Friday, July 19, 2013

Mary and Martha

Of all those who could, two thousand years ago, claim to be friends of Jesus, there was one particular family.   They held a high profile in the gospel narrative.   They were Lazarus and his two sisters, Mary and Martha.   In Luke 10, following the parable of the Good Samaritan, there is a report of a special visit to their home.   We can truly say that Jesus had the best welcome in that house.   The other story about Mary anointing Jesus' feet with extremely expensive oil, brushed on with her hair, takes place in the same household.
This is a story involving (but not about) Jewish convention in Palestine.   The plan was to have Jesus sit down to a meal in the house.   Convention dictated that the men were at table while the women prepared the food in the kitchen and served it up.   In other words, domestic matters were in the women's domain.   What happened was that Jesus was teaching as the meal was prepared for them.   Unusually, Mary came and sat "at the feet" of Jesus instead of involving herself in the domestic work.   Martha was beside herself because it left her supervising the work without Mary's help.   So she complained to Jesus.   It reminds me of the days when my son and daughter were young and my daughter had a complaint against her brother - "Dad, will you tell him?"   This was the response of Martha.
Mary had deliberately chosen to learn from Jesus and later become a teacher herself.   So she sat "at the feet" of the master.   This expression does not necessarily mean that a pupil literally sat at the feet of a teacher.   It is simply an expression that speaks about the teacher/pupil relationship.   Mary had broken away from convention in doing this in the same way as when she let down her hair to anoint Jesus feet on another occasion.
There is a wonderful aspect to this story.   It is here that we are shown how the boundless love and grace of God breaks through every single boundary in its flow into the hearts of all men and women.   It tells us how fortunate we are to receive a love that, like a great river, bursts its banks and floods the surrounding area, changing it forever.   Here is another facet of God's love.   It is there for all.   There is no person who has done something dreadful who is not included in that love.   This can be a hard lesson to learn when we compare our lives with those of others.
The fact is that God loves even those we might count unlovable.   But, just think how much love there is for us as we see it burst forth and claim territory we would not have thought possible.   There is a story told about a minister whose wife had just died.   He and his young daughter were sailing to America to start afresh in a different scene.   On the Sunday of the voyage the captain had asked the clergyman to lead the service on the ship.   He did so and preached about the love of God.   After the service, father and daughter were standing at the ship's rail, gazing across the ocean.   She looked up at him and said, "Daddy, does God loves us as much as we loved mummy?"  "Look over that water and think how far it is." he said.   "Look down and think how deep it is.   Look up and think how high is the sky.   God's love is wider than the ocean, deeper than the sea and higher than the sky."   The little girl suddenly squealed, "That means we are right in the middle of God's love!"   What a discovery!
Every person in this world has access into that width, height and depth of love.   It's like a huge waterfall on the scale of the Victoria Falls with even greater power.   That is the scope of the love we know from God.   Like the waterfall or the great river that busts its banks, the love of God bursts through absolutely any barrier or convention.   God does not see boundaries.   His love is for all.   Now that is what I call good news!
Mary sat at the feet of Jesus to learn from him.   She could then be a missionary for him.   She saw the need for her and everyone to take on the ministry of the whole people of God.   That is how we need to see it today.   We can work within as many denominations as there are but we need to see our common purpose.   Together, we have a duty to preach the gospel of Jesus.   Agreement on every facet of church governance is not necessary providing we get on with the task to which we are called.
Praise God!   Remember that song, "Such love."

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