"Martha, Martha"

Family coming in.  Going to see family. Last minute presents to buy and wrap. Gotta get the turkey in the oven. Oh, the floors need mopping. Oh me oh my!

Today’s devotional (from The Fayetteville Church) is titled ‘Choosing Faith over Frazzle’ and begs us to slow down a little during this glorious time of the year and stop getting so frazzled.  The author’s (I believe it to be Sam Laing, but am not all that sure) favorite Christmas carol is O Holy Night, which he records all three verses in the devo.  He asks us to reflect on this beautiful poem set to music and take the time to read and understand the words.  But to do so, DOES take time, and many are so .... well..., frazzled, at this time of the year that we don’t take time out of our harried lives to simply sit, read and wonder at the creation of God as a human baby.

The first line quote of this lesson is taken from something else we all need to take time to sit, read and wonder at--the Bible.  These are, in fact, actually words spoken by Jesus as he kindly chastised a young lady about being so frazzled.  In Luke, chapter 10, verses 40 through 42, the conversation goes like this:  "But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, ‘Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!’.  ‘Martha, Martha,’ the Lord answered, ‘you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.’" Martha, Mary’s sister, was all frazzled about getting the house ready for their new visitor, while Mary simply worshiped Him, sitting at his feet and listening to what He said.  

Having a clean house, food prepared on time and things all in order for house guests do have some import.  These things show others that you are taking the time to make everyone comfortable when they visit.  But, like Martha, we must not let all of our attention be focused on the preparation, but need to concentrate more on the guests themselves.  This is what the shepherds and the magi did when they visited the site of the birth of our Lord.  Yes, the magi traveled hundreds, if not even thousands, of miles to get to Bethlehem as they prepared to view this new creation.  Their preparation included gathering, and hauling, expensive gifts.  The shepherds surely had to either bring their flocks to town (which I doubt) or get someone else to tend them (which I suspect is more plausible) while they were away ‘celebrating’ the very first Christmas.  Even though all spent some time in preparation for seeing the Messiah for the first time, they kept focused on who He was, not what they were doing. It was truly a ‘O Holy Night’ for the world as Jesus was born, and the shepherds and magi were worshiping this Holy One as Mary did 30 or so years later.  Martha needed to get unfrazzled and take time and reflect on that great event, but instead, her concentration was on the surroundings, rather than the surrounded....Jesus Christ of Nazareth, born in Bethlehem, the savior of the entire world.

Today, the last day before the anniversary (is this the 2011th, 2007th, 2005th, or some other ‘th’?---but it doesn’t matter....it is nothing to get frazzled about...WHEN He was born, just that He WAS!) of the birth of our Lord should not be a time when we run around, all frazzled like Martha, but rather, should be a day of simple relaxation, reflection and thankfulness that we all have a Holy One watching out for us, even during our busy lives.

So, __________, __________ (fill in the blanks with your name), slow down, sit and read about Jesus, reflect on why He was sent to earth, and sing a Christmas carol. Oh me oh my!