Pastor Ryan Moore
Devotional Plan for: Week of August 23 - August 27 Each week of the series will be focused on the story of a legendary disciple throughout Christian history and how that person modeled the adventure of discipleship.
Luke 10:38-42 (NIV): "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 all the preparations that had to be made distracted Martha. 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 only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." Monday, August 23rd So, Martha was a busy body and Mary was a saint. That's the typical reading of this passage, right? Sometimes we're too busy to focus on the right things. Well, this is certainly a big point found in this passage, but the depth of the situation is illuminated by an understanding of the context in first century Judaism.
First of all, sitting at one's feet was not simply meant she was physically sitting at his feet, but it represented her relationship to Jesus: that she was being taught and discipled by Christ. Second of all, she was a woman, and a woman being a part of the crew of guys that were taught by a male teacher was socially unacceptable.
So, when Martha is calling out Mary to Jesus, she's not just saying, "Hey, I need help working!" There's a subtext of, "Mary, we're supposed to be making the preparations, not sitting at the feet of Jesus. That's not our role." This is a shocking social moment in history, and passages like this are why the western, Christianized world has made so much progress in women's rights, versus other parts of the world.
When we see it with this full context, we get a bigger picture of the magnitude of this moment, along with some new learnings: (1) yes, don't be so busy; (2) all of us are called to sit at the feet of Jesus, whether you think you are or not; and (3) God loves all.
This week, we're going to focus on this passage of Scripture for all 5 days, so we can dig in and really identify how we can sit at the feet of Jesus.
Reflection Question(s): Have you ever thought that you didn't deserve to sit at the feet of Jesus? How does this passage help to encourage you?
Tuesday, August 24th As we approach today's text I suspect Martha was fine with Mary sitting with Jesus at first. We are told that while Mary sat at the feet of Jesus, Martha was in the kitchen working. Perhaps Martha would have liked to have been able to sit at the feet of Jesus too. However, she had rolls to bake, potatoes to mash, and a table to set. There was much to do. As she worked in the kitchen she began to feel overwhelmed and underappreciated. She started to feel upset that Mary did not recognize that she wanted help.
We have all, at one time or another, been where Martha was so we don't have any trouble imagining what was going on. You can imagine Martha thinking "Here I am in the kitchen slaving away over a meal these people will eat in just a matter of minutes and everyone else is out there having a good time with Jesus. Don't they understand how much work is involved?"
The problem with Martha is not that she is busy serving and providing hospitality. Certainly, Jesus commends this kind of service, notably in the parable of the Good Samaritan that immediately precedes the story of Mary and Martha. The problem with Martha is not her serving, but rather that she is worried and distracted.
Martha's distraction and worry leave no room for the most important aspect of hospitality — gracious attention to the guest. In fact, she breaks all the rules of hospitality by trying to embarrass her sister in front of her guest, and by asking her guest to intervene in a family dispute.
Martha's worry and distraction prevent her from being truly present with Jesus, and cause her to drive a wedge between her sister and herself, and between Jesus and herself. She has missed out on the "one thing needed" for true hospitality. There is no greater hospitality than listening to your guest. How much more so when the guest is Jesus! So Jesus says that Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.
In a culture of hectic schedules and the relentless pursuit of productivity, we are tempted to measure our worth by how busy we are, by how much we accomplish, or by how well we meet the expectations of others.
It is true that much of our busyness and distraction stems from the noblest of intentions. We want to provide for our families, we want to give our children every opportunity to enrich their lives, we want to serve our neighbors, and yes, we want to serve the Lord. Indeed, where would the church be without its "Marthas", those faithful folk who perform the tasks of hospitality and service so vital to making the church a welcoming and well-functioning community?
However, Jesus invites all of us who are worried and distracted by many things to sit and rest in his presence, to hear his words of grace and truth, to know that we are loved and valued as children of God, to be renewed in faith and strengthened for service. There is a need for only one thing: attention to our guest.
Reflection Question(s): What are the common results you experience when you lose your focus on God? Who, or what, do you blame when your life becomes chaotic?
Wednesday, August 25th The courage of Mary, in this passage, is so inspiring. As we discussed on Monday, her sitting at the feet of Jesus was breaking social boundaries. She understood this wasn't an appropriate social boundary, and therefore risked deciding to sit at the feet of Jesus, because Jesus was worth the risk.
Not only this, but it takes courage in our world to actually, simply, sit down. Some of the most inspiring people are those who are not always running around, worried and anxious and busy, but those who are able to walk with a reservation and calm about them, because they sometimes sit.
