Choosing the Good Portion (Luke 10: 38-42) 7/21/13

          Do you have an adopted family? A family who you choose to “adopt” just because everything feels so relaxed and easy? If you do, it probably started out with visits to a friend’s house, but somewhere along the way, you just began to enjoy your friend’s mom or dad as much or more than your friend. My mother was like that. I remember coming home from college and military service, only to find out that several of my friends had come by. They knew I wouldn’t be there. They just came by to have some ice cream and shoot the breeze with my mom at the kitchen table.

           The Bible doesn’t say so, but if you read between the lines, the family of Lazarus seems to have had that kind of effect on Jesus. The family lived in Bethany, just outside Jerusalem. Of course, Jesus had his own family and he had his disciples. Peter, James and John are referred to as the “inner circle” of Jesus, but Lazarus may have been his “go to” guy. Lazarus was arguably the subject of Jesus’ greatest miracle, when he was raised from death after four days in his tomb.  Even though Jesus knew what he was to find when he arrived, he wept when told of his good friend’s death. While there are a number of reasons for Jesus to have done so, at least one of them is the strong connection he had with Lazarus.  And Jesus’ connection with Lazarus went beyond his friend. Jesus enjoyed his visits with Lazarus’ sisters Martha and Mary as well. It seems that every time Jesus came to Jerusalem, he stopped by to see his friends in Bethany.

          Luke introduces us to Mary and Martha in the tenth chapter of his gospel. Sandwiched in between the parable of the good Samaritan and the teaching of the Lord’s Prayer is a short story about one of those visits to Jesus’ “adopted” family. It’s a very short story with a very big punch line. The Good Samaritan story is a powerful parable and the Lord’s Prayer is a powerful Prayer. But the story of Mary’s heart for relationship has a powerful signature as well.

          You know the story. It has been told and retold many times. Martha runs around making ready, doing all the chores of the house. She is tending to the details of hospitality and meal preparation and serving. You know what that’s like: a million details and not enough time or hands when they are needed. Into this fray comes sister Mary, who has left it all to Martha. Suffice it to say that Martha is less than happy. She’s so vexed she even complains to Jesus.

          Jesus tells Martha that only one thing is necessary. Don’t you know that just about threw Martha into a tailspin? But Jesus meant what he said. In the great scheme of life, only one thing was necessary. But what did Jesus mean? What was the “thing?”

In the 1991 movie City Slickers, Jack Palance plays the part of Curly, an aging cowboy who guides Billy Crystal and his friends on a dude ranch cattle drive. Crystal is on a quest to “find” himself, to find the smile he used to have in his life. Driving the cattle, Curly holds up his index finger and tells Crystal that life is “just one thing.” “Just one thing?” asks Crystal. “What is it?” Palance smiles wryly: “That’s for you to find out.”

Jesus goes on to say that Mary has chosen the “good portion.” Portion is an interesting word. The Psalmist tells us that “the Lord is my chosen portion” (Ps.16: 5); that “God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Ps.73:26); that “the Lord is my portion” (Ps. 119: 57), and that the Lord is our refuge, our “portion in the land of the living” (Ps. 142:5).   Portion is roughly synonymous with inheritance or share. Notice that at least four times in the Psalms, it is God or the Lord who is our “portion” or inheritance. Sure enough, the inheritance, or portion, that Mary is interested in is close fellowship with God. So Mary walks out of the kitchen, sits down at the Lord’s feet and listens to his teaching. What Jesus is saying is that Mary has chosen her inheritance wisely and at the end of the day, that’s all she really needs.

So Mary would have an answer to Curly the cattle drive foreman. Mary would tell Curly that her “one thing” is fellowship with her Lord, that the “good portion” is being in relationship with Jesus.

We live in a Martha world. We are so busy, getting and spending, going and coming, preparing. But just because the world seems to be set up for the Marthas doesn’t mean that they have the corner on wisdom. Far from it. While we all need to be like Martha, we need to know when enough is enough. We can all take a lesson from Mary’s heart.  Want to find your smile again? Grab Martha’s hand and come on in the den. Sit down with Mary. Take a timeout and a load off. Have a seat at the Master’s feet and listen to his teaching. That’s the one thing that is necessary. That’s the good portion.