“And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching.” Luke 10:39 ESV
Reflection: when do you sit down to listen to the Lord?
You might have heard the expression “it is hard to teach an old dog new tricks”. In other words, we get set in our ways and are not open to learn new things. Similarly, one of the dangers with hearing a familiar story is that it is, in fact, familiar. We already know the story. Upon hearing just the title, our minds already think of the characters in it, the plot, the conclusions, and lessons we have learned from it.
But as a result, we often “tune out” when we hear or read it over again. Our minds have already processed the information in the story. So instead of learning something new, we go back to what we already know. In many areas of life, this works as we don’t have to relearn the same lessons over again.
Let’s take an example – think of the story of Jesus visiting Mary and Martha, very familiar to those who have read the Bible for a while. We learn about Martha inviting Jesus into her house, but is too busy serving him to be able to listen to his teaching. Her sister Mary, on the other hand, sit down and listen, as we see in our focus verse. But this act of just sitting down and listening irritates Martha, and she addresses the Lord.
“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 ESV
And as I was reading the story again this morning, it struck me that being familiar with the story is like being Martha. Our minds run on “autopilot”, because we have probably heard it many times before. But what the Lord wants us to do is to “sit at his feet” and be quiet. To listen to his teaching. Not what we want him to teach us, but what he wants to teach us. Not to make up our minds about the lessons we need to desperately hear.
In that regard, a familiar story from the Bible is perfect because it forces us to stop, to clear our minds. We have to remember that the stories in the Bible are a mere framework for teaching, which allows the Lord to speak to us even today. We can therefore come expectant, thirsty for what else the Lord wants to teach us through a familiar story. “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?” Psalm 42:1-2 ESV.
Are you ready to sit down at his feet, only to listen?
I believe that if we come to him, needing him, truly wanting to hear what he wants to teach us, we will never be disappointed. It might not be what we wanted or expected to hear. But he loves to teach us, to guide us. If we just listen.