Unlike his solitary, austere, denunciatory cousin, John the Baptist, . . .

Unlike his solitary, austere, denunciatory cousin, John the Baptist, Jesus received quite a few dinner invitations.  But that doesn’t mean that he was necessarily the life of the party, because with Jesus, you could never tell when he might say or do something that would make everyone else at the table cringe.  For example, he might ask the host why the guest list didn’t include the poor and the outcasts.  Or he might allow a disreputable woman to wash his feet—right there at the dinner table, mind you—as the other guests looked on in disgust and disbelief!

Still, there was something about Jesus that kept the invitations coming; and I suspect it was because he did not speak in a scolding, judgmental, holier-than-thou tone.  Even when he was challenging you and causing you to feel a bit uncomfortable, his voice was so filled with love that it was like he was calling out to your heart, encouraging you to become the person God created you to be.

Consider the story of Mary and Martha.  Mary is sitting quietly at Jesus’ feet, paying close attention to every word he says; while Martha is back in the kitchen, rushing to and fro, busily preparing the meal.  When she complains that her sister could be a whole lot more helpful, Jesus responds, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things.”

It seems like a harsh thing to say; but I don’t think Jesus is criticizing her work ethic, or even her desire to be a good hostess.  What he is pointing out is that, while Mary is content, Martha appears to be conflicted.  The Greek words used here for “worried and distracted” indicate extreme internal agitation, rather than merely fussing about the unfairness of the situation.

So why is Martha in such turmoil?  Maybe it’s because she secretly wishes that she could be out there sitting at Jesus’ feet too.  Maybe it’s because she’s angry at herself for being so compulsive (after all, the dinner doesn’t have to be perfect).  Maybe it’s because she resents her sister’s ability to ignore society’s norm (a woman’s place is in the kitchen) and dare to act like a male disciple.  Whatever the reason, the bottom line is that Martha has one eye on the meal and the other on Mary!

If we are honest with ourselves, we all have a little Martha in us, don’t we?  We keep envying our neighbor’s life, instead of enjoying our own.  We keep wishing we were doing something different, instead of focusing on the task at hand.  We keep thinking that our gifts and abilities don’t quite measure up, instead of realizing that each of us has something valuable to contribute.

We’re not told how Martha reacted to Jesus’ words.  However, my hunch is that she did not hear them as an insult, but rather as an invitation.  Jesus was lovingly calling out to her heart and saying, “Come, you’re welcomed to join us.”  And afterwards—at least the way I imagine it—Jesus helped with the cleanup.  After all, we know he washed feet.  Why not dishes?