Lately I’ve been thinking about the story of Jesus, Mary & Martha, and how “Mary … made the right choice” (Luke10:42). These were the words Jesus spoke to Martha after she ‘was distracted by her many tasks’ (Luke 10:40) while Mary sat at the feet of Jesus. And If I am honest I have always struggled with these words from Jesus. I want to say to Him: “Jesus, the food doesn’t cook itself and if it wasn’t for Martha I’m sure that there would have been a big pile of dishes that would have kept them up all night. Mary is just lucky that Martha has made a head-start on the household tasks. “ Yet somewhere in my heart I know that Jesus is right and that Mary made the right choice – that sitting at the feet of Jesus was the better option. We live in a culture where there are a lot of things to be distracted by. ‘Busy’ is the most common answer that I hear when I ask someone how they are doing. It is also the most common answer that comes out of my mouth. My default is Martha, yet Jesus calls me to be like Mary. We ‘fondly’ call this time of the year the ‘silly season’ – full of busy and buying and hustle and rush. Yet in the church calendar this time of the year is known as Advent. It is a time of slowing down, reflection, expectant waiting and anticipation of the arrival of the son of God into our world. As we enter this season of Advent let us be reminded that maybe Jesus isn’t calling us to do more things, but to be like Mary and to sit at His feet.. In ‘The Message’, Eugene Peterson translates this portion as: “One thing only is essential and Mary has chosen it – it’s the main course.” Praying that in the midst of this ‘silly season,’ both you and I would let time at the feet of Jesus be our main course.
