“The pursuit of excellence is gratifying and healthy. The pursuit of perfection is frustrating, neurotic, and a terrible waste of time.”  Edwin Bliss

 

Meet the Martha Stewart of Bethany, a woman with whom many can relate.  Strong-willed and energetic, Martha was all about her check-off list.  What do I need to do next?  She lived with her sister Mary and her brother Lazarus and freely welcomed friends as well as strangers into her home. Religious leaders, the “Who’s Who of Bethany,” and virtually anyone in need, including her close friend, Jesus, knew they had an open invitation to this home. It was there she learned to prepare a meal with little advanced notice for her guests.  With no Whole Foods in site.  I hyperventilate thinking about it.

Martha’s downfall, like mine, is her life could easily become unbalanced when she took on too many tasks.  It appears that she missed some sweet opportunities for relationship-building when she allowed herself to become too busy.  After all, she was not about to have people whisper about leaving her house hungry.  Not on her watch. Sound familiar?

Then there’s Mary.  Aah, Mary, who saw no great need for unnecessary things like schedules and household chores.  What fun was that?   “Let’s just visit” was her motto.  “And the house will take care of itself.”  Mary was almost childlike in her hunger for truth – especially spiritual truth.  So sets the stage for Jesus’ visit to their home as written about in Luke 10:38-42, NRSV.

Now as they went on their way, He (Jesus) entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what He was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to Him and asked, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.’ But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.              

Free-spirited Mary was all about relationships, and even though it was unusual for a woman to sit among men, Mary reclined as close to this friend as possible.  What other people thought of her was of no concern!  She did not care that some called her flighty and irresponsible.  She was there to hang onto every word spoken by the Rabbi, the Messiah who, unbeknownst to her, was just a few weeks short of his death.

I once read that perfectionism is doing things right while excellence is doing the right thing. Which woman represents you?  Many theologians say that we should be more like Mary, but both women offer lessons about balance in our lives.

Interestingly, Martha appears to desire that sweet fellowship with Jesus but knows that the group of visitors would consider her inconsiderate if she did not feed them.   She, as the “hostess with the mostest,” wants her guests to be taken care of, but as she labors over her stove and hears the mumblings of conversation in the other room, she realizes she is missing out.

If you’ve ever labored outside over a hot grill while your friends recline inside, cheering for their favorite sports team, you get Martha’s frustration.  The only time they include you is to remind you how they want their burger cooked or to give them a gluten-free bun. Not fun.

Mary, as opposed to Martha, appears not to care about physical food.  She wants spiritual food and recognizes that she is sitting at the feet of the only one who can satisfy that need. There always will be time to enjoy Martha’s stew, but who knows when Jesus would pass this way again?

What we need to take from this story is that to become so self-righteous in our good works that we start to judge others for not doing as we do does nothing to please the Lord.  Our careers/ministries require attention, but not so much that we neglect our time with God.  One is exhausting, and one is exhilarating.

As someone once said, “Select the best, and you will have rest.”