Sunday Reflections on The Southerner Newspaper
Sunday, July 20, 2025
(Genesis 18: 1- 10a, Luke 10:38-42).
“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things; one thing is needful. Mary has chosen the good portion, which shall not be taken away from her” . (Luke 10 : 41-42).
My dear brethren in Christ, Peace and Love of Christ be with you. Today, we are celebrating another of God’s blessings to us. Today, God through the voice of the Church, presents to us the need to streamline our desires and aspirations to what actually matters. Those things that pertain to our growth as humans; spiritually, economically, socially and otherwise.
There is no doubt that our ‘wants’ are numerous but, indeed, the ‘need’ is very few. Our ability to decipher or distinguish between them marks a strategic point towards growth.
Our reflection today will be split into two parts anchored majorly on the Gospel of Luke where Christ uses two sisters, Mary and Martha, to teach us the need of a good choice. The choice between our needs and our wants. The first part will be taken from Luke 10: 40-41, where we see Martha, the elder sister, working herself out to ensure that everything needed to make their guest (Christ and His disciples) comfortable, her sister’s indifference and Christ response.
The second part, which is the conclusion of chapter 10 of the Gospel of Luke (verse 42), brings to bare Christ’s response to Martha about the sister, Mary’s indifference towards them (the guest). These two fractions make the whole of out today’s reflection.
In the first part, we are being presented with Martha, who represents a fraction of the Christian community. A fraction who are over zealous with the doctrines and traditions of daily living without identifying the reason or objective of many things that have become a norm today.
One thing is clear, when we do not understand the objectives of a particular doctrine or tradition or culture, abuse becomes inevitable.
We continue to float even when we are right, we can not fully actualize the aim. In verse 38 of Luke chapter 10, we can see that Jesus’ visit to Martha’s house was not premeditated.
Jesus with His disciples were traveling and upon reaching that very village, Martha decided to welcome him into her home and offer some hospitality. She was aware of Jesus’ personality and, perhaps, what He represents, but lost to identify the essence or weight of His presence in her home as to maximize the opportunity to her advantage.
She was very concerned, like many of us, about ‘na so we dey do am’, the conventional or traditional lifestyle. Perhaps, going to look for drinks or food etc to make her guest comfortable while on the other hand, her younger sister was seated at the foot of Jesus listening to Him.
Martha confronted Jesus to release Mary to assist in fixing things to entertain a great guest but Jesus gave her a very apt response, that though she is trying to give them comfort, it should not be at the expense of those things that matter most to her.
In the second part, verse 42 of Luke chapter 10, Jesus told Martha that Mary has actually chosen the better part and it will not be taken away from her. For she has used the opportunity available to her advantage. Mary was seated at the foot of Jesus, listening to His teachings, having a first hand experience of Divine Visitation and Encounter because she understood the reality and essence of such experiences and is using it to her advantage. No one gives what he does not have (Nemo quod non dat habet) and in the journey of life, our advantage is heightened by our wealth of experience and knowledge.
These two tools are essential to growth and success and that is why Mary left the sister Martha to pursue them, putting herself in a more advantageous position over her sister.
So, Mary represents those Christians and enlightened minds who understand the basis of a policy or principles, hence uses it not just to their advantage but also achieving and maintaining the objectives of such policies.
In other words, achieving the same goals but applying different methods, not disrupting the flow of things.
My dear brethren, many of us are like Martha, we are too disturbed about a lot of things, many of which are not necessary though could be important, things we can do without (WANT) . The human insatiability lies in his unending craving for too many things at the same time which cannot be met eventually, at most 60-65 percent can only be achieved.
These Wants range from the fight for acceptance and wanting to feel belonged, desires to be acknowledged and being at the top, desire for power and wielding more money than needed.
Unfortunately, these things limit us, prevent us from attaining true happiness because when they seem not to achieved, frustration begins to creep in. This Martha’s attitude is everywhere, both in the Church and in the civil society. Most times, we tend to criticize one another for not following a particular tradition or doctrine to the fullest and hence brand them ‘sinners’ or ‘evil’ without understanding the objective of such traditions whereas the one we are criticizing is achieving the set out goals through his own human abilities.
On the other hand, it is only a few who seem to remain focused to the objective, concern themselves with what is necessary (NEEDS). It is only few who seem to understand that, it is not all about keeping the laws like the Pharisees but also achieving the essence of the law. Not allowing yourself to be limited with what is not necessary to growth and success.
The dynamic world keeps evolving, so must we through strategic planning and disposition in order to achieve success.
Many would ask, is it not good to entertain your guests, give them hospitality and make them feel comfortable? Of course, it is but you do not go sleeping under the rain while giving out your home for hospitality. But Martha’s case can be likened to where one invests in religion but those around him are wretched. That individual becomes religious without being spiritual. That is misplaced priority. He believes in the God of multiplication without knowing that the channel of the multiplication is the wretched neighbour (a generational wealth, is a well distributed wealth).
However, we need not just wisdom but also discernment to be able to identify real life opportunities for our growth and success in order to use them to our advantage. One thing is to see or be in a place or position without knowing that that is our life time opportunity. Martha had the opportunity but did not use it to her advantage while Mary did just like Abraham who identified the three angels and that was the beginning of his miracle of Isaac.
Many persons might have passed or passing but he identified these men as agents of his miracle. Above all, we must bear in mind that ‘man is not made for the Sabbath but Sabbath for man’.
May the Peace and Love of God that surpasses all things, rest and abide in our hearts. Amen.
Our choices form the state and extent of our progress.
