they are siblings. They've also got a brother, Lazarus. And they live in Bethany which apparently is only 2 miles away from Jerusalem and they are disciples, they are followers or close friends of Jesus. I feel the way that they react with each other and with Jesus in this passage we can learn some valuable lessons on how we can be better disciples of Jesus and how we can better disciple each other.

Cath: 01:47

Anne sort of hinted just at the end of our worship, that it's the worship's leader to encourage us in worship and to move us on and we are together arm in arm, I think he said, in worship. But we're not just it's not just for the times of worship. It's for our everyday lives too. So let's look at Luke 10 verse 38. That's where we'll start.

Cath: 02:12

And it will be on the screen if you've not got your device or pages with you. So as Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. 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 let me do left me to do all the work by myself?

Cath: 02:44

Tell her to help me. Martha. Martha. The Lord answered. You are worried and upset about many things but few things are needed or indeed only 1.

Cath: 02:57

Mary has chosen what is better and it will not be taken away from her. So are you a Mary or a Martha? Should we take a vote? Cool. Let's do it.

Cath: 03:12

If you think you are a Mary, let's put your hands up. So hands up for Mary. Oh got a cup 1, 1, 2, a few sneaky Marys. A bit shy to admit that. Or if you think you're a Martha, I think that's probably where I'm at.

Cath: 03:26

A few more Martha's. And that's definitely the immediate question that springs to my mind when we read that passage. Which one are you? Are you the one sat at Jesus's feet or are you a Martha running round getting things ready? And I find it far too easy, to relate to Martha.

Cath: 03:50

If you consider what was actually happening, Jesus is visiting their home and we know what it's like when we've got people visiting our homes. It's an obvious thing to do. We want to make sure the floors have act, the toilet's clean, we've dusted, kids toys everywhere, gotta move them. It's completely natural to want things to be perfect when we are hosting or when we're taking care of people. Many of us went to our church weekend away to Wales and it was my responsibility to order the food.

Cath: 04:24

And I can see a few people smiling because they know what how this is gonna happen, what's gonna happen. I spent ages and ages panicking about will there be enough food? It was my biggest fear. I, you know, I thought and thought, I put some shops in and it all arrived and even when the food was arrived sat there in front of us I was still panicking, is this really going to be enough? And then people started bringing things as well because we'd asked people to contribute, and so there was more and more food.

Cath: 04:58

There was a ridiculous amount of food. There was more than enough food to feed everybody, with leftovers. So why I felt the need to worry and waste my time fretting about that? It sort of brings to mind a little bit of a Martha idea. It's so easy to come to be wrapped up in those things, and you don't get to enjoy your event when when you're doing that.

Cath: 05:27

And here in the passage, that's what Martha's doing. So what's Mary doing? She's a sister called Mary who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. I think we all wrestle and judge the person or the idea of someone who is sat still, especially when there's something to do. Being I'm on maternity leave at the moment with my son, Jasper.

Cath: 05:55

I think Liam's just snuck him out so that he doesn't hear my voice. He's sort of 7 and a half months. So I'm not doing my paid role right now. When I'm doing that, I work 3 days a week for the church as children's worker. Some of my duties include preparing the kids' work, looking after safeguarding, and things like that.

Cath: 06:19

And whilst I'm on maternity leave it's allowed that I can sit still and ignore that for now. I can put on my tunnel vision goggles and I can let that happen around me. But trust me I have to actively choose not to interfere with that because that's the kind of person I am. Thankfully, we are the best with a really great person who's filling in for me. But it still takes me to say no.

Cath: 06:52

Right now my focus is on Jasper. So when that's an acceptable, socially acceptable thing shouldn't it also be socially acceptable to take time away for what we are doing to sit at the Lord's feet? It goes against the grain a little bit. Stopping what we're doing in order to focus on as, Jesus puts it on us on, where is it? He sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said, She's chosen what's better and it will be taken will not be taken away from her.

