Martha, Mary and Advent

The season of Advent always brings to mind for me the story of Martha and Mary.  It is a story that has spoken to me so strongly through the years.

From Luke 10:38-40  (The Message)  As they continued their travel, Jesus entered a village. A woman by the name of Martha welcomed him and made him feel quite at home. She had a sister, Mary, who sat before the Master, hanging on every word he said. But Martha was pulled away by all she had to do in the kitchen. Later, she stepped in, interrupting them. "Master, don't you care that my sister has abandoned the kitchen to me? Tell her to lend me a hand."  The Master said, "Martha, dear Martha, you're fussing far too much and getting yourself worked up over nothing. One thing only is essential, and Mary has chosen it—it's the main course, and won't be taken from her."

I think the story speaks to me so much because I have both parts of Martha and Mary within me.  In the book "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World: Finding Intimacy with God in the Busyness of Life" by Joanne Weaver the author tells us:  "The thought intrigues us.  Deep inside of you there is a hunger, a call to know and love God...it is the heart-to-heart intimacy you long for.  Yet a part of you hangs back.  Exhausted, you wonder how to find the strength or time.  Nurturing your spiritual life seems like one more duty.  Martha appeals to our tendencies...what a hostess!"

The thing is, during the Christmas season especially, how can we not be Marthas?  There is planning, baking, decorating, countless events to attend...sounds like Martha will be in full gear, to me.  And in some ways Martha gets a bad rap...I mean is she not serving and practicing hospitality?  But it's when all those things wear us down to the point of exhaustion, that we truly do miss the point.  Where do we find Christmas peace when our "to do" lists are so long we don't even time to think, but only to do?  

But Jesus shows us the heart of Mary.  Mary definitely knew what she was "supposed" to do...I'm sure there was scurrying and chaos surrounding Martha's wanting to be a great servant and prepare everything perfectly for the Messiah.

But Mary was drawn to Jesus.  She was drawn to sitting with Him, to being with Him, to soaking up all He had to teach her, to the love that exuded from Him.  The story always strikes me that Mary seemed to have this wonder and awe in needed to be close and learn at the feet of Jesus.  He tells us in the this version of the Bible that  "only one thing is essential". That "one thing" is what I need more than anything else.  I hunger and need that heart-to-heart intimacy with a Savior.  Not just any Savior.  THE Savior.  The Savior who has come to save us.

Our church is experiencing the Advent Conspiracy (www.adventconspiracy.org) during Advent.  The focus is:  worship fully, spend less, give more, love all.  I can't help but think more about learning how to have a heart more like Mary.

There is so much that can distract us from the manger.  But having a Mary's heart makes such sense to me, and I want to strive to have that heart.  To be part of the story as never before.  To drink in the love, joy, peace and hope of that tiny babe that came to transform each of us.  Taking in the love of the one who came to transform all of us.  

A Mary's heart in a Martha world is really going against the culture of the world we're caught up in.  But a Mary's heart seems to be not only what I need, but what God wants of me. 

After all, Christmas is about the greatest gift of all -- Emmanuel, God with us.  That is just the gift I was hoping for.