Only one thing

Luke 10:38-42 NASB

Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord's feet, listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up  to Him  and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me." But the Lord answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her."

My thoughts -

For as much as I hate to admit it I've always been more of a Martha than a Mary. Sure, I'm a musician, an "artistic type" with long hair, sandals, and a beard. I like to think I'm a "live in the moment" kind of a guy, but not really. I can bury my head in my work and get bogged down in preparation and logistics with the best of them. The sad fact is if Jesus came back and showed up at my church on a Sunday morning I might miss Him because I was too busy getting "ready" for worship.

That's what Martha is doing here, in a sense. Jesus is their guest. Martha is busy with preparations for the guest. Mary is busy experiencing the guest. Mary is in the room. Mary is in the moment. Martha is preparing. Not that there's anything wrong with preparation but look at what Martha is missing out on! She's distracted because there are things to do to prepare for Jesus but Jesus is right there!

As a worship leader there are things that I have to do to prepare for worship. There are things to be planned and rehearsed. There are logistics. Worship services don't just happen by themselves. But when the service starts Jesus is right there! Preparation time is other. It is time to experience worship. It is time to be in the room. Too often I miss this. I am sure that I am not alone.

I don't know all the preparations that Mary and Martha needed to make in advance of Jesus's arrival. I don't know how much lead time they had. I don't know if Martha wasn't the kind of person who would fuss over the preparations no matter how well prepared she was. But I am certain in my own life that the earlier I prepare and the more disciplined I am in that preparation during the week the more "in the moment" I can be for worship.

There are times to prepare and there are times to experience the Risen Lord. Preparation isn't a bad thing. It is necessary. But we can't allow preparation to keep us from experiencing Jesus. Mary sat at Jesus's feet and listened, hanging on every word. Martha missed out on that because she had her head buried in preparation. Mary was in the room. Martha was in the next room fretting.

"Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her."