{"id":1491,"date":"2017-12-19T21:08:54","date_gmt":"2017-12-20T04:08:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/?p=1491"},"modified":"2017-12-26T07:37:37","modified_gmt":"2017-12-26T14:37:37","slug":"cumbered-christmas-crunch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/2017\/12\/cumbered-christmas-crunch.html","title":{"rendered":"For Those Cumbered with The Christmas Crunch"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"photo-1448062920312-78ec18ff7e3c_opt\"<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Christmas Crunch, in case you\u2019re wondering, is that window of time when you can no longer procrastinate where Christmas preparations are concerned. This is also the time it\u2019s easy to become cumbered about much serving, as Martha was in Luke 10:40. <\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>It\u2019s common to sort of pit Martha against Mary and to think Martha\u2019s zeal for service was the problem. But serving, or even a zeal for serving, is never the problem. The problem is being <\/span>cumbered about much serving<\/span><\/i>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Can a Christian serve too much? Is it too much for us to purchase gifts, wrap said gifts, cook a feast for guests, or beautify a table where those guests will partake of a Christmas feast? Where is one to draw the line? How much shopping is too much? How beautiful and intricate, exactly, must the table be? How clean does the house need to be to host guests? Are dust bunnies ever allowed to Christmas dinner?<\/p>\n

I think the line needs to be drawn at the moment we forget Christ. When serving gets in the way of our relationship with the One who came to serve and not be served, that is the moment we say time out. No more. Preparations can wait. Time to fellowship.<\/p>\n

Martha\u2019s problem was not that she served too much. Her problem was that she let the serving interfere with what was the \u201cnecessary thing.\u201d The \u201cgood portion.\u201d That is, taking time to sit at Jesus\u2019 feet, so that she might rejuvenate and therefore be equipped to serve (among other reasons). Martha often gets a bad rap, and it\u2019s common to determine to be a Mary, not a Martha. But both serving and communing are necessary, required elements of the Christian faith. It\u2019s the balancing of those acts that requires forethought and determination.<\/p>\n

Charles Spurgeon makes a good point in his <\/span>Evening by Evening<\/span><\/i> devotional. He says:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It is easier to serve than commune. Joshua never grew weary in fighting with the Amalekites; but Moses, on the top of the mountain in prayer, needed two helpers to sustain his hands. The more spiritual the exercise, the sooner we tire of it. The choicest fruits are hardest to grow. The most heavenly graces are the most difficult to cultivate. While we do not neglect external things which are good in themselves, we should also enjoy living, personal fellowship with Jesus. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

So maintaining our faith should be prioritized above everything else. If the kids come to the party with a snotty nose, or if the outside Nativity scene never gets put up out front, but we are radiantly joyful because we\u2019ve met with Jesus, we\u2019ve chosen \u201cthe good portion.\u201d If the kids are spotless, the lights are hung, and everything about our exterior selves is perfect, but we are of sour disposition, we\u2019ve chosen the worldly, fleshly thing.<\/p>\n

Spurgeon is spot on when he says the necessary things are often the more difficult things to maintain. Martha looked busier and perhaps more spiritual, because she was up and at \u2018em, dashing to and fro in hustle-bustle service. But Mary was in fact the more spiritual in that moment, because \u2026 how often did Jesus in the flesh come knocking on the door? I\u2019m not sure. But whatever the frequency, she knew it was a special occasion, and she chose the Good Portion. The more spiritual option. The more difficult but \u201cnecessary thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

My guess is that once Jesus left, Mary was energized to help Martha, as Martha desired. She probably buzzed around the house for days on a Jesus high, washing this, scrubbing that, cooking everything from scratch (because \u2026 no McAnything), and mending every holey sock in sight. I\u2019d like to think that if Jesus knocked on the door, I\u2019d drop everything and immediately worship and commune until the very last second he chose to grace me with His presence. And yet, as I\u2019ve looked at myself the last few days, I see someone who hasn\u2019t chosen enough of what\u2019s necessary. Much serving. Not enough communing. All of which adds up to a whole lot of bah humbugging.<\/p>\n

Time to regroup.<\/p>\n

Do I want to be a Mary or a Martha?<\/p>\n

Both. I want to serve, but only once my cup is filled by choosing \u201cthe good portion, which will not be taken away.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Christmas Crunch, in case you\u2019re wondering, is that window of time when you can no longer procrastinate where Christmas preparations are concerned.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2920,"featured_media":821,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[292,281,6,78,113,291,290,289],"class_list":["post-1491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-charles-spurgeon","tag-christmas","tag-faith","tag-jesus","tag-joy","tag-mary-and-martha","tag-serving","tag-stress"],"yoast_head":"\nFor Those Cumbered with The Christmas Crunch<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Christmas Crunch, in case you\u2019re wondering, is that window of time when you can no longer procrastinate where Christmas preparations are concerned.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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