“Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “You are worried about many things, but few are needed—or indeed, only one. Mary has chosen better part, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:40-42)

This exchange unfolded in the home of Mary and Martha and Lazarus , who were entertaining Jesus and all twelve of his disciples for dinner. As they waited, Jesus was talking to his friends about God, while Mary sat at his feet listening.

Whenever I have asked a class which sister was most like themselves, the majority have always responded that they identify with Martha. They cannot see how Jesus couldn’t understand that there would be no dinner at all without the work of Martha, and what was Mary doing except enjoying herself?

They are right , I believe, to focus on the dinner, as this incident is all about feeding and being fed; but Jesus draws a different conclusion in responding to Martha’s request. He displays his love for Martha in addressing her as he does, and he’s not unmindful of her generous hospitality. Later in their relationship, at the death of her brother, it was to Martha that Jesus said, “I am the Resurrection and the life.”

Nevertheless, Jesus is unequivocal when he says “Mary has chosen the better part.” While Martha is feeding the literal body of Christ and his disciples, Mary is being fed spiritually at Jesus’ feet. Jesus draws a distinction between feeding and being fed, and tells us, along with Martha, that receiving supernatural food, the kind that he called “the bread of life” is more important even than satisfying our physical hunger.

Most of us are eager to see relief from hunger in the world, and we want to help those who are experiencing it. We all want to feed our families and provide delicious meals. We know how to feed others, but to be fed requires a willingness to come to Christ and sit at his feet. It’s a willingness that God looks for in His people, a quality Jesus seeks in his followers. It’s hard to be fed when we really want to feed others, but Jesus says clearly , being fed by Him is always the better part.

Love in Him,

Prue