Luke 10:38-41 English Standard Version (ESV)
Martha and Mary
38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things,
Notice carefully that it was Martha that made the invitation. Look at this act in the same way we ask Jesus into our lives. While Jesus was speaking Martha busied herself with playing her role as hostess. This was a role she was brought up to fill, perhaps as the older sister, perhaps as the head of the household.
When we invite Christ into our lives do we seek to play our role as we know it or do we seek to listen and to discover what our Lord has to say? Look to Martha’s question. “Lord do you not care?” About what is irrelevant, Martha is asking the Lord to care about her concerns. Jesus answers truly, as always.
“Martha you are anxious and troubled.”
Break this anxiety down into its component parts. Martha is playing a role and is anxious to serve in the capacity of the responsibilities she learned when growing up in another life. Any failure to perform according to those responsibilities by her own standards will reflect upon her in that role. She is fearful of being judged by standards which her guest, Jesus, has not placed upon her.
We come into this relationship with Jesus with an expectation of what Jesus wants without waiting to hear what Jesus has to say. We are preconditioned to expect according to who we think we are in playing our role set in another life.
Servants wait for orders before following orders.