And [Martha] had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving... Luke 10:39-40, NKJV

You've got to admire Martha's heart of hospitality.  Jesus came to her town, and without any apparent hesitation Martha happily received Jesus and presumably His twelve disciples as her very own guests.  A tall task for even the most experienced of hostesses.  Intent on providing refreshment and replenishment for the traveling party, I imagine Martha pulling out all the stops, wanting only the best for her Lord.  It was an all-hands-on-deck kind moment, but Martha's sister Mary didn't get the memo.  When Jesus was pressed into playing referee and reprove Mary for her lack of participation in the meal prep, our Savior took the opportunity to set the record straight about what's really priority in our relationship to Him.

A RUNWAY OF REFOCUSING

Before we dive further into the meaning of that conversation, I think it's worthwhile to point out that Luke compiles several service-oriented stories in this same chapter of his gospel (Lk. 10).  

And in each of these stories is woven an underlying thread of re-directing our focus in ministry.  

When an expanded group of 70 missionaries return from successfully fulfilling their assignments, Jesus couples His affirmation of their victory over Satan with this exhortation:  "rejoice because your names are written in heaven" (Lk. 10:20).  In other words, joy in ministry shouldn't be wrapped up in what we accomplish for God but the fact that our standing with God is secure.

Just a little later, Jesus illustrates what it means to love God with all and to love our neighbor as ourselves through the familiar parable of the Good Samaritan.  The hero of the story stands in contrast to a priest and a Levite -- those whose very occupation was to serve God.  And yet, their ministry for God was void of any love/neighborliness toward others around them.  The underlying redirection here?  Service for God isn't just about fulfilling appointed roles and positions; it's about investing in relationships and people.

ONE THING IS NEEDED

When we get to the heated conversation in Martha's home, we shouldn't be surprised to find Jesus redirecting our focus in ministry yet again.  In fact, this time He narrows it down to one thing:

And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.  But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:41-42

What exactly did Mary choose that her sister neglected?  Mary chose to invest the best of her time and energy into sitting at Jesus' feet and hearing His Word (v. 39).  She chose to respond to the first calling of any disciple, i.e. to be with Jesus (cf. Mk. 3:14).  Before any commission to go on God's errands is the invitation to abide in God's presence.  

Above all we want to do for Jesus, the one thing we need is time with Jesus.  

Ironically, Martha initially welcomed Jesus into her own home, but she allowed her perceived responsibilities get in the way of meaningful connection with theLord.  As a result, she ended up relating to Jesus in some pretty regrettable ways -- accusing Him of not caring about her plight and even audaciously telling Jesus what to do for her (Lk. 10:40b).  It's no wonder that Luke describes Martha as "distracted with much serving" (v. 40a).

Friends, I believe God calls each of us to partner with Him in fulfilling His mission, but as we say YES to that, let's fix our hearts on the primary intent of this call to service:  to be with Jesus.  Our service becomes a distraction the minute we allow our focus in ministry to center around the tasks we accomplish, the fancy positions we hold, or our flurry of activity.  In all our serving, let's choose to prioritize the one thing we need.