Room at the Table

Lent began today with Ash Wednesday, a reminder that from dust we came and to dust we will return.

I’ve decided to take a different approach to this reflective season this year. Rather than focusing on fasting and other spiritual disciplines, often practiced alone, in my small congregation we will consider how Jesus drew people in on His journey to the cross. In particular, we’re looking at stories and parables around food and hospitality, welcome and nourishment, that come up on the route to Jerusalem.

Jesus knew what was coming and yet still drew the circle wider and invited people in, wanting them to be able to “taste and see that God is good”. He even invited Himself over to share in fellowship with people and to enable transformation, learning and grace to fill their lives. As He was perhaps already experiencing grief about what He would have to endure and how it would impact those He cared about, He kept ministering and making a difference for people needing hope and healing.

This Sunday we’re starting off by looking at Mary and Martha. Jesus has been asked to dinner and Martha is busy in the kitchen and annoyed that her sister isn’t helping but instead sitting at Jesus’ feet. Beyond the counter-cultural and amazing fact that a woman would be welcomed to sit at the feet of a rabbi to learn as a man would, we have the familiar tensions of siblings. I would hazard a guess that Martha was the older sister and used to ruling the roost and making sure everything got done.

This is a familiar story, and reading it again I noticed some things that I’m still wondering about. Was Martha’s frustration her default mode of being, or was she more stressed because she knew how important Jesus was and was anxious about hosting the great rabbi in her home? Could she sense that God had come to dinner, and was she questioning her worthiness? Or with Jesus being a known friend, was it all about Mary not pulling her weight so that Martha could have chance to visit with Jesus too?

I’m reminded of Genesis 18 and the three visitors to Abraham’s tent. Somehow he knows that God has come in the presence of these men and he can’t do enough to offer them hospitality. He leaps into action, commanding Sarah and the servants to prepare the best of what they have for these uninvited guests because he knows that this is an important meeting. Sarah, like Martha, is in the background overhearing what’s going on. Abraham and Mary are front and centre with God, soaking up this opportunity to commune with the divine.

Often Martha gets a bad rap. For those who don’t like the take charge kitchen ladies or type A personalities in the crowd, it can seem like a less focused way of being has won out here. God prefers the people who aren’t running around but who live life slowly seeking zen. And yet I think the story goes well beyond this to offering grace to those who struggle to find their place, who maybe aren’t able to coordinate a meal, or who just haven’t got the self-discipline or wisdom to do what is needed. In Jesus’ presence we find ourselves and our worth again, especially if we don’t always meet society’s expectations.

Jesus’ comment to Martha is about her being worried about many things. How many of us fall into that camp, and instead of laying our stresses at Jesus’ feet our anxiety and tiredness comes out in snippy comments? The meal was no doubt lovely and appreciated, but Martha’s attitude showed her own struggle that probably had several layers. Work was needed to prepare for and offer hospitality. Perhaps Mary wasn’t being given a free pass on that, but taking time with Jesus helps to restore us so we can do the work and find direction and identity. Without taking the opportunity to sit at His feet and be in His presence we miss something so important. The work can probably wait and will happen better after we’ve taken the time with Him.

As Lent begins, my prayer for you and myself, is that we take the time. We don’t let the endless to do list or the pull of keeping busy every second to drown out our sorrows or difficult emotions or struggles get in the way of time at Jesus’ feet. The perspective of being seated below someone gives them honour, implies our openness to learning and comfort, and reminds us of Who is more important. May we take the time to listen, to share our burdens, and to accept the rest and care we are offered all throughout Lent. Then, refreshed, we can return to the work we are called to do.