Meditation on Martha and Mary – The Choice

 January 18, 2022

This week I’m taking a break from my usual posts to have some fun. Join me in a journey to Bethany when Jesus walked the earth. Feel the hot sun beating down on you, the dusty road below your bare feet. Smell the odors of the crowd and taste the flavor of sweet bread newly baked. Listen to the words of the Teacher, and make your choice as you reflect on this meditation on Martha and Mary, Luke 10:38-42

The Choice

Chubby legs padded along the dirt pathway.

“Silas, wait for me,” the child cries out as she chases after her brothers. “Jacob, wait.” Her bare feet kicks up dust.

The boys were quickly lost in the crowd following the Teacher. Miriam sighed. She’d never catch up. Maybe she should go back home, help her mother like the other girls. But no, she wasn’t ready to give up just yet. She ran up to the crowd and slipped between the adults, looking for her brothers when a man stopped, smiled, and picked her up, putting her on his shoulders as he continued down the path.

He stopped at a house, set her down with a smile and sent her on her way while he entered the home. Miriam saw her brothers with some other children playing in the yard but snuck into the house, ending up in the kitchen where a tired woman was cooking and baking bread.

“What are you doing in here?” the woman asked. Then she handed Miriam a small loaf of sweet bread and sent her outside. “Go. Go out with the other children.”

Miriam took a bite of the sweet loaf then snuck into the other room with the adults. There was the man who had carried her, surrounded by men listening to his words. At his feet was a woman.

The woman from the kitchen entered. “Master, see how my sister wastes time among the men when I need her help. Tell her to help me.”

The man looked at the woman with love, “Martha, Martha, you are busy about many things. But Mary has chosen the better path. Leave her be.”

Martha frowned but obeyed the Master’s words.

Miriam looked from one to the other. She wanted to join Mary at the Master’s feet too. It looked so warm and comfortable. She wanted to sit with Mary and lean her head against the Teacher’s knee. Maybe he would pick her up again. But what of Martha? Maybe she should help her. She looked so tired, like her own mother who had let her go with her brothers today. Or should she go back outside with the children and enjoy this rare opportunity to play.

She stood where she was, unable to choose.

What do you choose?

If you are familiar with the Enneagram Harmony Triads, then maybe it’s a choice between following your head (sitting with the Teacher), your heart (helping Martha) or your gut (going out to play). Maybe today you choose one option, tomorrow another. What does Jesus have to teach you today from this meditation on Martha and Mary?

If you enjoyed this meditation and would like more, please let me know. I’d love to hear from you.

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