Allow me to
introduce myself.
My name is Lucas,
though most people call me Luke. I am a physician by training, but I have taken
a leave from my medical practice to write a book about a man named Jesus. I
have heard much about this man—fascinating stories and accounts of amazing
feats. I was so intrigued that I had to investigate these tales for myself.
So I set about to
wander the countryside to find out all I could about Jesus. What fascinates me
most is that almost everybody I talk to mentions the same thing about him: the
way he welcomed outsiders—the poor, lepers, women, children, even Gentiles like
me.
Last week I stopped in a little
village near Jerusalem called Bethany. I had heard that in this village
there lived a family that was very good friends with Jesus. Two sisters named
Mary and Martha, and their brother Lazarus.
In fact, I had heard an unbelievable thing about Lazarus.
People were saying that Jesus had brought him back to life after he had been
dead for four days. Well, this I had to check out for myself.
Unfortunately,
when I arrived Lazarus was not at home. He was away on a trip to Jericho, and would be
gone for several days. But Mary and Martha consented to talk with me and answer
any questions I had about Jesus.
Of course, the
first thing I asked about was Lazarus being raised from the dead. They verified
that Jesus had indeed restored their brother to life. They had never seen
anything like it. It confirmed for them how powerful yet how loving God is.
I asked them how
well they knew Jesus.
Martha said, “Oh,
we knew him quite well. In fact we loved him very much, and he loved us.
Whenever his travels brought him to this area he made certain to stop and visit
us.”
“What do you
remember most about Jesus?” I asked.
Mary
replied, “Well, he was quite a man. The thing I remember most about him is his
unlimited love and compassion, and his patience.”
I asked them if they
remembered any specific incident when he visited; anything they could tell me
that might help me understand him better.
Mary said, “Remember that one time, Martha, when you cooked a
big feast for Jesus?”
Mary
turned to me and said, “Martha is one of the best cooks around. The things she
can do in the kitchen amaze me sometimes. I’m not one to do much cooking and
housework, but Martha is a dynamo when it comes to those things.”
Martha lowered her head a little and said, “Now, Mary, let’s
not bring up that visit. You know that’s a sore subject with me.”
“But Martha,” said
Mary, “I think it tells a lot about the character of Jesus, and it is
something that will help Luke to know Jesus better. Besides, you learned a
lesson from it, didn’t you?”
This sounded intriguing
to me so I pressed the matter further. I told them I was planning to write a
book about Jesus, and maybe this incident should be included in it.
Mary said, “Oh, I
think it would be wonderful if you wrote a book about Jesus. And I hope that
everyone in the world will read your book so they can know Jesus, too, and know
the way Jesus lived. You know, the way Jesus lived is the way all
of us should live. But people won’t know how to live like Jesus if they don’t
read your book.”
“Well,” I said, “it
sure would be nice if a copy of my book were in everybody’s home. I just hope
it doesn’t end up like other classics—you know, the kind of book everybody owns
but nobody reads.
“But tell me more
about this dinner you were planning for Jesus.”
Martha said,
“Well, when Jesus knocked on the door I was the one to open it. As soon as I
saw that it was Jesus I got excited because I so enjoyed having Jesus visit.
Then I saw the weariness on Jesus’ face, and the way he hugged me told me he
was very tired. He traveled so much talking to people about God and the way God
wants us to live. He walked from one end of the countryside to the other and it
tired him so.
“He got
emotionally exhausted as well. People were always asking him questions and
seeking advice from him because he always gave such wise answers.
“Some people, of
course, didn’t like the answers he gave because it meant they had to
drastically change their lives. Those that believed him, though, and had faith
that he knew what he was talking about discovered that his way of living really
is the best.
“He was a natural
storyteller, too, so the crowds always wanted to hear his stories. Sometimes he
kept them enthralled for hours, even days, with his stories.
“And, he was an
amazing healer as well. People always begged him to heal them or someone they
loved. He loved everybody so much that he never turned anyone away. But all of
that wore him out. He was human, after all. He got tired. He got hungry and
thirsty. He needed food and rest like anyone else.”
I cut in, “That is
very enlightening. It tells me a lot about what Jesus was like, and he sounds
like an amazing man. But what about this dinner?”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
said Martha, “I get so excited telling people about Jesus. Um…you’re sure you
still want to hear about that dinner?”
“Yes, I do,” I
said.
“Well, all right. Being
a wandering rabbi,” Martha continued, “Jesus couldn’t go home whenever he
wanted to. He relied on friends like us, or strangers sometimes, to feed him
and give him a place to stay. Many times he simply slept in a field or by the
side of the road.
“So whenever he
was near our home he stopped in to visit and eat with us. When he came this
particular time, as I said, I was the first one to welcome him in. Lazarus was
away on one of his business trips so I called for Mary to come and join us.
Then I started to straighten up the house a little as it was in a bit of
disarray.”
At this point Mary
chimed in—“Well, as much disarray as it ever gets. Martha is forever cleaning
and straightening and doing housework. Whenever something needs to be done
around here Martha is the one that rolls up her sleeves and does it.”
“Well,” said
Martha, “that’s the way I show my love for other people, by doing things for
them. And I wanted to show my love for Jesus by making him comfortable. I could
tell he was tired, and I thought he must be famished from walking the hot dusty
roads, so I began to prepare a meal for him. I didn’t want to make just a
little snack, either. This was Jesus, our best friend, someone we loved. Only
the best would do for Jesus, so that’s what I planned to do.
“I got out a bowl
of fresh fruit. I got the flour and oil to make bread. I went out back and
slaughtered a chicken to roast for the three of us. I planned on making a feast
fit for a king.