Cath: 07:49

So to choose the better thing. And one of the reasons I think it can it goes against the grain is because of the idea of that we're living in a really busy lifestyle, and we're real we're living in a really busy social, society at the moment. There's a a Christian book by, called the ruthless elimination of hurry and he responds says responds to the idea of being busy by saying this. How do you how do people normally answer when you ask the customary how are you? Oh good.

Cath: 08:32

Just busy. Pay attention and you'll find the answer everywhere across ethnicity, gender, stages of life, even class. College students are busy. Young parents are busy. Empty nesters living on a golf course are busy.

Cath: 08:48

CEOs are busy, so are baristas and part time nannies. Americans are busy. Kiwis are busy. Germans are busy. We're all busy.

Cath: 08:55

Granted there is a kind of busyness, a healthy kind of busyness, when your life is full with things that matter, not wasted on empty leisure or trivial pursuits. But by that definition, Jesus himself was also busy. The problem isn't when you have a lot to do, it's when you have too much to do and the only way to creep the quota up is to hurry. That's the kind of business that busy that has us all reeling. So what is your busyness?

Cath: 09:24

What do you think keeps you busy, keeps you distracted from Jesus, from the call to sit at his feet? Just gonna grab a drink. I think sometimes we are the own the culprits of being the creators of our busyness. You know, we are the ones that set our priorities. We choose what kind of lifestyle that we want and often we do have to work towards making that a reality.

Cath: 09:59

And it can be difficult. It can be challenging. So what would my life look like though if I unbusied myself to prioritise sitting at Jesus's feet? Could we give up things and could we replace them with a practical hunger to seek first God's kingdom? You know this isn't just a challenge I'm throwing out there to you.

Cath: 10:20

It's a challenge very much for myself too. I know that I am too quick to busy myself. I like to be busy. I like to have a life full of things. But shouldn't they first be for my life first be full of things that seek God's kingdom first?

Cath: 10:39

So back to the passage. Lord don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? So at the beginning I did ask you if you were Mary or Martha but we're never actually meant to pick teams. You see the passage is not supposed to be about pitting 1 sister against another. That's a kind of earthly way of looking at it, it's an earthly way to say oh if one person is wrong one person must be right.

Cath: 11:13

But there is a lot to learn from both those characters. The fact that Martha, is able to speak to Jesus the way she does also indicates that she knows Jesus well. Don't you care? She's calling him to back her up. Tell the lazy Mary to come here and help me.

Cath: 11:36

The picture is starting to build up of a close knit group of friends and family. And that's important to us for what comes next as Jesus rebukes Martha, but it does come from a place of love. And if you need more confirmation, of the relationship, we can see that, when you look at the next story, in John 11 verse 5 well, the bit I'm gonna read is 11 verse 5. Now Jesus loved Martha and his her sister and Lazarus. So we know that they were a close knit friendship group.

Cath: 12:11

But we all need people that we love who can remind us and re refocus us when we lose sight of who Jesus is. Mary was an example to Martha showing her what to do. But in the moment, like many of us, she didn't see it. Instead, she needed to be told. And it's not easy to face verbal criticism.

Cath: 12:36

We're told and we're not told in the passage how Mary takes it. However, in that next story with Lazarus, when Lazarus right is risen from the dead, she does show great faith helping our assumption that she did learn from this event here. But in an initial moment, I think there would have been some recall or embarrassment. Many of us in our careers have to face moments of having feedback. As a teacher, you might be subject to lesson observations.

Cath: 13:10

Any teachers here I'm sure I can see you shrinking back and cowering in your chair. Lesson observations are really cringey from my experience. Stressful. You've got to justify your actions. And I know in many other careers there are similar ways of receiving feedback.

Cath: 13:31

But cringiness aside, if that's done correctly with a helpful person speaking in love or perhaps, you know, from a professional nature when the dust dies down we can reflect, we can grow and we can improve And we might be able to implement a change. So do I need to allow someone to speak and challenge my relationship with god? So often we chat and we share about how how our careers are going, you know. Is it is how's your house work? Is it going well?

