Encounters with Jesus – Tuesday

Only one thing is essential

Scripture: Luke 10:38-42 (The Message)

As they continued their travel, Jesus entered a village.

A woman by the name of Martha welcomed him and made him feel quite at home. She had a sister, Mary, who sat before the Master, hanging on every word he said. But Martha was pulled away by all she had to do in the kitchen. Later, she stepped in, interrupting them. “Master, don’t you care that my sister has abandoned the kitchen to me? Tell her to lend me a hand.”

The Master said, “Martha, dear Martha, you’re fussing far too much and getting yourself worked up over       nothing. One thing only is essential, and Mary has chosen it— it’s the main course and won’t be taken from her.”

Encounter with Jesus:

• What is going on in the passage?
• Take time to imagine you are there ‘in the story’ as it happens. What do you see, hear, smell? If you were one of the people in the passage, who would you be? Why?
• Still imagining you are there…
  • What question would you like to ask Jesus?
  • What was/is Jesus’ response?

Now, what does it mean for us?

You probably have both Mary and Martha’s in your church community; both are valued by Jesus. Doing what is needed in life as Martha was doing is important, but in this case when Jesus was close, putting chores aside and giving Him our full attention, as Mary was doing, is ‘essential’. Teaching our children and young people to recognise moments when Jesus is close and giving Him our full attention is a really valuable lesson to learn. Some would argue that it is even more valuable than spending time singing worship songs or even teaching them Bible stories… ‘One thing only is essential, and Mary has chosen it’

To do today:

1. If you help teach children or young people in your church, do you plan times for them to simply sit at Jesus’ feet and have an ‘Encounter with Jesus’, maybe think about how that could actually work and discuss it with others involved in kids and youth work in your church.
2. If you don’t help teach children or young people in your church, maybe spend some time praying for those in your church who do.
3. Pray also for schools’ workers in your area who are engaging with pupils in schools, pray that they would find ways to help young people have ‘Encounters with Jesus’