Living in the tension of being vs. doing
I’ve always thought Martha gets thrown under the bus.
Have you ever read or heard the story taught of Mary & Martha in Luke 10? Here’s how I’ve heard it taught a thousand times over the years: Martha welcomes Jesus into their home. She gets busy with all the preparations for the meal. Jesus is an important person & he is her prominent guest. While wearing herself out making all the necessary preparations to host Jesus she looks around & realizes Mary has not lifted one finger to help her. In fact, she’s no where to be found. And when Martha does find her, she’s sitting down! She’s listening to Jesus teach. Well, Martha can’t believe it. So she goes right up to Jesus & asks the one question that’s burning in all of our minds. It’s the one question she can’t wait to ask Jesus because she thinks she already knows the answer!
“Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” Luke 10.40 (NLT)
Martha can’t wait for Jesus to tell Mary to get busy. But instead, Jesus says this…
“My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10.41-42 (NLT)
At this point, we all realize the grand truth… Mary has chosen to be still before the Lord while Martha has chosen to be busy running around. So we should all be more like Mary.
Really?
Is that what Jesus was trying to teach?
I don’t think so.
Maybe I could believe it if we read this story in complete isolation. But even then we would have to misread it to make that conclusion! Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big believer in sitting quietly at the feet of Jesus to learn from our ever present Teacher. And that is certainly a worthy take away from this moment in the life of Jesus at the home of Mary & Martha. But can we zoom out the camera lens a bit & remember there’s a larger picture surrounding this moment? There’s a larger story unfolding?
If you just look at the story before this story you find one of the greatest stories Jesus ever told. We call it the story of The Good Samaritan. And what is it all about? A man who had compassion on someone in need, & did the necessary things to care for him. In fact, Luke uses twelve active verbs to describe the actions this man took to help the one in need. There were two other men in the story, you’ll recall. Religious men. On their way from (not to!) the temple. In this story, the ones who did NOT help are reprimanded & the one who did help is praised & held up as an example of what we should do. The samaritan is the hero of the story because he got busy!
So which is it? Be like the good Samaritan & help others, serve those in need? Or be like Mary & neglect serving others to sit at the feet of Jesus?
As Christians we constantly live in the tension of being vs. doing. Both are important. Both are incredibly challenging aspects of following Jesus.
As we look closer at the words of Jesus to Martha, one translation says it this way: “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10.41-42 (ESV)
I believe one thing Jesus is constantly reminding us who choose to follow him is simply this: Don’t be anxious or troubled. Don’t worry. Don’t fear. Lay your burdens down. Calm down. You’re in the presence of the Prince of Peace who gives peace that passes all understanding. So receive that peace & rest in that peace. Was the problem in the story that Martha was busy & that Mary was not? Or was it that Martha was anxious & troubled & that Mary was at peace? I would contend that life with Jesus isn’t the absence of serving & doing, but it is the presence of his peace in the midst of our lives.
Luke purposefully puts these two stories back to back. The Good Samaritan & Mary & Martha. In the first story he tells us to “Go & do likewise.” In the second he instructs us that sitting at his feet is the better way. Essentially I believe Luke is saying both are important, both are needed.
Sometimes we need to take action. We need to be actively involved in the lives of other people. Helping them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Read all of Luke 10 & see that Jesus tells us to pray for more laborers in the Kingdom! To heal the sick & announce that the Kingdom of God is near! There is work to be done. But there is also a time to sit at the feet of Jesus & be present with him. Be at peace with him. Learn from him.
Being vs. Doing
There is tension for us in this as well. It seems to me that it’s easy for us to emphasize doing over being. What I mean is that it’s easy for us to make lists of what we should do & shouldn’t do. We love to know the practical application. The takeaway. The bottom line. The action items. We want to know what we need to do so we can go & do it. It’s tangible. And so we spend a lot of our time busy. A lot of us are busy doing a lot of good things. I wonder if we’ve spent too much focus on doing versus being when it comes to living life in Christ.
In some ways doing is easy. Being is more difficult.
Doing is tangible. Measurable. I can check it off the list. I can see the difference I’ve made.
Being is intangible. It’s harder to measure. It happens over time in relatively small increments. And I can’t always see the difference until years later.
Both are important. Maybe the reason we resonate so quickly with the story of Mary & Martha is that we find ourselves leaning more towards being busy, towards being anxious & troubled. So Jesus’ words that Mary has chosen the better way sting. But Jesus words to Go & do likewise in the story before were just as earth shattering! The call wasn’t to help those who are easy to help. The hero in the story is the Samaritan. This story has lost it’s power for us because we know how it ends before it begins. But just imagine being left for dead on the side of the road & the only one who will stop to help you is… your worst enemy!?
So Jesus says this…
— Extravagantly help those whom you should never, by cultural standards, lift a finger to help. – The Good Samaritan: Luke 10.25-37
And,
— Let everything that’s urgent & extremely important wait while you take time to sit at the feet of Jesus & be still. – Mary & Martha: Luke 10.38-42
May you live well in the tension of being vs. doing this week. Take time to be. Take time to do. Honor Jesus in both.
Or, if you back up just a few more verses you’ll see that Luke tells it even better…
“‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” Luke 10.27 (NLT)
Please leave a comment below. And subscribe to my blog by entering your email address & you’ll get each new post delivered right to your inbox! Thanks!
I serve as the Co-Senior Minister at First Colony Church of Christ in Sugar Land, TX. I enjoy sports, running, fishing & life with the family. I’ve been in ministry since 1999. My wife Alisha & I have three amazing children, Will, Ella Grace & Emma Love. Thank you for stopping by my website!
