Good morning…
Traveling into a hard day, a hard decision, a hard dialogue? Open or closed? The choice is ours.
“As they continued their travel, Jesus entered a village,” says the Bible in Luke 10:38-42 (MSG). A woman by the name of Martha welcomed him and made him feel quite at home. She had a sister, Mary, who sat before the Master, hanging on every word he said. Both sisters begin the day wide open to the presence of Jesus. Welcoming him. Making him feel quite at home. Sitting with Jesus, hanging on his every word. Then the day’s drama unfolds: But Martha was pulled away by all she had to do in the kitchen. Mary remains open and attentive, but Martha pulls away, closes off, shifts her focus from Jesus to “all she has to do.”
Martha grows jealous of Mary and Jesus, so Later, she stepped in, interrupting them. “Master, don’t you care that my sister has abandoned the kitchen to me? Tell her to lend me a hand.” Who has abandoned who? Closed off to the “with-God-ness” available in the living room and in the kitchen, Martha interrupts, “Jesus, don’t you care? Mary gets you and I get the kitchen? Tell my sister to help me right now.” In other words, Martha says, “Jesus, tell Mary to stop being attentive to you, to join me in my angry, closed-off state.”
Beneath all the emotions, here is the truth. Jesus’ presence fills the home of Mary and Martha. He cares about both sisters deeply, unconditionally. Jesus does not abandon Martha, she chooses to disconnect her heart from his. Jesus is not moved to meet Martha’s demands, in her time frame, according to her agenda, in a way that makes her feel good. Unplugged from the power of God’s peaceful Spirit, Martha frantically tries to take control.
Calmly responding to Martha in her crazed, closed-off state, The Master said, “Martha, dear Martha, you’re fussing far too much and getting yourself worked up over nothing. One thing only is essential, and Mary has chosen it—it’s the main course, and won’t be taken from her.” The Holy Spirit of God is the one essential thing, the main course sustaining everyday life, the lifeline that will not be taken from us. The question becomes: “Will I take myself away from God?”
We can choose to be open to God’s presence, moment by moment, or we can choose to be closed. Open, we feel welcoming and at home. Active and attentive, we sit in our souls, hanging on Jesus’ every word. Closed, we feel pulled off center by “all I have to do.” Frantic and fussing, we disturb God’s peace.
Facing a hard plan, a hard person, a hard possibility? Open or closed? The choice is ours.
