“Bad Saints”?

“Bad Saints”?

 

 

 

 

 

“As they went on their way, Jesus entered a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house.  She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to His word.  But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she went up to Him and said, ‘Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?  Tell her then to help me.’  But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but only a few things are needed—or indeed only one.  Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her’” (Luke 10:38–42).

 

 

 

(1)   After meditating on Luke 10:38–42 at the mission field on Wednesday, February 18, 2026, I wrote this short meditation:

 

“Thoughts about Martha:

 

1.      A person who loves her neighbor and welcomes and serves them.

2.      A person who becomes busy in heart, anxious and worried, trying to handle many tasks alone.

3.      A person who needs help but has difficulty directly asking others for help.

4.      Then eventually, someone who may complain sufficiently out of dissatisfaction.

5.      A person who needs to reduce the amount of work rather than trying to do many things.

6.      A person who needs to choose well the one thing that is sufficient in the Lord’s sight.”

 

(2)   I looked back again at the short devotional reflections I had written so far about “Mary and Martha”:

 

(a)    “Power of Love” (July 18, 2009)

 

“When I read Henri Nouwen’s book Death, the Greatest Gift, there is a statement that says, ‘Action brings success, but being bears fruit.’  Through today’s English worship sermon, I had time to meditate on this once again. I believe that God is more interested in who I am (Mary) than in what I do or do not do for Him (Martha).  The reason is that God does not desire success from me (for example, success in ministry), but rather He desires my life to resemble the Lord.”

 

(b)   “Volunteers” (July 21, 2009)

 

“… It is my hope that all of us would know that obedience is better than sacrifice, and that before being ‘Marthas’ we would be people who are ‘Marys’; people who know the cost that must be paid for dedication and yet joyfully commit themselves; and people who take risks.  I earnestly pray that we would become pioneers who help build the community we belong to into a strong community that truly reveals God’s glory and exalts Him more and more.”

 

(c)    “God Who Rejoices in My Prosperity (Psalm 35:17–28)” (Oct. 13, 2010)

 

“… In an article titled ‘The Silent God’ by Won-Jun Song, he spoke about silence in this way:

 

‘God may remain silent. God brought Moses out of the royal court of Egypt and remained silent during the forty years he lived in the wilderness of Midian.  After anointing David as king at the age of seventeen, God remained silent until the time David ascended the throne.  God remained silent in response to Paul’s tearful prayer—the prayer of the one who evangelized the world as his parish—when he pleaded for the illness that had become a thorn in his flesh to be healed.  In the end God refused, saying, “My grace is sufficient for you.”  And God was silent toward the earnest prayer of a man on the cross who prayed, “Take this cup from me.” …  Henri Nouwen declared that the absence of God is like the active presence of God. … Because the psalmist did not know this fact, the silent God now seemed heartless to him.  But God is working diligently in the midst of silence!  Rather, God disciplines my heart in the midst of silence. … Rather, God causes us to pray in the midst of silence.’ (Internet)

 

While reading this article, I personally came to think that I should become more passive.  In other words, I once again resolved that I should become like the passive Mary rather than the active Martha.  The reason is that I was given the faith that when I become passive, God works and acts even more actively.  As we rely more and more on God and pray quietly, I hope that we will wait with expectation for God’s even greater and more active work. …”

 

(d)   “What Kind of People Should We Become?” (Dec. 19, 2010)

 

“… Rather than being busy with many preparations like Martha, we should sit at the Lord’s feet like Mary and listen to the Lord’s word (Luke 10:38–42).  And as we listen to the Lord’s word and obey it, we should become people whose character is increasingly shaped by the Word. In short, we should become people who resemble Jesus and Christians who remind others of Jesus. …”

 

(e)    “God’s Guidance?” (Oct. 3, 2017)

 

“…  3. God Who Leads Ahead and Then Causes Us to Stop

 

