Finding the Balance Between Serving and Sitting with Jesus

Ever felt the sting of rebuke even while you are doing all the “right” things? That's exactly where we find Martha in Luke 10 hustling to serve Jesus while her sister Mary sits at his feet. But when Martha demands Jesus intervene, his response turns everything upside down.

Through this captivating retelling of Mary and Martha's story, we discover that Jesus was doing something revolutionary. Not only did he defend Mary's right to learn as his disciple (breaking significant cultural barriers for women), but he called her choice "the good portion." The Greek word used for Martha's activity is related to the word for "deacon" she wasn't doing anything wrong by serving. Yet Jesus gently rebuked her anxiety and distraction, challenging our assumptions about what matters most in our relationship with him.

This episode unpacks the powerful parallel between this story and Cain and Abel, both bringing different offerings to God with very different responses. We explore what it means to truly hear God's voice today and practical ways to create space for "lounging with Jesus" in our busy lives. I share my personal practice of journaling conversations with God and how taking time to simply be with Jesus transforms our service from anxious striving to Spirit-led ministry.

Whether you're the Martha always doing the work or aspire to be more like Mary in your faith journey, this episode offers fresh insights into how Jesus values women, breaks religious norms, and invites us all into deeper relationship. Ready to discover what "good portion" Jesus is offering you this week? Tune in, and let's recline at Jesus's feet together.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome back, friends , to Preach it Girl podcast,
where we're not just sittingaround waiting for Jesus' second
coming or Skinny Pop to make usskinny While those things are
bound to happen.
While we wait, join me, auntieLala, for a jaunt through the
scriptures so lively you'llthink they were written just
yesterday, not thousands ofyears ago.
Now put on your listening earsfor a somewhat sassy retelling

(00:26):
of stories from the Bible Y'all.
There are some seriously sassycharacters in the Bible and I
can't wait for you to hear theirstories.
You might be wondering who I am.
Well, shucks, I'm a sassy woman, just like you, who loves Jesus
, who has come to the conclusionthat Jesus loves women, and
especially, dare I say, thesassy ones.

(00:46):
Let's check into the story todayfrom Luke, chapter 10.
This story is about, I'd say,two sassy women of the Bible,
and they're, in a few stories,connected with Jesus.
I love so much how Jesus lovesMary and Martha.
He cares about their feelingsbut still stretches their faith

(01:08):
right.
He stretches them.
He treats them no differentthan he treats Peter and John.
So let me read about Mary andMartha from Luke, chapter 10.
Now, as they went on their way,jesus entered a village and a
woman named Martha, welcomed himinto her house and she had a
sister called Mary who sat atthe Lord's feet and listened to

(01:30):
his teaching.
But Martha was distracted withmuch serving, and she went up to
him and said Lord, do you notcare, do you not care that my
sister left me to serve all bymyself?
Tell her, then I mean, sheassumes that this is something.
She assumes that he cares andwill say something.
Tell her, then, to help me.

(01:52):
But the Lord answered her,martha.
Martha, you are anxious andtroubled about many things, but
one thing is necessary, and Maryhas chosen the good portion
which will not be taken from her.
Oh, martha got a little rebukethat she was not expecting.
Okay, you can just tell.

(02:13):
By the way.
She says do you see this Then?
Why don't you say this?
Surely he will correct her.
Martha's probably seen Jesuscorrect the disciples.
I don't know, maybe this istheir first time, this might be
the first time meeting Jesus.
That's not so, though.
In the chosen, I think sometimeswe paint Martha's actions as

(02:35):
okay, martha, you didn't get it.
Why are you being a littlepissed off that she's doing all
the work and Mary's not?
And you know the word that theyuse for what Martha's doing is
actually serving.
That word is the word that weuse today as deacon, as a
servant of the church, as aleader and server of the church.
So Martha wasn't doing anythingbad.

(02:57):
How dare Mary not be helping me?
I mean, I'm obviously doing agood thing, I'm serving the Lord
.
I think sometimes we do this too.
We are serving God, but wehaven't chosen the good portion.
That might speak to us busypeople.
We're out there working hardfor the Lord, but we're missing

(03:19):
the good portion.
And what is that?
Wow, in this story it is Marysitting at Jesus's feet lounging
.
She's lounging with Jesus.
You know, it says the discipleswere lounging with Jesus, like
leaning up against them.
This was Mary.
She was doing some lounging,listening to Jesus, and Jesus

(03:42):
says this is the good portion.
Wow, we need to think aboutthat.
But this story kind of harkensback for me.
It makes me think of Cain andAbel, because again they both
brought a portion of what theyhad to the Lord and Cain got a
rebuke.
The Lord thought Abel's portionwas the good portion.