“I was working
very hard, preparing the chicken, baking the bread, and the whole time I’m in
the kitchen slaving away Mary is in the other room.”
I interrupted,
“You mean Mary wasn’t helping you make dinner?”
“Oh, no,” Martha
said, “leave it to Mary to shun her duties as a woman. She was acting more like
a man than a woman, sitting at the feet of a rabbi and learning from him. Only
men are supposed to do that, according to the rabbinic law. She was neglecting
her duties to assist in preparing the meal and Jesus was letting her get away
with it.
“But, you know,
that’s the way Jesus was. He never did care much about the rules and
regulations the religious leaders enforced. He was always breaking down social
boundaries. He associated with lepers, for heaven’s sake, and prostitutes
and tax collectors. He even talked with women like he cared about them. And
that’s what we loved about Jesus. He treated everyone equally, with love.”
“What exactly was
Mary doing in the other room?” I asked.
Martha replied,
“She was sitting at the feet of Jesus, listening to him. I would have enjoyed
listening to him, too, but somebody had to get the food ready. Somebody had to
do some work, but she left me to do it all by myself. She sat in there
listening to Jesus, totally focused on him, unconcerned about anything else.
Right then, nothing else in life mattered to her, only Jesus.”
“It’s important to
me to listen to Jesus,” Mary said, “because the words of Jesus are more
important than anything else in life, even more important to me than food. The
words of Jesus give us life. How can I listen to his words, how can I hear what
he has to tell me, if I am distracted by other things?”
I
asked Mary, “What was Jesus talking about that kept you so interested?”
“He was relating
an incident that happened on his way here. A lawyer asked him a question to
test him, to see how well Jesus knew the law. Jesus told him a story about a
man that was robbed and left for dead. A priest and a Levite just passed him
by without even helping. But a Samaritan stopped to help the man. Can you
imagine that? A Samaritan helped the man. And Jesus said the point of the story
was that everyone is a neighbor and
needs our help. When God says to love our neighbor as ourself he means we
should love everybody.
I asked Martha,
“So, how did you feel about Mary sitting there with Jesus while you were doing
all this work?”
“Oh,” Martha said,
“I was fuming. I’m sure Mary and Jesus heard me banging pots around and
slamming cupboard doors. Finally I couldn’t take it any more. I stormed in
there and I said ‘Jesus, don’t you care that I am doing all this work myself?
Tell my sister to help me out.’
“As I turned to walk away Jesus called after me
‘Martha’. When I turned around to face him, I almost melted from his gaze because
I saw such a look of compassion and pity in his eyes.
“And I still remember his words. He said, ‘Martha,
you are worried and distracted by so many things. Only one thing is necessary.
Mary knows what it is, and I won’t discourage her from it.’”
“Whoa,” I said,
“how did that make you feel?”
“Well, at the
time, at that moment, it made me feel a bit ashamed and guilty… and even a
little angry. But I realized Jesus was right. I was so concerned about doing
what was expected of me that I wasn’t giving my undivided attention to Jesus.
That is why Mary is right when she says that I learned a lesson from this
encounter.
“I tried to
tell Jesus what to do, while Mary let Jesus tell her
what to do. Too many times I want to tell God what to do instead of listening
for what God wants me to do.
“I learned that
all these other things that distract me are not important in the eternal scheme
of things. The most important thing in life is to listen to the words of
Jesus so I can try to live like he lived.
“All the things in
life that we chase after, all the things that we think we need, all the things
we worry about, none of them matter as much as Jesus. We think we need a good
home, a pool in the yard, two camels in the shed, and we’re always trying to
keep up with the Jonah’s next door.
“But it is not the
things we possess that makes life worth living. No matter how rich we are we’ll
always want more because wealth and possessions never satisfy us. Only Jesus
gives us true contentment. Jesus is what makes life worth living.
“Now, of course, I
am still Martha. I will always be one of those people that likes to do
things. That’s just the way I am. I find it difficult sometimes to simply sit and
think about what Jesus said.”
Mary said,
“Service is important, too, Martha. We need people that serve God by helping
others, just like Jesus said with his story of the Samaritan. If everybody just thought about Jesus' words and didn’t act on what he said, nobody would know about his love."
“Yes, I know,”
said Martha, “but we can’t only work for God, either. It’s easy for people like
me to love God with all our strength. We’ll do all kinds of physical things for
Jesus. And we’ll even love God with all our heart. But too often we let our
mind go to waste. We don’t take time to listen to God, to pray to God, to sit
in silence. Following Jesus requires both doing and listening. And Jesus
said the better part is listening. If we don’t listen to Jesus we’ll
lose our perspective and forget the reason why
we’re serving others.
“So I’ve learned
that sometimes I have to come out of the kitchen and get away from the things
that distract me and just think about the words of Jesus, because when the
words of Jesus enter my heart and mind that is when I truly learn the right way
to live.
“In the presence of Jesus I learn to listen, and the more I
listen to him the more I love him. While we’re going about our busy lives,
Jesus patiently waits for us to come and sit with him. I was so busy doing
things for him when what he really wanted was for me to simply be with him.
“So you write that
book,” Martha said, “and you make sure it gets to as many people as possible.
Because I know there are many people out there, just like me, that are worried
and distracted by life. They need to know that only one thing is necessary: to
sit at Jesus’ feet listening to him.”
I thanked Mary and
Martha for talking with me. They certainly helped me understand Jesus much
better.
My book is almost
finished. The publisher wants to print it very soon. It would be great if all
of you had a copy. I sincerely hope all of you take the advice of Mary
and Martha.
Read The Book.
Listen to Jesus.
