Here we find Martha multitasking. As it seems, multitasking continues to be a social phenomenon. It is rightly said that those who attempt to do two things at once do one neither well. Texting/taking while driving is so common today that those who engage in such behavior are completely oblivious to the inherent danger to themselves and don’t even regard/consider the danger to others. Only by focusing on one thing at a time can we do each properly.
Martha welcomes Jesus and his entourage into her home and feeds them. As Luke has just reminded us in the previous chapter (Luke 9:58), Jesus is dirt-poor and this much-needed service to our Lord is an act of love. Mary, on the other hand, is serving the Lord in love by being still and listening to Him as He speaks.
With both forms of service good and necessary, why does Jesus indicate one is “better”? For the answer, we need to remember that to everything there is a season. And one look at Jesus tells us which season we’re in. At this moment, Jesus is speaking. This means that this is the season for listening. How can we go about our busy lives in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) if we don’t understand the message? And how can we understand the message if we’re multitasking while only catching an average of every third or fourth word being said? Being still and listening to Jesus when He’s speaking is not merely polite, it’s essential.
“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10 NIV
