Chances to receive the King of the universe in your own home doesn’t come every day. Indeed, this “window of opportunity” sometimes opens just once during a whole lifetime. Then you need to leave everything. Then you need to jump. When Jesus comes to visit personally, then you need to go and sit at his feet at all cost. Just ask Maria there in Luke 10:38-42. When Jesus shows up at their own home of all places, she knew this is the chance of a lifetime unfolding in front of her. Immediately she ran for the place of honor right at his feet.
The other day I also ran for a good spot. It wasn’t the same type of run that Maria ran for a special place at Jesus’ feet. Yet, I thought about her while I was running. This was when I was in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, for my annual work-shift at the local university.
A month before the visit my son-in-law Pierre Engelbrecht found out that Bruce Springsteen was coming to Nijmegen. The Boss is high up on my “bucket list”, my list of things to do before I clock out. Hours ahead of time we went to Goffert Park, where Springsteen would perform. Sixty thousand people had to run for a place to stand. So Pierre and I took the pace and ended 10 meters from the stage. 59,000 Dutch people and two Englishmen were behind us. For three and a half hours we sang, clapped and jumped with Bruce Springsteen and his E-Street Band, through 33 songs. What a day!
Afterwards I wondered whether Maria also ran past the men for a place there at Jesus’ feet. Surely everyone wanted to be close to Jesus. But then she got it! Maria’s sister Martha was not too excited that she needed to prepare food alone for Jesus and his disciples. When she told him that, Jesus made the remark of a lifetime: “Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” That was after He told Martha that she was concerned and worried about many things. She runs around here and there and everywhere while He visits. Martha thinks He’s concerned with the right food. She wants to cook herself into the Masterchef of the year award.
Our significance is not located in all the things we do for Jesus. Martha understands the most important Guest in the history of the universe wrong. She’s busy with a “adventure in missing the point of epic proportions,” as a friend says regularly when people make judgement errors. Like servant Martha we also reckon that He will only be satisfied with a meal of Michelin Star quality. That’s why paintings throughout the ages always portray Jesus’ meals as lavish affairs with a smorgasbord of expensive food. And that’s also why people constantly dress Jesus in nicer clothes than He wore during his mission between us here on earth. Just look how artists throughout the ages painted the clothes of noblemen on Him. Or how they surrounded Him with more important friends than He ever had on earth. By the way, did you notice that plain old Maria didn’t make it onto any famous artwork through the centuries? And still she chose the most important spot. Learn from her and run… straight to the feet of Jesus!