Luke 10: Calming the Divided Soul at the Feet of Jesus

Introduction

"The message I bring you this morning is a message that will change your lives. It is a message that will change my own life if I put it into practice." With these words, Olivier Favre of Centre de Vie opens a sermon on a well-known text: Martha and Mary receiving Jesus, in Luke 10:38-42.

The text is simple, he warns, but it holds three levels of understanding, and one of them will touch each of us. People often read it as a contrast between the active sister and the spiritual one, or as a warning against too much activity. Olivier Favre wants to go further. Drawing on three Greek words, he shows what Jesus discerns behind Martha's busyness: an anxious soul, pulled in every direction.

It is a message for the summer, when many people leave on vacation. But above all it is an invitation to stop, to sit at Jesus' feet and to receive the portion he wants to give you.

Outline of the Message

1. A Family Loved by Jesus, Three Levels of Reading

In this home, probably in Bethany, live three siblings. The preacher assumes that their parents have probably died, that Martha is the owner of the house and the eldest, and that all three are still young and have no children.
What is certain, according to the Gospel of John, is that Jesus loves Martha, Mary and Lazarus (John 11:5). He loves everyone, of course, but as a fully human man on this earth, he also had particular friendships. "He had friends."
Jesus even wept when Lazarus died (John 11:35). "It is truly moving." Something special is going on in this family.
First level: Martha, busy with the household chores, would be materialistic, and Mary, the younger sister, would be spiritual. That is not entirely wrong, but what follows shows that both are deeply spiritual. When it comes to going to find Jesus for Lazarus, Martha is the first to go.
Second level, often heard and better: Martha is very busy, it becomes a trap for her, and we need to be less busy. "That works out well, because we are all very hard-working, very busy."
Third level: Jesus detects something else behind it. Martha is analytical, operational, proactive. She has that innate sense of responsibility often seen in the eldest child of a family. She is a woman of initiative.
Jesus says to her: "Martha, Martha." In the Bible, when God names someone twice (Abraham, Jacob, Samuel), there is a particular emphasis. Something powerful is happening.

2. A Soul Pulled in Every Direction

The text literally says that Martha was "distracted" by all her serving. The Greek verb perispaô means to be distracted, preoccupied, overloaded with worries, and literally to be pulled in every direction.
The term is negative: it signals mental overload and anxiety. Martha's problem is not working too much, nor welcoming Jesus, nor serving. The verb to serve, diakoneô, gave us the word ministry: Martha has a ministry.
"The problem is in her thoughts." Perhaps she lost her parents and took charge of her brother and sister. You too may carry a responsibility in your business, your family, your household. That is right, but a deep anxiety comes to be layered on top of that sense of responsibility.
The preacher compares this state to the divided soul spoken of in the letter of James (James 1:8): a soul that is split, with at least two voices.
Today, multitasking is prized. Olivier Favre admits he used to be proud of following a meeting while reading articles and writing. "But where is the quality?" What does this restlessness reflect?

3. Martha's Problem Is Not Mary

Second verb: Jesus tells her, "you are anxious and troubled." The verb merimnaô means to worry, to be anxious, to have a divided mind. This is an even deeper level.
Martha feels a sense of injustice: "Lord, don't you see that my sister is doing nothing?" You hear this in couples. The preacher mentions the cliché of his generation: the exhausted mother at 6 p.m. after homework, school and meals, and the father who comes home full of energy. He remembers that when his children were small, all the energy he had was to stack Legos before falling asleep on the floor in the middle of the noise.
The same happens in ministry: "It is always the same people who serve." He has heard it for forty or fifty years. As a sociologist, he disagrees: human beings want to serve, and at the same time they are lazy. It is up to us to convince and encourage.
We have all felt that sense of injustice because someone else did not do their part. But Jesus says it to Martha: "Martha's problem is not Mary. Her problem is herself."

4. An Exhausted Society Under Pressure

Olivier Favre cites a recent Swiss study: nearly 40% of employees regularly feel emotionally exhausted at the end of the day, more than a quarter remain reachable outside working hours, about a third lack time to rest, and 42% often or very often suffer from stress.
One employee in five finds it almost impossible to balance work and private life. 17% of the working population say they have already had a burnout, one person in four considers themselves at risk, and up to 40% of people living in Switzerland will go through a depressive state at least once. "What is happening to us?"
He sees good news in this: if you are going through a depressive state, you are normal. It is normal for Martha to be agitated. That is why vacations were created: "We need to stop."
He shares a rare word: "ultracrepidarian," someone who gives opinions on what they do not master. Pliny reports that a shoemaker corrected the sandals in a painting, then wanted to criticize the rest, until the painter told him that a shoemaker must not judge beyond the shoe. We are surrounded by opinions, social pressure and expectations that generate stress.
We are caught in a headlong rush: with one child, we would like three; with one career, we regret other studies. A well-known hairdresser in Châtel, about 80 years old, told him that in Sicily 65 years ago, he had only four career options. "The world has become so free, so extraordinary, and so stressful at the same time."

