Finding Our Centre - Luke 10:38–42
Today’s Gospel reading presents us with a simple domestic scene, a visit to the home of two sisters, Martha and Mary which includes a small domestic squabble. But as is often the case in Luke’s Gospel, what seems ordinary is charged with deep theological meaning.
Luke 10:38–42 may be short in length, but it opens a profound window into Jesus’ vision of discipleship, and it speaks directly to our anxious, multitasking world. To appreciate the richness of this story, we must locate it in the broader flow of Luke’s Gospel and be attentive to some key themes in Luke’s Gospel.
Looking at the context in Luke’s Gospel, this encounter takes place while Jesus is “on the way” to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51 & 10:38). That phrase is not just geographical, it is also theological. From Luke 9:51 onward, Jesus has set his face toward Jerusalem, where he will face the cross. Everything that happens on this journey is shaped by this looming confrontation with power, suffering, and salvation. And our passage today opens with the words, “As Jesus and his disciples were on their way...”
Luke’s narrative carefully choreographs the stories of what Jesus does and says along the way to teach his readers the values of the kingdom. Just before this passage, Jesus rejects the way of retaliation and vengeance when he and his disciples are refused hospitality from a Samaritan village, next Jesus sends out the seventy two, then he teaches the parable of the Good Samaritan, and now visits the home of Martha and Mary.
These scenes are not random. They are offering a full picture of the life of discipleship:
- A Turning from Vengeance and Retaliation (moving on from the Samaritan village),
- The call to Mission (the sending out of the Seventy Two),
- The call to Service and Compassion (the parable of the Good Samaritan), and now..
-The call to Contemplation and Prayerful Attentiveness (Mary sitting at Jesus’ feet).
As we enter the story, in the home, we find two sisters: Martha, active, responsible, burdened by many tasks. Mary, seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to his word.
Martha is not a villain. She is doing what would be expected of a host, particularly a woman in that culture, welcoming, preparing food, ensuring hospitality. In fact, the Greek word used for her “tasks” is diakonia, often translated as “service” or “ministry”, the word a word that elsewhere in the New Testament is viewed positively and forms the root for the word Deacon. Luke is not rejecting service.
But what is being critiqued is distraction. Martha is ‘pulled away’, or ‘pulled apart’ by many things. That’s what the Greek implies. And it leads to inner frustration, anger and judgement that ends up putting her in judgemental opposition not just towards her sister Mary, but also pitted against Jesus himself: “Lord don’t you care! Don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself – she is angry and frustrated with Jesus for not caring - Tell her to help me!” Jesus however doesn’t get caught up in her vortex of busy, frustrated angry energy. Instead he replies, in what appears to be quite a relaxed and laid back kind of way: “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about so many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her”..
It is important to note that Jesus does not scold her for serving, but for being anxious and troubled about “many things,” when only “one thing is necessary.”
Those words ‘one thing’ takes us to Psalm 27 where the Psalmist speaks of ‘one thing’ - “One thing I ask from the Holy One, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Eternal
all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Holy One, and to seek him in his temple.”
That “one thing” is what Mary has chosen: to be present, to listen, to be receptive to the sacred Presence of Christ in their midst. And in doing so we she grounding herself in her own sacred centre.
Several characteristic themes of Luke’s Gospel converge in this short story:
-Reversal of Expectations: In a culture where men learned from rabbis and women served in the background, Mary’s posture—sitting at Jesus’ feet—is a quiet but radical act. It’s the posture of a disciple. Jesus affirms her in this role. Once again, Luke lifts up those on the margins and challenges social norms. Women are welcomed as disciples.
-The Priority of the Word: Luke emphasises the centrality of hearing and keeping God’s word of grace, and love. In the parable of the sower (Luke 8), the good soil is the one who hears the word and holds it fast. At the Transfiguration, God says, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” (Luke 9:35). Mary models this listening heart – just like Mary the Mother of Jesus does early on in the Gospel when she treasures these things in her heart.
-The Importance of Prayer in the life of discipleship: More than any of the other Gospels Luke shows Jesus life and action punctuated regularly by moments of retreat, of quiet withdrawal and prayerful stillness. Beneath all our activity, we need a quiet centre where we can remain in touch with the Holy and Eternal One. It is no accident that in Luke’s Gospel the very next passage is Jesus teaching his disciples how to pray. Mary in this passage models this life of prayer and prayerful attentiveness as she sits at the feet of Jesus.
-Lastly, Freedom from Anxiety: Luke often warns against the tyranny of worry. In Luke 12, Jesus says, “Do not worry about your life…” Here, Martha’s anxious busyness distracts her from the presence of Christ in her home. The call is to let go of the noise within and attend to the still, steady voice of Christ.
