Aug 9th, 2021: Stillness and Realness
One of the stories in the New Statement is about Jesus' encounter with Mary and Martha in Luke 10: 38-42.
(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 left me to do the work by myself? 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 one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.")
It is a story about priorities and understanding. Martha lived in a world of doing. Many of us are guilty of that. We cannot sit still and we get mad at others for not helping out. Mary lived in a world of being. She preferred to sit and listen to what Jesus had to say. It is not a comfortable world for many of us because we cannot avoid God when are staying quiet. Sometimes I wonder whether we are really doing things for God or ourselves. We tend to tell one another how busy we are as a way to fend off a real conversation. We end up not being true to God and one another.
We can be so busy doing things for God only to discover that we are going through our own spiritual bankruptcy. We eventually find no joy in what we do. We feel resentment and get frustrated. We experience intense loneliness. We are doing things for God and wondering where God is at the same time. Self-pity can creep in at this point, and we think that we deserve better for all that we do. We might allow ourselves to entertain different forms of addiction.
Being still and listening to God demands tremendous discipline. When we decide to sit and listen to what God has to say, we encounter ourselves. Maybe Martha knew that Jesus would ask her something that made her uncomfortable. It is a discipline that begins with a longing heart. We cannot long for God when we are held captive by our worldly desires and anticipation. To anticipate His presence is to be willing to face our own struggles in life. It is not about doing nothing. It is about allowing God to be in the center of our life.