God leads us ahead, but eventually He causes us to remain before Jesus (Matthew 2:9).  When we are busily working for the Lord like Martha, God leads us before the Lord so that we may sit before Him like Mary and listen to His word (Luke 10:39–40). …”

 

(f)    “Burnout” (July 16, 2018)

 

“… In order to prevent physical weakness, which is one of the symptoms of burnout, we must also know how to rest when it is time to rest.  For work-oriented ministers like Martha, resting itself may feel painful.  However, like Mary, we must lay down our work for a while and sit quietly before Jesus and listen to the Lord’s voice. …”

 

(g)   “True Rest?” (Sept. 29, 2022)

 

“Could it be that even on the Sabbath, we who are workers of the Lord are exhausting our bodies and minds?  Why is it that on the Sabbath we are so busy with many church activities that we fail to experience true rest in the Lord?  Why do our bodies and minds become so busy every Sunday?  Is it because there are too few people to serve in the church, so that one person must take on two or three tasks?  Should we reduce some of the church’s work?  Shouldn’t we reduce the many tasks?  Shouldn’t the church reduce some of its programs or events?  Shouldn’t the church simplify in many ways, even through the pandemic?  Rather than worrying about many things like Martha, couldn’t the Sabbath become a day when we listen attentively to the Lord’s voice at His feet like Mary?”

 

(h)   “Sharing My Thoughts on Mission” (May 1, 2023)

 

“… 17. We need to make continual efforts to firmly and strongly establish local church leaders with the Word of God.  In that process there must be a humble heart that desires to learn God’s Word.  Rather than being busy doing the Lord’s work like Martha and becoming conscious of Mary and complaining, it is very important to have workers who are devoted—like Mary—to listening to the Lord’s voice before Him (Luke 10:38–42). …”

 

(i)     “After Reading My Beloved Daughter Karis’ Writing, ‘Looking Back on the Year with Henri Nouwen’s Beloved’” (May 3, 2023)

 

“… Another thing I would like to reflect on is the biblical story about Martha and Mary mentioned by Karis in her writing, as explained by Henri Nouwen (Luke 10:38–42):

 

‘In short, he (Henri Nouwen) says that the reason Jesus rebukes Martha is not because she is too busy serving Him, but because her own insecure behavior fuels her busyness.  He says that if our activity comes from insecurity about who we are, it may not serve the Kingdom.  It becomes an action without faith that wants to prove something and show something’ (Karis).  When I read this again, I thought that Martha’s unstable behavior comes from anxiety caused by a lack of assurance about who she is.  If we think about this in the opposite way, if Martha had possessed the conviction that she was God’s beloved daughter, she would never have acted in such an unstable manner.  She would not have been ‘distracted with much preparation’ (v. 40).  She would not have said to Jesus, ‘Lord, don’t You care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself?  Tell her to help me’ (v. 40).  In short, if Martha had been clearly convinced of her identity as God’s beloved daughter, she would not have been ‘worried and troubled about many things’ (v. 41), but instead ‘only a few things—or even just one—would have been enough’ (v. 42).  Like her sister Mary, she also would have ‘chosen the good part’ and would have been ‘sitting at the Lord’s feet listening to His word’ (v. 39).  As I think about this, I was led to reflect on how important it is for us to have a clear conviction of our identity as God’s beloved sons and daughters.  To put it in one phrase, it is the title of the book that Karis read by Henri Nouwen: Beloved.  If we have the conviction, ‘I am God’s beloved child (son/daughter)!’ then the actions (service) that naturally flow out of that assurance of being beloved will never be unstable (not worrying, not being anxious, and not comparing ourselves with the person next to us).  Rather, we will choose the better part in the Lord’s sight, sit before the Lord, listen to His word, and live a life of obedience. …”

 

(3)   Eugene Peterson said the following in his book “The Contemplative Pastor”:

 

“If we have no time to care for the essential things, we become bad saints—exhausted, anxious, and complaining. We become not the meditative Mary but the compulsive Martha.”