Overflow Or Undertow?

"A furious squall came up..." (Mark 4:37)

Friends, are you familiar with squalls? They are brief, sudden, violent storms that are famous for having high winds. Here in the Northeastern United States we are accustomed to snow squalls: one moment everything is just fine, then in a couple of minutes visibility plummets as the wind blows snow; it's a wind so strong that the snow seems to be a horizontal precipitation instead of its usual serene descent from sky to land. And then, in a few minutes, it's all over.

Perhaps that's a good analogy, a good lens through which to view the account of Jesus at the home of Martha.

Martha, as we heard on Sunday, was busy. After all, a social "squall" had come up. Jesus dropped by the house, and apparently no one gave Martha advance notice that He would be stopping by. So Martha stepped up to the plate and started preparations so that proper hospitality could be shown to Jesus and His disciples.

Mary, the sister who gained some notoriety for an incident involving herself, Jesus, and some perfume (see John 11:1-2), was at the feet of Jesus. She sat at His feet and listened to what He said (Luke 10:39). And for her, there seemed not to be any squall afoot.

In a culture where women did not study with men, Mary seized an opportunity to learn from the greatest Teacher who was also her Savior and Lord. And Martha seized an opportunity to do what was culturally correct. But in her zeal to be a great hostess, Martha dared to give Jesus an order: "You tell Mary to help me!"

Wow.

And Jesus seized an opportunity to teach another lesson. "Mary has chosen the better part."

Mary, tradition-breaker Mary, radical-worshiper Mary, extravagant-giver Mary, got it right. We would do well to follow her lead.