The Better Thing

The Better Thing

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:41-42 NIV.

Here’s another look at this familiar passage.

Jesus had stopped by at the town of Bethany - which was east of Jerusalem - where the sisters, Mary and Martha had stayed. When we remember that Jesus public ministry was only three years, and that this encounter with Mary and Martha must have been towards the later part of his ministry, it must have been quite close to the end of his time on earth.

His heart must have been filled with many thoughts about his impending death. He must have wanted to spend some of his last moments with those that were dear and close to him. His heart was heavy and perhaps he wanted to share what was on his heart in a small and close fellowship setting.

We see here two contrasting pictures of the two sisters, Martha busy around the kitchen attending to a quick fix meal and never had the time to spend with the Lord. Mary on the other hand, was a picture of serenity, “Mary… who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.” Martha’s attention was directed at what seemed important, but was in fact not as important as spending time with Jesus during his last weeks on earth.

We are always faced with the choice between what seems good and seems better. Sometimes we may be confronted with a situation where the ones we love may have a limited time with us due to some critical illness. We struggle between the priorities of what is needful. We get worried and upset maybe because things don't seem to be working out well. What do we do? I think sometimes they would want us to lay aside all our busyness and spend some quiet moments with them, talking, communing and just having good fellowship. In the midst of attending to their medical needs and physical needs, we need to realize the importance of spending as much time with them as possible.

What can be worst than to die alone or die a lonely person? It is most comforting to them when they have their loved ones around them as much as possible in the last days, weeks or months before they leave us for eternity. I hope we do not miss out on the one thing that is important, ‘to choose that which is better”.

I am glad that we managed to spend much time with Kathryn in the last year before she left us. We laid aside the trivial things and focused on the things that were important to her. We spent much time praying and fellowshiping together as a family even as we took care of her medical and physical needs. She would wait eagerly every evening for me to return home from work and eat together with her and the children. We used to enjoy simple activities such as playing word puzzle games like Scramble or Upwords on the iPhone together when her physical mobility became a bit more restricted. We spent much time together when we took her around for her medical consultation at the hospitals.

In her final weeks, everyone came around to be with her. And more importantly, we were there with her when she left us. When she finally left us for heaven’s glory, we were there with our family and close friends to bid her farewell. She was surrounded by those whom she loved and those who loved her deeply. In the midst of a difficult situation, I’m glad we chose ‘the better’.

MT
24 February 2011