Hospitality

All through the Bible we see examples of generous hospitality, from Abraham lavishly entertaining three men with the best food he could, the widow feeding Elijah by baking him bread with her last flour and oil, and the wealthy woman who fed Elisha and built him a room to stay in. Travellers would not find a convenient hotel with a restaurant nearby in those days. There were no supermarkets to buy sandwiches. Water had to be fetched from a stream, a well dug in the ground, or a cistern.

Our Lord Jesus and His disciples moved around from place to place around Israel and was reliant on others offering Him food. When He arrived at the village where Martha lived, we don’t know how many people were with Him that day. It could have been more than just the twelve disciples. A recent sermon I listened to suggested the families of the disciples were also with them.

We can surmise that Martha was the oldest in the family and that she owned the house in the village of Bethany. As my text for today says, ‘Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house’ (Luke 10:38).

Martha must have been doing her ministry of hospitality so well until she complained and came to Jesus saying, “Don’t you care that Mary is not helping me? Tell her to help me.” Jesus answered her by saying, “You are so worried. Why are you making such a fuss and upsetting everyone? Mary has chosen to listen to Me teaching and that is a good thing.”

‘But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her”’ (Luke 10:41-42).

Perhaps if her heart was full of gratitude and thankfulness to God, she would have been willing to carry out all the hospitality without grumbling and counted it a privilege. Or she could have gently approached her younger sister and quietly asked her to come and help with some of the work.

When we do something for the Lord Jesus, He is interested in our heart attitude as much as what we do. Some people are definitely gifted at preparing delicious meals for large numbers of people, but if they serve the food, counting it as their ministry, and an act of love to the Lord, what a great blessing it is! I may not be able to do what Martha did but perhaps there are other acts of service I can do which also require my heart to be right before the Lord. Can I do them with a heart full of gratitude, even if the task is demanding and exhausting?

Although the context of the passage in Ephesians Chapter 6 is about slaves serving their masters, I think there is a valuable lesson for us today.  ‘Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favour when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free’ (Ephesians 6:5-8, NIV).