Spaces

Reading Luke 10:38 tonight. The account of Mary sitting listening to Jesus while her sister Martha is working.

1. What Martha is doing (work) is good.

2. What Mary is doing (taking a space in her schedule to hear from Jesus) is better.

Far too often in our lives, including ministry, we tend to follow Martha’s example. Working at the office, then at home. We don’t even need laptops now with the ability to check and respond to work emails from our phones. Noise dominates most of our lives.

Jesus’ words to Martha cut to the facts: “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things.” I constantly have on my mind this week’s sermon, planning for the upcoming series, administrative stuff that needs to get done even if I am not the one responsible for it still enters my head, meetings, creative elements, even remembering to pray for people. And it’s all good stuff, it’s all a part of people coming to meet Christ or growing in their knowledge of Him, but often I find I begin to drift toward the “so many things,” that I have to force myself to remember “but one thing is necessary.” And that of course is that part that Mary chose. The spaces where I shut up  and God speaks. The stillness and eagerness to hear from the Creator.

~ by Eric Whitman on October 12, 2009.