Jim Wehner
FCS Urban Ministries
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one, Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:41-42 NIV
I love this Scripture. It shows so plainly what Jesus values most. He doesn’t soft-pedal it to protect Martha’s feelings. He doesn’t honor the backward frustration that Martha has expressed with her anger toward Mary. Martha asked for this. She opened her home to everyone to come and meet Jesus. She becomes consumed with the preparation and activity of ministry. What could be more Spiritual? In reality, Martha is modeling one of the deadliest realities that Christ followers face—Spiritual Activity. Ministry Activity is important right?
Unfortunately, by personality, I relate to more to Martha than I do to Mary. There is just too much ministry to be done…too much need. I invest a tremendous amount of effort and passion in my work. I always have. I am not good with half-hearted commitments. Organizationally this works well because I don’t shy away from responsibility. I tend to be pretty organized and dependable. I prefer strategic direction to haphazard leadership. I like clean job descriptions, job titles and clear communications. But you see rub right? I naturally—just three sentences above—equate ministry to work and completely disregard ministry as an act of worship.
This is why I am joining in the fast this year with Leroy and Donna. It is an act of setting down what is important to me in order to think about and listen to what is important to God. I do not relish the physical and Spiritual battle of fasting. I am not entering from a place of strength. Rather I enter from a place of weakness and need. I enter from a place of longing for more depth.
A quick story…
I played miniature golf in Italy this summer. Believe it or not, it is one of my best memories from my time there. My wife, Jolyn, and I spent a couple of weeks traveling this past summer celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary. At the end of the day we were talking with the group of people that we traveled with and all of them were bragging about the food they ate and the things they bought as they shopped the tourist laden streets. Don’t get me wrong, we enjoyed the food and made some small purchases of the local merchandise. But the memory I cherish most from that day is the off-the-beaten-track walk, hand in hand, with Jolyn. We actually got lost and as we were finding our way around the town. We ended up in a residential area. We toured a small cemetery looking at dates and we sat and watched a family care for the plot of another family member. We toured an unheralded church (basilica). Suddenly as we came around a street corner we found a small park next to a lake that had a miniature golf course. We decided to play (even though money was tight). We laughed and took our time, unhurried and glad to be in the moment.
The funny thing is how little I do this with God. As I fast this week, I am hopeful of many moments like this where I emulate Mary’s choice rather than Martha’s. My prayer is that you have the same experience.
“…Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”