Cath: 14:05

You know, all about our parenting wins. You know, my child slept through the night tonight. It was great. Jasper really didn't so please pray for that. But when did we last share about an intimate moment with God?

Cath: 14:21

About a win for our relationship with God? For our failure in our faith? Something's going well with God. When did all else fade away? And when was our focus just you know, I did this.

Cath: 14:34

I spent this time with God. I read this passage. It was really great. When I was a youth, my youth leader was constantly asking, oh, how's your faith? When you're a new Christian, you do it.

Cath: 14:44

You get asked, oh, how's it going? How are you finding church? What? But are you still doing that? Are we still asking each other where are you at?

Cath: 14:53

A real question. Not just a surface level but something that goes deep. So what did Jesus say to Martha? He said you are worried and upset about many things but few things are needed or indeed only 1. I read an article while researching, this passage, and it said it's not the work but the underlying worry that's the problem.

Cath: 15:23

My assumption has always been of that passage that Jesus is telling her off, for, you know, for serving, for working. But it actually it's her worrying and her anxieties. And within that, Mary bears the brunt of that. And the path the article that I read goes on to say, our nearest and dearest often bear the brunt of our anxieties, resentment, or irritation. I am a natural worrier, so I can relate to Martha, again.

Cath: 16:02

And when you are worrying or fretting, it does start a chain reaction of worry. If you take that worry to someone who's also a worrier, they can start worrying too, and that just makes you worry even more. I don't wanna name and shame the people. I do take my worries to then start me off on a a real worry bomb, but if if, you know, if you can relate to that, it's something to really watch and be careful of. In this situation Jesus is the one who calms that storm.

Cath: 16:38

So who is your voice of steadfast, constant and calm in your life? Who does that for you? Who's your little little Jesus? Who's the discipling who's discipling you? Sorry.

Cath: 16:51

I don't know if I said that right. Who's the disciple who's discipling you? And can we be that for someone else? Can we be the calm in the storm that says actually no, stop, you don't need to worry about that. So when he does say that and when that gets that worry going, he's referring to things as well that go beyond the meal and in that home.

Cath: 17:19

He's referring to all the worries of the world. We're gonna read my favourite passage or one of my favourite passages now, as a natural warrior, you know, you need something to combat those. So Matthew 6, if you want to turn there to verse 25. Therefore I tell you do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink or about your body, what you will bear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothes?

Cath: 17:59

Look at the birds of the air. They do not sow or reap or stow away in barns and yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes?

Cath: 18:18

See how the flowers of the field glow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field which is here today and tomorrow, is thrown into the fire, will he not much oh, my eyes are going funny now. Just do I wanna finish off reading for me?

Cath: 18:45

Who's paying attention, James?

James: 18:50

Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all the splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, what shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or what shall we wear? For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

James: 19:23

Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Cath: 19:31

Thanks, James. We were never meant to be a worried people. We were never meant to be caught up fretting about earthly things. And the challenge today and every day is to take time to be still at God's feet in his presence. The prophetic word came today as well, to breathe God in.

Cath: 19:57

And I think to do that there is a sense of being still in in front of God. In the story of Mary and Martha, we can see how we might be able to learn from each other and how we can spare one another doing so. Hebrews 10 verse 24 to 25 says, and let us consider how we may spare one another toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day approaching. We should not stop encouraging one another, meeting with each other, to disciple each other, to help each other, to refocus each other, to stop our worries. So before we go today we're gonna respond.

Cath: 20:48

We're gonna take a little bit of time. That's a little bit of me discipling you. Let's sit at Jesus's feet. Let's listen for a few moments and let's really listen and allow God to speak to us. Perhaps, you know, he might say something for you or perhaps something, for someone else in the room.

Cath: 21:11

And if you feel that you wanna change your posture to help you listen, but, please feel free to to do that. You can kneel, you can stay seated, you can stand. And there is lots of space.