Dear Luke,
You lifted up an interesting image
in your last letter—the idea that Christianity is similar to a wedding
reception which the bride has left, leaving us behind like a band without a
leader, waiting for the bride’s return.
Now, we certainly believe that Christ has sent the Holy Spirit to be
with us, and that Christ himself continues to dwell with us in some way, but it
is a bit odd to picture a wedding reception carrying on long after the center
of attention has left, but we believe it is how we are called to live. I will admit that it often doesn’t feel like
much of a party, especially when we wrestle with teachings like the one dealing
with the Samaritan helping the beaten man.
It’s far easier to relegate individuals we don’t like to some distant
category and hope that they will not be a burden on us, rather than helping
every downtrodden person we stumble across.
Sometimes you just want to get to Jericho, but life interferes. Jesus places such a lofty ethical standard
before us that it is a struggle to live up to it, and some days it is tempting
to find a place to hide out and escape the demands of the world.
After telling that story, Jesus
went on to a village where he was welcomed into the home of a woman named
Martha. Now, you and I have both hosted
people in our homes, and we know the demands and expectations of a host, and we
can imagine how intensified those pressures might be if the host were someone
as well-known and respected as Jesus.
This woman Martha felt overwhelmed by these pressures—she had so many
tasks to do that she was unable to devote herself to spending time with
Jesus.
Martha noticed that her sister Mary
did not assist her in the tasks. She
merely sat before the Lord and listened to him teach, her attention hanging on
every word. Rather than be amazed at her
devotion, Martha quickly grew frustrated by Mary’s inaction and went to Jesus,
asking him to order Mary to help, wondering if Jesus cared that Martha had so
many labors to do while Mary sat, in Martha’s opinion, idly by.
If Martha was looking for a
sympathetic ear, he did not find one.
Instead, Jesus told Martha that many things were distracting her,
causing her heart to worry. Jesus
instructed her to focus on one thing only, and that Mary has chosen the better
way, which will stay with her.
I have no record of what followed,
but I cannot help but wonder at Martha’s reaction. I know how many hosts and hostesses will not
set down their tasks no matter how many times they are asked to do so and join
the party. But I have never seen Jesus
ask a host that! Perhaps Martha was so
stunned by Jesus’ response that she followed his command and sat with him to
hear his teachings, to spend time in his presence. Or perhaps she turned away in a huff and
believed that she was the only one willing to do any real work while everyone
else sat around and talked. I don’t know
which solution would surprise me more, but I hope that Martha chose to focus on
one thing, to sit and hear Jesus, and be changed by the experience.
Luke, so often my life is filled
with distraction and never bother to sit and spend time with Jesus. I know that he is there, but I fail to
acknowledge him and slow down for him.
It always feels like I have so much to do—but I can almost hear the
voice of Jesus telling me to slow down and focus, so that I may grow. Your letters have helped me slow down, and I
pray that they have been a gift for you, so that you may hear Jesus for who he
is and see him in his gentle ways, in his wisdom and single-mindedness, that
the world’s distractions might melt away as you seek.
Sincerely,
Theophilus
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