A closer look at the encounter between Mary, Martha, and Jesus, through the lens of our God designed physiology.

Let’s set the scene.

Scripture says,

“Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”

And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

Let’s compare what is likely happening in the physical bodies here of these two women:

Martha is in sympathetic mode, busy serving and scripture says she was “distracted.”

My thoughts: sympathetic mode is not inherently evil, it is God given, and we want this state to kick on when we need it. But when we are serving from a state of survival vs a state of walking in the spirit, we become prone to the fruit of the flesh caused by rising stress hormones + narrowing vision + perspective. In the case of Martha this looked like...

Blame + Loneliness:

She said “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.”

Her perception caused her to view Jesus through a narrow lens, zoom in on feeling alone in her service, and seemingly become a little bitter towards her sister. It dimmed her reality to the truth of this situation: Though Mary was not serving in the way Martha thought was best, Mary was actually following Jesus and at this time, from her point of view, time spent with Him was more important than other ways of serving that Martha perceived were best.

When we run on stress hormones + live in a state of survival, we become focused on surviving, and often live from a posture of fear or resentment and our thoughts and emotions follow.

Let’s take a closer look at Mary’s physiology.

Mary chose to sit at the feet of Jesus. Scripture says, “ she was sitting and listening to His teaching.” When we are sitting, engaged and listening, surrounded by other people, and full present, we are co-regulating which influences our nervous system and kicks on our parasympathetic state.

In this rest + digest state, we often have the capacity to hear and think about multiple points of views, and are able to think rationally about a situation, leading to the ability to control our thoughts, emotions, + perceptions.

It is not good to be in parasympathetic all the time. And not all stress is bad. There is good stress, called Eustress. But I think what is important to take away from this example, is our heart posture and the role our physiology may play when it comes service + time spent in sympathetic, ensuring we are still applying the words of Jesus, + walking in the Spirit.

That often requires building awareness.

Jesus says to Martha (and He even says her name twice to capture her attention, which I think is so beautiful to note): “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.

What did Mary choose?

Mary chose to sit at the feet of Jesus, learn from Him and be with Him. And I wonder if what she chose is to pursue the peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7-8) that is only found through Jesus. And it is a peace that cannot be taken away, only turned from.

It is not something that can be earned or worked for. But it does take intention + devotion. It is not something He will force upon us. But He stands waiting, not wishing that any would perish, but all would have eternal life (2 Peter 3:9).

When Jesus went to be with the Father, He left us a Helper (John 14:26). But we often miss out on the ways in which we can be helped due to a narrow vision + life spent in survival mode.

Now, please do not misunderstand me. Service is a good godly thing and sometimes we may be called to serve when it is inconvenient or exhausting. That is not the point here. The point is the posture from which we are serving.

Do we attempt to do it all on our own and work “for God” and then become surprised when we burn out, become “distracted by many things” or bitter towards others? Or do we remember to pause and create space to listen to the Holy Scriptures + time in prayer, allowing Him to work in us, teach us, and guide us through His word + Spirit?

Jesus was busy serving. But if you look at the rhythm of the life He lived while in human form, it appears to honor the balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic.

He was often busy healing the sick, teaching, preaching. and correcting false teachers.

But He was also rose early and secured space to be in prayer with the Father (Mark 1:35). And He was often in communion with others and co-regulating (Luke 7:34). So much so, the tax collectors and pharisees even accused Jesus of being a “glutton + eating with sinners.” He was not leading in the way they thought He should be.

If you would like to learn more about living in tune with your nervous system, honoring your God designed physiology by learning how to cultivate harmony between your parasympathetic + sympathetic nervous system, while staying rooted in Biblical truths, check out our 12 week program, Aligned + Renewed.