5. Let the Lord Reprogram Our Thoughts

The Lord wants to reprogram our thoughts. This is not slavery: it is what Paul describes in Philippians 4:4-7.
"Rejoice in the Lord always!" The joy of the Lord is the starting point, and it begins to calm our thoughts. Then comes gentleness, linked to the nearness of the Lord: "The Lord is near."
"In nothing be anxious," but make your requests known to God by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.
When he writes this, Paul is in prison, in a situation far worse than that of the Philippians. He has learned the secret of prayer and of unloading his burdens onto Jesus.

6. The Good Part: The Best Piece

Mary sits at Jesus' feet and listens to his word. Martha, for her part, lives two realities: she sits down, gets up, leaves, comes back. She probably listens, but with a divided soul. Mary has only one.
"One thing is needed." The third word refers to the portion: a piece, the fillet, the best piece of a banquet or a feast. Both sisters eat, but Martha eats many things and does many things without having sorted them out.
Mary receives the good news. Olivier Favre confides that he turned to Jesus at 17, after a Christian upbringing, and that he has not yet fully understood divine grace: "If I had understood it, my nights would be better, my days would be better." Every day he needs to understand better the grace that sets free and that lets us enter into the works prepared beforehand.
Activity is not unhealthy in itself: someone has to prepare the meal. It is Mary again who will anoint Jesus' feet with perfume worth 300 denarii, a year's wages (John 12:3-5), an extravagant worship that Jesus honors.
Martha, for her part, will learn to choose the good part: we meet her again later, and things are moving in the right direction. In John 11, she confesses with strength that Jesus is the Messiah.

7. The Real Problem Is in the Heart: Come to the Master's Feet

Lazarus becomes "the star" after his resurrection: people come to see him and ask him questions. The furious religious leaders decide to put him to death as well (John 12:10). "A dead man raised to life, and they kill him again?"
In every family there are quarrels. Perhaps Martha hopes the Messiah will sort things out between her brother and sister. But Jesus is not interested in that: he goes after the real problem, the one in your heart.
The preacher cites an estimate about burnout: a large share comes from what is in the heart, the rest from circumstances (harassment, an authoritarian boss). Many of the things that happen to us come down to a predisposition of the soul.
"At some point, you will not be able to avoid stopping before God, alone with him."
Mary's position at Jesus' feet is that of the disciple sitting at the feet of the Rabbi, the Master. Olivier Favre tells the Lord that he wants to sit at his feet this summer: he hears his voice much more than before, but he is still on the way.
Going on vacation, going to the forest, the Alps or the seaside, is good. But it is essential to stop: "Stop your mad rush." You do not find the answers even though they are already there, because your soul is divided, besieged by a thousand and one thoughts.
It will not be instant. "Pastor Olivier said this morning..." and ten minutes later, it does not work. It is an intimate, personal choice: little by little, you let the Holy Spirit come to work and change something deep inside.
Psalm 16:5: "Yahweh assigned my portion and my cup." In the Greek translation, it is the same word as Mary's good part. The preacher wishes that everyone would enjoy this portion that the Lord wants to give.
He calls on those who have not yet met Jesus to come to the Master's feet, without putting it off until tomorrow, and prays for households and couples under strain: "It is not your boss, it is not your pastor, it is not your spouse or your child who is the real problem." Jesus does not accuse you, but as long as you are not honest about yourself, things will not go well.

Key Takeaways

Martha's serving is a ministry. Her problem is neither the work nor Mary, but an anxiety that pulls her soul in every direction.
The sense of injustice turns your gaze toward others, while Jesus points to what is happening in your own heart.
In an exhausted society saturated with opinions, the Lord wants to reprogram your thoughts through joy, prayer and thanksgiving.
The good part is the best piece: being seated at Jesus' feet and receiving his word. It will not be taken away from you.
Stopping before God is a personal choice and a process in which the Holy Spirit changes something deep inside.

Personal Application

In what area do you feel "pulled in every direction" right now: your work, your family, your service in the church?
Is there a person you hold responsible for your fatigue, as Martha did with Mary? What would Jesus say about your own heart?
Which voices, opinions or expectations feed your stress, and which of them can you lay before God in prayer?
When, concretely, will you stop this week to sit at Jesus' feet, alone with him?
What do you need to sort out among everything you do, in order to choose the good part?

Verses Cited

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Martha's real problem in Luke 10?

For Olivier Favre, it is neither the work, nor welcoming Jesus, nor the serving, which is a ministry in its own right. It is not Mary either. Martha's problem is in her thoughts: a deep anxiety has been layered on top of her sense of responsibility. Her problem is herself.

What does "the good part" chosen by Mary mean?

The Greek word refers to a portion, a piece, the best piece of a festive meal. Mary eats the best food: she sits at Jesus' feet and receives his word. It is the same word used in Psalm 16:5 in the Greek translation, where Yahweh is the portion of his people.

Do you have to stop everything to choose the good part?

No. The preacher reminds us that someone has to prepare the meal: activity is not unhealthy in itself. It is about stopping before God, alone with him, and letting the Holy Spirit work deep inside. It is not instant: for Martha, he thinks, it took a process.