Topsy Turvy World: Mary & Martha & Judas Iscariot & Darwin

God wants to free us from "everything coming against" us

"God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him." --1 John 4:16

Mary & Martha were the sisters of Lazarus who would later be raised from the dead by Jesus. They invite Jesus over for dinner in Luke 10:38-41. Dinner preparations were running late, so Martha scolds her sister for sitting listening to him teach instead of helping her in the kitchen. Women were not allowed to study scripture back then (and are still barred in Orthodox Judaism), so Mary was quick to take advantage of this rare and wonderful opportunity to learn more about God from Jesus.

Carnal-minded Martha then scolds Jesus for not scolding Mary, asking him, "Do you not care?"

Jesus replies, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, ⁴² but few things are needed—or indeed only one.^[f] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

This passage always reminds me that when we studied this passage at my childhood church in a small Bible Study, my own mother spoke up insisting Martha was right and that it was Mary and Jesus who were causing all the problems by not helping in the kitchen! Everyone in the Bible Study laughed, including the minister, then quickly moved on to the next topic.

In every age, Marthas, Judas Iscariots, and vocal sages like my mother are plentiful. Judas was the disciple who betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver (to replenish the disciples' treasury that he was dipping into). That’s why things are as they are — the quality of the people determines everything.

In John 12:1-8, Mary & Martha again join Jesus and the disciples for dinner. This time Mary pours out pricy spikenard to wash Jesus' feet. In this case, carnal-minded Judas Iscariot scolds Mary for her kindness, saying, "Why was the spikenard not sold and given to the poor?"

Jesus again defends Mary from the bad company among them, saying, "Leave her alone."

These New Testament stories illustrate the old expression "topsy-turvy world" -- everything is exactly upside down under the chains of civilization, with the ugliest, most selfish and disharmonious toddlers throwing tantrums the most, testing the boundaries of everyone around them.

It's very clear that Darwinism applies to plants and animals over millions of years, but not humans. Social Darwinism is misapplied. Wishful thinking, perhaps. Charles Darwin never applied his survival of the fittest theory to humans because it does not apply. And to Darwin, who was a very spiritual man, his theory of evolution magnified the greatness of God’s creation. Evolution simply means change; of course things change. And the creation story in Genesis has no details at all, rather like an abstract painting. I see the first 6 days of creation as having taken place over billions of years. (Naturally they could not have been 6 Earth days if the sun and Earth had not yet been created!)

That said, of course there have been times that wise, good leaders leaders prevail, such as Prince Frederick the Wise who supported Martin Luther, kicked off the Reformation, and freed Northern Europe to shake off Rome's shackles and take its place in the modern world. Mary Queen of Scots, too, enabled the Europe begin to emerge from the darkness of the middle ages simply by enforcing the law (even though she was devoutly Catholic), which enabled John Knox’s Presbyterian Church to take root without further vandalism or harassment. She knew her first duty was to uphold the law.

The biblical story of Mary & Martha demonstrates that the first shall by last and the last shall be first in the Kingdom of God to come.

At the Home of Martha & Mary

³⁸ As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. ³⁹ She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

⁴¹ “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, ⁴² but few things are needed—or indeed only one.^[f] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Jesus Anointed at Bethany

12 Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. ² Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. ³ Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

⁴ But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, ⁵ “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.^[b]” ⁶ He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

⁷ “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. ⁸ You will always have the poor among you,^[c] but you will not always have me.”

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Yvonne Attia gives a beautiful message starting at 11:00. If we partner with God now, he will free us from "everything coming against" us in our lives:

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