Micah, Martha, and Mary

Micah 6:1-8
Luke 10:38-42
I have to admit that most of the time I am like Martha. That’s not to say that I am particularly industrious, but I am “worried and distracted by many things” (Luke 10: 41). Maybe you understand what I’m talking about: job, family, social obligations, bills, shopping, the jerk in the car in front of me with the “wrong” political stickers! And just when I start to move one way, I find that something is pulling me in a different direction altogether. Sometimes the results are not pretty. I get frustrated. I frustrate the people around me––especially the ones I love. I just want to give up and go back to bed.

The song, “Times Like These,” by Foo Fighters offers a glimmer of hope in such circumstances:

It's times like these you learn to live again
It's times like these you give and give again
It's times like these you learn to love again
It's times like these time and time again

I wish it were that easy just to “learn to live again.” But then, to hear Jesus and Micah talk, maybe it really is. “What does the Lord require of you,” says the prophet, “but to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8)? “Mary has chosen the better part,” Jesus tells Martha, “which will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:42). Maybe easy isn’t the right word, but at least there are steps to be taken, a proper approach to living that offers us the chance to “learn to live (or love) again.” It involves deciding what the most important things are in life and sticking to them. Attention to the word of the Lord was Mary’s choice. Micah called for justice, loving kindness, and humility before God. Do these things and you will begin to meet God’s expectations. Do these things and you will gain that which can not be taken from you. Do these things and—I’m willing to bet—the other things will begin to take care of themselves. Or not. And if they don’t, then they probably weren’t worth the worry in the first place. So, if you are a “Martha” like me, pull up a chair and let the dishes wait for a while. Micah, Mary (and Jesus) have something to share with us.

Prayer: Lord, help us to let go of the unimportant aspects of life and to hold firmly to those things which you offer. But most of all, O God, help us to know the difference. Amen.