Luke 10:38-42. Only five verses. A single encounter mentioned only in one of the four gospels. Something that you might think could be glossed over or trivialized pretty easily. But as I meditate on the encounter, I’m impressed as I think of the impact it has had on Christendom. It really was an unexpected visit.

I don’t think I’ve ever noticed before that Martha is the one specifically called out as welcoming Jesus into her house. She’s the one who received Him . . . who opened up her home to Him. Martha wanted Jesus in her house. Good on her!!! She’s way ahead of her time . . . she didn’t need the prophetic encouragement of Revelation 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” Jesus didn’t have to knock . . . she invited Him in . . . welcomed Him . . . looked forward to the visit. But it wasn’t what she had anticipated. It didn’t go how she had envisioned. It really was an unexpected visit.

Queue Mary, the sister. I don’t know if it says anywhere, but I think of her as a younger sister. And the Holy Spirit wastes no time, nor words, in this brief account to get to the point about Mary — she “sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what He said.” (10:39 NIV) She is led to the place where she’ll gain the greatest value . . . she intuitively finds “the activity” which will benefit her the most. The place? The feet of Jesus. The activity? Listening. Mary isn’t mentioned as the one welcoming Jesus into the house, but she knows how to take advantage of this unexpected visit

And the contrast painted against her older sister can’t be missed, “But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.” Poor Martha!!! There was a lot of work to be done to get the meal ready for the Master. Things to be sliced and diced . . . tables to be set . . . candles to be lit . . . whatever!!! And Mary was not helping make it happen. And you’ve got to think that Martha was much distracted because of what she wanted to do for the Lord. A lot of effort in a well prepared meal is a pretty powerful way of honoring someone . . . of expressing to them how special you think they are . . . Martha was doing for the Lord . . . and Mary was doing nothing. Martha was striving to meet her expectations for this dinner . . . Mary was taking advantage of this unexpected visit.

Two options when the Lord visits . . . see what You can do for the Lord . . . or, hear what the Lord wants to do in You. Serve or sit. Languish or listen. Fret or fill up. I think there’s a place for both. Times when I need to be about doing the Lord’s bidding . . . times when I need to make the effort to honor the Lord . . . times to be busy for God. But the lesson from these few verses . . . the reminder from this single account recorded only by Dr. Luke . . . is that sometimes Jesus wants to do the talking . . . He wants to serve up the meal . . . and mine is to sit at His feet . . . and just listen. Sometimes Jesus wants to visit us unexpectedly.

Sitting at the feet of Jesus. What a picture that evokes in my mind’s eye. A place of humility . . . a place of adoration . . . a place of nearness . . . a place of receiving. How infrequently I calm myself . . . put away the distractions . . . put away the need to do something for Him . . . and just sit at His feet . . . and listen. Jesus said it is “the good part” (NKJV) or “what is better” (NIV) and Mary chose it.

Martha expected the visit to be an opportunity to feed the Lord . . . instead the Lord wanted to feed them with food from heaven. Martha thought she needed to fret and fume and fuss in order to honor Him . . . Mary recognized that she needed to sit, be still, and savor the words of life being dished out by the Prince of Life. It really was an unexpected visit . . .

Lord, tune my heart to recognize those unexpected visits . . . to know when to sit and listen . . . to know when to “be still and know that You are God” (Ps. 46:10) . . . to know when You’re dishin’ the meal and mine is to have ears to hear. Calm my spirit in those times and help me to sit rather than serve . . . to wait rather than work. Thank You that by the blood of Jesus I have been brought near . . . I desire to take advantage of that privileged spot . . . and sit at Your feet . . . and listen to Your words . . . expecting the unexpected visit. For Your glory, Amen!