Even in ministry, I (Christian) often find myself waking up in a flurry of activity to make sure I can get all of the necessary tasks done for the day. I neglect to "take a seat", and that's because I (sometimes) think that getting a whole bunch of stuff done that day, sacrificing my energy and time, etc., in order to "work" is what's courageous. I'm courageous if I'm dead tired; that's who we laud and lift up as a society.
Certainly, we can exude incredible courage in our work, and work is demanded from us as followers of Christ. However, sometimes sitting down and quietly being at the feet of Jesus is what's the most courageous thing to do. While the world is on fire (or maybe just your life seems like it's on fire), you can go against the grain by saying, "No, I'm going to sit down for a moment at the feet of Jesus. I'll get back to you when I can, and we'll all be better for it."
Reflection Question(s): How can viewing "sitting at the feet of Jesus" as courageous help encourage you in your discipleship?
Christian Smith – Director of Pastoral Ministries
Thursday, August 26th The courage of Mary, in this passage, is so inspiring. As we discussed on Monday, her sitting at the feet of Jesus was breaking social boundaries. She understood this wasn't an appropriate social boundary, and therefore risked deciding to sit at the feet of Jesus, because Jesus was worth the risk.
Not only this, but it takes courage in our world to actually, simply, sit down. Some of the most inspiring people are those who are not always running around, worried and anxious and busy, but those who are able to walk with a reservation and calm about them, because they sometimes sit.
Even in ministry, I (Christian) often find myself waking up in a flurry of activity to make sure I can get all of the necessary tasks done for the day. I neglect to "take a seat", and that's because I (sometimes) think that getting a whole bunch of stuff done that day, sacrificing my energy and time, etc., in order to "work" is what's courageous. I'm courageous if I'm dead tired; that's who we laud and lift up as a society.
Certainly, we can exude incredible courage in our work, and work is demanded from us as followers of Christ. However, sometimes sitting down and quietly being at the feet of Jesus is what's the most courageous thing to do. While the world is on fire (or maybe just your life seems like it's on fire), you can go against the grain by saying, "No, I'm going to sit down for a moment at the feet of Jesus. I'll get back to you when I can, and we'll all be better for it."
Reflection Question(s): How can viewing "sitting at the feet of Jesus" as courageous help encourage you in your discipleship?
Friday, August 27th Can you imagine opening your front door to find Jesus on the sidewalk, chatting with His disciples? I picture a scene a little like this when I read the story of Mary and Martha. It doesn't seem that Martha was too worried. She eagerly invited Jesus in and showed Him the kind of authentic hospitality that throws the door wide and serves the best I have. However, one big lesson we learn from this biblical narrative is how we can make better choices.
We see this in Luke 10:42: "Few things are needed – or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."
Today, we live in an extremely busy world. We have to constantly juggle between work pressures, home projects, church responsibilities, kids schedules and many more. And in all these, we often compromise (or sacrifice) our daily time with the Lord. We often think that God knows what we are going through, He understands our pressures.
Surely, God knows and understands everything. But this story is a reminder that we need to set our priorities right. Our first and foremost choice must be our daily quiet time with God, everything else can come after that. Everything else can wait. This is not some legalistic thing that we need to follow. But we need to do so because it is a "better choice."
Time spent at the feet of Jesus is never wasted time. It is an incredibly invested time.
Application What about you? Are you 'distracted' by the work for the Lord, that you don't have time to sit at his feet and listen to him? Will you take time from your busy schedule daily to be with God? Here I am presenting simple steps for how to do your daily quiet time.
Time Quiet time should be about 10-15 minutes long. You can choose a time according to your schedule. For some, morning works better, for others, night may work well.
How to do Quiet Time? Start with prayer: - Spend just a few minutes in worship and thanksgiving. - Spend some time in asking God for forgiveness for our sins. - Ask for his guidance in today's quiet time.
Passage for Quiet time: It is good to select any book of the bible and read it continuously. It will help you to get the whole picture and can enjoy your quiet time more. Select about 4-6 verses, don't select the whole chapter, as you may not be able to cover it all.
Read the paragraph 2-3 times. This bible study method is also called the ASPECT method. From the paragraph, ask the following questions. Don't be too quick to come to application, before you understand the passage.
A – About God – What can you learn about God through this passage? S – Sin – Does it talk about any sin? P – Promise – Is there any promise in the word? E – Example – Is there any example, I can follow? C – Command – Which command I need to obey? T – Teaching – What can I learn from this passage?
Concluding Prayer: Thank God for his guidance in quiet time. Worship God for his characteristic. Ask for strength for the day.