28 And after she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. "The Teacher is here," she said, "and is asking for you." 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him.
What do we do when, like Mary, life deals us such a harsh blow that, quite literally, it takes our breath away? These difficult circumstances happen to us all –albeit perhaps in varying degrees – but nevertheless they happen. A death, a bad diagnosis, a divorce, any dire disaster that shakes us to the core leaving us weak kneed, stunned and breathless. It certainly takes a while to process and longer still to acclimate to the “new” normal – most often, life as we have known it, forever changes. In our verses for today, Mary remains devastated. Perhaps she lay prostrated since Scripture stated “she got up”. With friends gathered around her to console her, Mary appears to be despondent – her brother now buried and her Savior was a no show, or so she thought. Enter the great Shepherd on the scene asking to see His forlorn lamb – how like Jesus. I am reminded of the comforting words He utters to us all in Matthew:
28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matt 11:28-30 (NIV)
“At the most unexpected moments in your life there is this whisper of the Lord – ‘Come to Me,’ and you are immediately drawn to Him. Personal contact with Jesus changes everything...The attitude necessary for you to come to Him is one where your will has made the determination to let go of everything and deliberately commit it all to Him.” Oswald Chambers
“A man’s heart is right when he wills what God wills.” Thomas Aquinas
“To will what God wills brings peace.” Amy Carmichael
It is our Lord’s desire for us to rest secure in Him. He tells us His peace is readily available as we draw near to Him. He offers us this continual state of untroubled, undisturbed, well-being. No person or thing the world has to offer can continually accomplish such a feat as this. We have no need to be fearful. We have no need to be ridden with anxiety. As we relinquish our will for His perfect will peace enters the heart. The striving and warring in our spirits cease. We will never come to our Lord and be the poorer for it. He always exchanges our small efforts and pittances with His vast abundance of boundless riches. His mercy, grace and peace are available to all who willingly come. Our Lord can be trusted. Jesus gives us this wonderful promise a little later in John:
27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27 (NIV)
“We sleep in peace in the arms of God, when we yield ourselves up to His providence.” Francois Fenelon
“For He that keeps you neither slumbers nor sleeps. The Lord your God is your strength, and in Him is no weariness. He never tires of you coming to Him, and your cry is welcome to His ears however frequent. Cast yourself upon His mercies; for His loving-kindness never fails, and His grace and compassion are inexhaustible. His faithfulness is extended to all generations.” Frances J. Roberts
I am reminded of Moses’ comforting words in Deuteronomy:
"Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the LORD loves rests between his shoulders." Deut 33:12 (NIV)
Perhaps we are not as Mary, rather Martha, sent by the Lord to encourage the stricken to “Come”. Martha had just experienced her on encounter with the Lord receiving His sufficiency. Not too dissimilar to the woman at the well who went with the call of “Come” to her entire town, Martha musters Mary to action. Are you called to encourage, are you called to tell others what the Savior has done for you? Be faithful. Beautiful feet should be all of our agendas:
14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" Romans 10:14-15 (NIV)
7 How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!" Isaiah 52:7 (NIV)