Holiday Survival Kit

Black Friday is over. Cyber Monday is upon us. One article caught my eye, promising you could survive Christmas if you do all your shopping online. “Survive” connotes a dim view of the holidays. Though I do not always succeed in following it myself, I know a recipe for Holiday happiness?—a Mary Christmas.

Though this analogy may be old, it never gets tired. While Jesus' visit to the home of Mary and Martha was not Christmas, it was as special as any holiday. And while Martha focused like a scud missile on dinner preparations, Mary made a beeline for the best spot in the house, at Jesus’ feet. While Martha was stewing in the disappointed expectations of a perfect meal, Mary was consuming the abundance of fruit that fell from Jesus’ lips. Martha busied herself with ‘every’ thing while Mary quieted herself with ‘one’ thing.

As we begin preparations for this year's Christmas festivities, let us not allow disappointment with secondary things—family, food, presents—to steal our joy from that which is primary. Jesus came to earth “that your joy may be full” (John 15:11). Don’t allow a “Martha” mentality to steal your “Mary Christmas.”

At His Feet

One of the sweetest stories in the Gospels has to be when Jesus visited the home of Mary and Martha. While Martha had her ‘feet on the ground’—she was sensible and practical, Mary had her feet up, relatively speaking! While Martha fixated on festal foods, Mary yearned for finer fare at the feet of Jesus.

“Sitting at one’s feet” is a timeless idiom, meaning “pay worshipful attention to.” And while Mary was setting her mind on Jesus, a mortally-minded Martha was being held hostage to the familiar. This was Mary’s “break-out” moment—not to do great feats, but to love His.

“Falling at one’s feet” is another timeless idiom, with similar meaning. The Gospel writers record a number of times people fell at His feet and worshipped Him. I wonder how much more they would have done so, if they had known His feet would one day be nailed to a Cross for them. How different was their unrestrained expression from our Sunday morning church-goers sitting at the foot of a stage sipping coffee and eating doughnuts.

Do you think of yourself as a Theologian?

“Theology” is, succinctly, the study of God. By this definition, we are all ‘theologians.’ But believe it or not, some theologians do not use the Bible as their source, but try to figure God out through sense or science. Of course they will never know God this way (1 Co. 2:14). Pity the poor theologians who try!

As soon as we come to Jesus, we are automatically enrolled in His school of theology—“Come and learn from me” (Matt. 11:28). And as His students, we have a responsibility to make sure our beliefs are Biblical (1 Tim 2:15). And, as in any school, we should expect to be given tests to validate that we are really learning.

One of the more passionate theologians in Jesus’ day was Mary, sister of Martha and Lazarus. Sitting at His feet, she learned theology from the One who called Him Father. Her first theology test came when Jesus didn’t come in time to save her brother Lazarus from death. Her disappointment was crushing. Would her theology hold up?

As theology students, we can expect many tests. And evidently, these tests will increase at the end of the age. Daniel predicted that good theologians would face severe tests in order to be “refined, purified and made spotless until the end” (11:35). Will our theology hold up?

Come and Sit for Awhile

I love the story of Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42) for its offering of spiritual insight: in particular, as we see Mary sitting at Jesus’ feet, listening intently to “every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4).

Sitting teaches us that our hearts must be at rest and our minds still, before we can give God our undivided attention. When Altha and I have something important to discuss, we don’t stand in the kitchen; we sit in the living room. Preoccupation with the affairs of this world will “stand” in the way (pun intended) of quiet time with Jesus. When Jesus finished His work on earth, He sat down next to His Father (Eph. 1:20).

Sitting at someone’s feet is an act of humility. Mary positioned herself below Jesus. God waits to speak to the child-like, humble person (Matt. 11:25). Sitting as Mary did is a picture of subjection—the position of the true disciple in the presence of his Master. I don't mean to be cavalier with this comparison, but my daughter and he husband just got a dog. And the first think they taught their little puppy was to sit. Why? Sitting is the position of submission—of obedience.

Can you hear Jesus saying come and sit for awhile “and learn from Me [listen to me, submit to me, obey me] and you will find rest for your souls”? (Matt. 11:28).

What Kind of Friend Are You?

Not a week goes by that I don’t get a request to be someone’s Facebook friend. What’s surprising is that I don’t know who they are! I think social networking is redefining friendship. I do realize there are all ‘types’ of friendships: the “hi, how are you,” the “stay-in-touch,” “let’s do lunch,” “chat-after-church.” And then there the friends you share your heart with.

Toward the end of his earthly ministry, Jesus promoted the disciples from servants to friends, describing a friend as one who shares his thoughts and plans—the secrets of his heart (John 15:14-15). This is reminiscent of God’s relationship with Abraham: “shall I hide [my plans] from Abraham” (Genesis 18:17). Up to that point, Abraham’s relationship with God was that of a loyal servant. But on that day, Abraham was promoted—from servant to friend. Accordingly, as a friend, he feels free to question God about His plans—Abraham shares his concerns and in return wants to understand God’s heart. I think Abraham’s questions must have pleased God.

Jesus said to the disciples “if you are my friends, you will keep my commandments.” At first blush that sounds more like servanthood than friendship. But Jesus is saying something like this: “before you obeyed me as a servant does his master, but now I want you to obey me because you love me and want to please me.” They were promoted from ‘workers for’ to ‘partners with.’

By the way, the story of Mary and Martha sheds light on this subject. While Martha was serving Jesus in the kitchen, Mary was sitting with Jesus in the parlor. So what kind of friend are you? Do you spend more time in the kitchen or the parlor? Maybe this is your promotion day!