(04:05):
Maybe Abel's was more of aheart sacrifice than Cain's.
Either way, the Lord reachedout and said Cain, why are you
so upset.
Just choose the good portionand everything will be cool.
And Cain didn't do it.
He was jealous as all get outand he murdered his brother.
So we don't actually see whatMartha did because it doesn't

(04:28):
tell us.
But we do see Mary and Marthalater, still in relationship
with Jesus.
So we know that Martha musthave had some maturity about her
and was able to receive arebuke from the Lord, just like
Peter did, just like thedisciples did over and over
again, as Jesus stretched themand stretched their

(04:49):
understanding of what servinghim looked like, of what serving
others looked like, and oftenit went against everything that
they knew.
So here's another part of thatstory that we often look over is
that Jesus was teaching.
He was considered a rabbi andhe's teaching Mary.
Mary is sitting up under therabbi, learning, which was not

(05:13):
acceptable at the time.
And it also makes me think alittle bit about when women are
preaching.
When I see there's a woman whoteaches women to preach and the
comments they're not from men,they are from other women
appalled that women would bepreaching or especially teaching
other women to preach.

(05:34):
It's a shame, but it does seemto be more women than men
speaking poorly about it.
And so they are adamant aboutsharing what they think, just
like Martha was pretty adamantand assumed Jesus would agree
with her.
What a shock when he didn't.
And it's a shock that God hasmoved the barriers out of the

(05:55):
way for women to take theirplace in the community of
believers, sharing theirtestimony and the word of God
with authority backed by theHoly Spirit.
Mary is sitting at the rabbi'sfeet, learning from Jesus, and
this was outside of the norm.
Another revolutionary thing thatJesus was doing within the

(06:18):
church he was preparing womenfor service, to share the word
of God with others over and overagain, and it pissed Martha off
.
She's like what?
How dare she?
You're not supposed to be downthere, you're not supposed to be
doing that.
And Jesus, you know she's notsupposed to be doing that.
So why don't you just go aheadand tell her, in front of God
and everybody, to get back up inthe kitchen with me?

(06:39):
But he didn't do it.
Matter of fact, he rebukedMartha and told her hey, mary
has chosen the good thing, solet's think about that you guys.
Let's take a little bit ofMartha's I would say maturity
and being able to handle thatrebuke and not break
relationship with Jesus andlisten.

(07:00):
What is Jesus saying to you now?
How is Jesus stretching youtoday?
How is he saying that's notwhat we're doing.
We're doing something else andI want you to choose the good
portion and I'm going to show itto you.
He says my sheep hear my voiceand he knows how to speak to you
.
So don't think he's notspeaking.

(07:21):
He is speaking to you.
Sometimes it takes me a littletime to hear from Jesus.
Sometimes I will do some littlebreathing exercises to calm my
mind, to get my mind in a quietplace so that I can hear him.
I do a little time in the word.
Actually my process.
I'll share it with y'all.
So I will take my journal outand I'll put a little heart for

(07:43):
Laurel talking, auntie Lala andI will start writing out my
prayers and then maybe myquestions.
Then I'll put a cross and thenthat's when I take the time to
listen and write down what Ithink God is telling me, and a
lot of times it's scripture.
I'm not saying I'm getting itright 100% of the time, because
I'm not, but I am hearing God.

(08:04):
He wants us to hear him, hewants to be involved in the
details of your life and he hasgood things for you.
Let's do some more of that thisweek.
Let's really take the time tosit at Jesus's feet and learn,
rest, recline with Jesus so hecan fill you up, so you can be
of service.
Sometimes we just get in a thingthat it's all up to us to get

(08:26):
it done and I think Marthathought that too, maybe even
judging those other people.
Look at them, they're not evendoing anything for Jesus.
Okay, I want you to do somereclining at Jesus's feet.
Maybe that looks like surfingout on the ocean and talking to
Jesus.
It does for me, but maybe itmeans something else for you
Lighting that candle, spendingthe time in his word and just

(08:47):
getting quiet and waiting on him.
Waiting on him, that's a littlebit different than serving him.
All right, I love y'all so much.
I hope you have a wonderfulweek and I can't wait to see you
back next time.
On Preaching Girl.