When I was a kid, I was mesmerized by juggling. I remember watching various people juggle, trying to follow each ball and track it’s path and then adjusting my focus to watch the entirety of the activity. One time, I watched a guy juggle two balls in one hand, then three balls in two hands, then four balls, and I think he made it up to juggling six balls using both hands. Needless to say, I was in awe of his agility!
Life can be a lot like juggling—trying to keep many balls in the air, or the proverbial spinning plates. Whatever metaphor you prefer, sometimes we can have too many things happening at once, and getting overwhelmed can make for a frazzling existence.
Thankfully, Jesus spoke to this struggle of having too many balls in the air or too many spinning plates. Consider His first introduction with the sisters, Martha and Mary. This wonderful family invited Jesus for dinner at their home, and you can read about this in Luke 10:38-42. In these verses, it’s clear that each sister has a very distinct perspective on Jesus being in their home for dinner.
Martha is busy with all of the meal preparation—chopping veggies, baking bread, grilling meat, making salads and sauces, etc. Perhaps Martha was also cleaning the house, setting the table, organizing serving dishes, sweeping and endeavoring to be the quintessential hostess.
In contrast, Mary was sitting at Jesus’ feet and listening to Him teach. As a quick side note, in this culture and at this time, it was improper for women to be students or learners. There were very distinct gender roles, and being a student listening to a teacher was strictly for men, full stop. So not only was Mary violating the cultural norms by sitting at Jesus’ feet and learning from Him, she was also not supporting her sister by helping with all of the meal prep and hosting activities.
This was very bothersome to Martha as you can see in her words to Jesus in Luke 10:40b, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.” When I think about Martha’s words, I can see myself in those words. There have been many times when I was very busy doing the work of ministry, even overwhelmed with all of the demands, and I’ve been frustrated when observing others being non-productive and not helping.
It’s very informative to listen to Jesus’ reply to Martha and digest His perspective. Consider His answer in Luke 10:41-42, “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.”
Jesus answered Martha’s angst by disagreeing with her assumptions. Martha thought that Mary should conform to cultural norms, and she valued activity more than connecting with Jesus. In contrast, Jesus validated Mary’s choice while challenging Martha’s busyness and worry. His words to Martha echo in my soul when I find myself juggling too many things and trying to keep too many plates spinning. “Sarah, one thing is necessary. What choices are you making, and are you valuing your connection with Me to be your highest priority?” While I know that I have loads of things that I need to do, I can choose to include Jesus in everything, endeavor to stay connected with Him and prioritize our fellowship throughout each day! Let’s keep our fellowship with Jesus as our “one thing!”