It is tempting to pit Mary and Martha against each other: contemplation verses. action, service verses prayer. But that misses the point. In the flow of Luke 10, these two modes are meant to be held together:
The Seventy are sent out in mission—active, outward, engaged.
The Samaritan shows radical mercy—crossing boundaries, responding with compassion.
Mary sits in silent listening—receptive, inward, open.
Discipleship includes all three dimensions. This is interesting in the context of the religions of the world, because Hinduism emphasises a similar threefold path. In the Baghavad Gita, one of the most loved of the Hindu Scriptures, three paths to the Divine are outlined. The first in the path of devotion, Bhakti Yoga symbolised by Mary seated in quiet devotion at the feet of Jesus. The second path is the path of wisdom, Jnana Yoga – symbolised by Mary listening intently to the words of Jesus. The third path is the path of practical service, Karma Yoga. This is the path that Martha is more naturally drawn to, but if it is to become holy or sacred service, it needs to be balanced by quiet devotion and wisdom.
What Luke is highlighting in this scene is this same emphasis on balance, that quiet contemplation grounds and nourishes action. Without the “one thing necessary”, without time at the feet of Jesus, or opening ourselves to the Eternal, the Holy One in our midst, our activity becomes frantic, angry, self-centred, and judgemental even if it is well-intentioned.
And so in closing, this story speaks especially to those of us who are busy, who serve, who care, who do. Like Martha, we may feel the weight of responsibilities pressing in. But Jesus gently invites us to a different way, a way of inner stillness, of intentional listening, of choosing the better part, learning to ground our action and service in a life of prayer and stillness, learning to allow our action and service to flow from our sacred centre.
Mary reminds us that the heart of Christian life is not what we do for God or Jesus, but what we allow God or Jesus to do in us and through us. Before we serve, we must listen. Before we speak, we must receive. Before we act, we must dwell in the presence of the Holy One who calls us by name and who dwells in the depth of our own being, for the Kingdom of God is within you says Jesus if we would only take the time to be still and listen.
In a world full of noise and rush, may we, too, choose the better part, finding our spiritual centre as we sit for a while in the Presence of the One who is our peace, our teacher, and our life.
Amen.
Today’s Gospel reading presents us with a simple domestic scene, a visit to the home of two sisters, Martha and Mary which includes a small domestic squabble. But as is often the case in Luke’s Gospel, what seems ordinary is charged with deep theological meaning.
Luke 10:38–42 may be short in length, but it opens a profound window into Jesus’ vision of discipleship, and it speaks directly to our anxious, multitasking world. To appreciate the richness of this story, we must locate it in the broader flow of Luke’s Gospel and be attentive to some key themes in Luke’s Gospel.
Looking at the context in Luke’s Gospel, this encounter takes place while Jesus is “on the way” to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51 & 10:38). That phrase is not just geographical, it is also theological. From Luke 9:51 onward, Jesus has set his face toward Jerusalem, where he will face the cross. Everything that happens on this journey is shaped by this looming confrontation with power, suffering, and salvation. And our passage today opens with the words, “As Jesus and his disciples were on their way...”
Luke’s narrative carefully choreographs the stories of what Jesus does and says along the way to teach his readers the values of the kingdom. Just before this passage, Jesus rejects the way of retaliation and vengeance when he and his disciples are refused hospitality from a Samaritan village, next Jesus sends out the seventy two, then he teaches the parable of the Good Samaritan, and now visits the home of Martha and Mary.
These scenes are not random. They are offering a full picture of the life of discipleship:
- A Turning from Vengeance and Retaliation (moving on from the Samaritan village),
- The call to Mission (the sending out of the Seventy Two),
- The call to Service and Compassion (the parable of the Good Samaritan), and now..
-The call to Contemplation and Prayerful Attentiveness (Mary sitting at Jesus’ feet).
As we enter the story, in the home, we find two sisters: Martha, active, responsible, burdened by many tasks. Mary, seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to his word.
Martha is not a villain. She is doing what would be expected of a host, particularly a woman in that culture, welcoming, preparing food, ensuring hospitality. In fact, the Greek word used for her “tasks” is diakonia, often translated as “service” or “ministry”, the word a word that elsewhere in the New Testament is viewed positively and forms the root for the word Deacon. Luke is not rejecting service.
