Mary and Martha Meet the Prodigal Father

 

In Luke's gospel, we have the interaction between Jesus and the two sisters, Mary and Martha. Jesus was at their house, presumably for a meal. It seems that there are others there as well and Jesus is teaching them, as He often did. Luke tells us that Mary is seated at Jesus’ feet listening to what He is saying, while Martha is busy with the preparations. In verse 40 of Luke chapter 10 we have the question that Martha asks Jesus, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do the serving by myself? Then tell her to help me.” Martha is focused on action and all that needs to be done. Martha sees that while she is doing much, her sister is doing nothing. She asks Jesus to command Mary to help her. Jesus’ response follows; “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things;  but only one thing is necessary; for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41-42) Jesus calls Martha distracted. He says that Mary has made the better choice and He tells Martha that He will not command Mary to help. 

I wonder which was the bigger issue was for Martha; that she was doing all the work alone, or that Mary was receiving from Jesus and she was not. Regardless, Martha wasn’t happy and was looking for what she perceived as justice. Instead, she was corrected! Mary was resting. Martha was working. Mary was with Jesus and Martha felt alone. I wonder if it was an issue of priority for Martha; that the work should be done first and then they could rest and receive from Jesus. Perhaps for Jesus, it was also an issue of priority; just in the opposite order! 

In Luke 15 Luke records Jesus telling a series of 3 similar parables, the last of which is titled “The Lost Son” or “The Prodigal Son”.  The word prodigal means spending money or resources freely and recklessly; wastefully extravagant; having or giving something on a lavish scale. In the parable, the younger of two sons insults his father by asking for his share of the father’s estate so that he can leave home and do as he wishes. It is not the appropriate time for the father to divide and give out the inheritance to his sons, but he yields to the request of his son and gives him his share.

The parable tells of the wasteful, sinful lifestyle and choices the son makes. Eventually, these choices leave the young man destitute, starving, and without any money. Humbled, the son returns home with a plan to repent to his father and ask to be a hired worker for him and the brother. But the father is lavish too. The parable tells of him running to greet his wayward son and embracing him. Instead of anger and punishment that would have been expected, the son is greeted with love, acceptance, and forgiveness. The father welcomes the young man fully again as his son and throws him a party. This angers and confuses the older of the two sons. The older son had remained faithful to work at home for his father while his younger brother was off wasting and ruining his life. The older son is jealous of the reception the father gives his brother and angry that he was received back with love and honor.

This is reminiscent of Mary and Martha. Martha was jealous of Mary sitting and receiving when she was working. Perhaps Martha, like the elder brother, felt that favor and receiving from Jesus was something to earn. If they looked to what they had done and were currently doing, they could see that they were serving and giving. They were being faithful and productive. In light of that, it is not hard to see why the lavish behavior of the father or Jesus was baffling. Why is the father receiving the son who insulted him, wished he was dead, and then wasted the inheritance he was given? Why is Jesus rewarding the lazy sister who has left someone else to do all the work while she sits and listens as if there’s no meal to prepare?

The older son, just like Martha felt that he was missing out on something. His father was throwing the “bad” son a party while the “good” son was out in the fields working, just as he had always done. This faithful son asked why a party had never been thrown for him! These are the words of the father’s reply to the elder son in the parable “Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours.” (Luke 15:31) The father is not celebrating the younger son instead of the older. The father tells his older son that he sees his son’s faithfulness and that there is nothing he would withhold from him. “All that is mine is yours!” I wonder if the older son had ever asked his father if he could have a party with his friends. I believe it was in the father’s heart to celebrate both his sons!

Likewise, Martha saw Mary receiving from Jesus and instead of pulling up a cushion and sitting down herself, she wanted Jesus to send Mary to the kitchen. Martha wanted it equal, but so did Jesus! I believe Jesus wanted them both to receive His words and His love. But unlike what Martha was asking, He wasn’t going to stop the one who was receiving from doing so. I believe Jesus was inviting Martha to make a new, different and better choice. Martha could choose to sit and receive as well.

I’ve been thinking of how we tend to focus on effort and accomplishment. We are more comfortable receiving something when we feel that we’ve earned it. Our culture, with its focus on action and merit, teaches us that blessing, advancement, and favor are a result of performance. We judge ourselves and expect to be judged by others based on what we do and how well it is done. But love teaches a different lesson altogether. The message of Christ in scripture is not one of performance in any way! It is quite the opposite; where you are asked to receive that which you have not earned and could never be found deserving of!

Martha was just as worthy of sitting at Jesus' feet and receiving from Him as Mary was. But perhaps she didn’t believe it. Maybe she thought she needed to earn that right. Maybe she was just focused on being responsible and wanted to serve!

The older brother was no less deserving of a party than the younger brother, but the younger brother had been lost and the father was not worried about offending his older son in order to celebrate this reunion. The father goes out and pleads with his older son to join the festivities. He wants both his sons with him in his joy and celebration. Justice and jealousy can rob the older son of this experience. What does he decide?  We don’t find out. The parable ends with the father's words to his older son; “Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours.  But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.’” (Luke 15:31-32) 

In those words we have the heart of the prodigal father; the heart of Jesus. Even when we see ourselves as far from Him, the truth is He is close to us. Jesus says to us “Son/Daughter, you have always been with me!” Even when we’ve been angry or going our own way. Even when we are jealous or judging others, He is not pulling away from us. In our humanity, we often think that someone else receiving something means that there is less for us. But Jesus is the one who says to us, “All that is mine is yours”. Jesus holds nothing back, His word promises us that He will provide for all our needs. He gives us access to peace, joy, hope, and strength. Lastly, Jesus is always focused on celebrating and increasing life. His eye is always on the one who is weary, hopeless, destitute, and in need of rescue. He wants all His children with Him, sitting at His feet, fully present at the party! He came that we would have life and life abundant. (John 10:10) The truth is that there is more than enough in Jesus for us all to have fullness. There is no lack, no fear of running out or missing out. But it must be received, it cannot be earned.

Just like the prodigal father invited the older son to the party, Jesus invited Martha out of the kitchen. Jesus is lavish with His love and celebration, He wants all to receive from Him. To receive we need to believe that we are worthy, simply because Jesus says so. We cannot earn it or perform for it. He is enough and when we believe that, we can see that in Him, we are worthy to receive all that He has prepared for us to receive.