But what is being critiqued is distraction. Martha is ‘pulled away’, or ‘pulled apart’ by many things. That’s what the Greek implies. And it leads to inner frustration, anger and judgement that ends up putting her in judgemental opposition not just towards her sister Mary, but also pitted against Jesus himself: “Lord don’t you care! Don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself – she is angry and frustrated with Jesus for not caring - Tell her to help me!” Jesus however doesn’t get caught up in her vortex of busy, frustrated angry energy. Instead he replies, in what appears to be quite a relaxed and laid back kind of way: “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about so many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her”..
It is important to note that Jesus does not scold her for serving, but for being anxious and troubled about “many things,” when only “one thing is necessary.”
Those words ‘one thing’ takes us to Psalm 27 where the Psalmist speaks of ‘one thing’ - “One thing I ask from the Holy One, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Eternal
all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Holy One, and to seek him in his temple.”
That “one thing” is what Mary has chosen: to be present, to listen, to be receptive to the sacred Presence of Christ in their midst. And in doing so we she grounding herself in her own sacred centre.
Several characteristic themes of Luke’s Gospel converge in this short story:
-Reversal of Expectations: In a culture where men learned from rabbis and women served in the background, Mary’s posture—sitting at Jesus’ feet—is a quiet but radical act. It’s the posture of a disciple. Jesus affirms her in this role. Once again, Luke lifts up those on the margins and challenges social norms. Women are welcomed as disciples.
-The Priority of the Word: Luke emphasises the centrality of hearing and keeping God’s word of grace, and love. In the parable of the sower (Luke 8), the good soil is the one who hears the word and holds it fast. At the Transfiguration, God says, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” (Luke 9:35). Mary models this listening heart – just like Mary the Mother of Jesus does early on in the Gospel when she treasures these things in her heart.
-The Importance of Prayer in the life of discipleship: More than any of the other Gospels Luke shows Jesus life and action punctuated regularly by moments of retreat, of quiet withdrawal and prayerful stillness. Beneath all our activity, we need a quiet centre where we can remain in touch with the Holy and Eternal One. It is no accident that in Luke’s Gospel the very next passage is Jesus teaching his disciples how to pray. Mary in this passage models this life of prayer and prayerful attentiveness as she sits at the feet of Jesus.
-Lastly, Freedom from Anxiety: Luke often warns against the tyranny of worry. In Luke 12, Jesus says, “Do not worry about your life…” Here, Martha’s anxious busyness distracts her from the presence of Christ in her home. The call is to let go of the noise within and attend to the still, steady voice of Christ.
It is tempting to pit Mary and Martha against each other: contemplation verses. action, service verses prayer. But that misses the point. In the flow of Luke 10, these two modes are meant to be held together:
The Seventy are sent out in mission—active, outward, engaged.
The Samaritan shows radical mercy—crossing boundaries, responding with compassion.
Mary sits in silent listening—receptive, inward, open.
Discipleship includes all three dimensions. This is interesting in the context of the religions of the world, because Hinduism emphasises a similar threefold path. In the Baghavad Gita, one of the most loved of the Hindu Scriptures, three paths to the Divine are outlined. The first in the path of devotion, Bhakti Yoga symbolised by Mary seated in quiet devotion at the feet of Jesus. The second path is the path of wisdom, Jnana Yoga – symbolised by Mary listening intently to the words of Jesus. The third path is the path of practical service, Karma Yoga. This is the path that Martha is more naturally drawn to, but if it is to become holy or sacred service, it needs to be balanced by quiet devotion and wisdom.
What Luke is highlighting in this scene is this same emphasis on balance, that quiet contemplation grounds and nourishes action. Without the “one thing necessary”, without time at the feet of Jesus, or opening ourselves to the Eternal, the Holy One in our midst, our activity becomes frantic, angry, self-centred, and judgemental even if it is well-intentioned.
And so in closing, this story speaks especially to those of us who are busy, who serve, who care, who do. Like Martha, we may feel the weight of responsibilities pressing in. But Jesus gently invites us to a different way, a way of inner stillness, of intentional listening, of choosing the better part, learning to ground our action and service in a life of prayer and stillness, learning to allow our action and service to flow from our sacred centre.
Mary reminds us that the heart of Christian life is not what we do for God or Jesus, but what we allow God or Jesus to do in us and through us. Before we serve, we must listen. Before we speak, we must receive. Before we act, we must dwell in the presence of the Holy One who calls us by name and who dwells in the depth of our own being, for the Kingdom of God is within you says Jesus if we would only take the time to be still and listen.
In a world full of noise and rush, may we, too, choose the better part, finding our spiritual centre as we sit for a while in the Presence of the One who is our peace, our teacher, and our life.
Amen.
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