1 and that But one thing is needful: Ma'ry hath chosen the good part, 42. but which shall not be taken away from her. 1 Ps. 27:4. 41. Jesus answered in gentle, loving tones, Martha, Martha, thou art careful the same Greek word as " taking thought"="anxious," as in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 6:25, 27, 28, 31), which we are told not to be-and troubled about many things. 42. But one thing is needful. What was that "one thing?" In view of what follows it could not have been, as suggested by some, that Jesus meant that one article of food would have been sufficient. "Few things are needful," in some Mss. It was no small task to provide for sixteen or seventeen persons, even the simplest meal. The one thing needful must have been that which Mary was receiving, new spiritual life, bread from heaven, new power of usefulness. "For she on honey-dew hath fed And drank the milk of Paradise." Which shall not be taken away from her, neither at that time, nor forever more, for it became a part of her very soul. THE TWO WAYS OF SERVING JESUS as revealed in this incident are interwoven together. Both are good, but not completely good unless they are united. Mary was like the apostles in early Christian times. They had been for years with their Lord, they knew his teaching, they had imbibed his spirit. Their business was to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom, for there were no others who were prepared to do it so well. Hence when the work of ministering to the widows took too much of their time they said, "it is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables." But the best of the seven deacons who "served tables" for those in need, became also preachers and missionaries, full of grace and power. 'Serving tables" for the widows was with their spirit, serving Christ. MARY'S WAY was sitting at the feet of Jesus, and drinking in his spirit. New inspirations must compel. Life must touch life. Personality transfigures personality. So Paul in 2 Cor. 3:18-shows us how "we all, with unveiled face reflecting as a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit." "O Master, it is good to be Entranced, enwrapt, alone with thee; Till we, too, change from grace to grace, Gazing on that transfigured face." -A. P. Stanley. "Love took up the harp of Life, and smote on all the chords with might; Smote the chord of Self, that, trembling, passed in music out of sight." Some four months later Mary showed the same spirit in the same house, when after serving at the table the same company, she anointed the feet of Jesus with the precious ointment whose fragrance has sweetened the ages. We, young people and old, are serving Jesus in Mary's way when we worship in the church and in the Sunday school, when we pray, and study our Bibles and have family worship. These are inspirations. The church and true worship, are a power-house. But they are complete and enduring only when they issue in active service. Professor Carver of Harvard, says in The Religion Worth Having, "The Kingdom of God, is a kingdom of productive power at work, and not a kingdom of æsthetic enjoyment or emotional happiness, much less a kingdom of talk." He finds in practical productiveness a test of true Christianity. You will recollect the monk in Longfellow's Legend Beautiful who, in the midst of a glorious vision of Jesus, heard the call to go out and feed the poor. He hesitated, but went; and on his return the vision was still there, but MARTHA'S WAY. It seems to me that few characters have been so misrepresented as that of Martha. Matheson, in his Representative Men, declares "there is a kind of service that we have not sufficiently appreciated—the service given by unpoetic souls. We say, Martha is a matter-of-fact woman, it is natural to her to have much serving. It is not; it is unnatural to her; and it is so precisely because she is a matter-of-fact The service of Martha is a sacrifice to duty." And that is always noble. "The large majority of mankind are in Martha's position, they have no illuminative vision." woman. That may be true, but it is not necessarily true. It is not true of a great many who serve, and it need not be true of most. "The bustling, practical Martha had perhaps not very fine or quickly moved emotions. She could not say graceful things to their benefactor, and probably she did not care to sit at his feet and drink in his teaching," says Maclaren. But how do we know that she did not long to sit beside Mary? "She who has chosen Martha's part, Nor May also Mary's secret know, There is a real distinction between the religious and the secular. But the religious motives of love, duty, loyalty may so pervade and interpenetrate the secular, that the secular is transformed into the religious. This is possible in the commonest and lowest service. Mary's service is indeed the higher, because it is the transfiguring power. It makes "our common life divine, and every land a Palestine." The angels and saints are ministering spirits. Heb. 1:14. The highest rulers, doctors, mothers, teachers, nurses, pastors, all so serve. Dr. W. C. Gannett's Blessed be Drudgery gives a fine illustration of this truth. “In one of Murillo's pictures in the Louvre, he shows us the interior of a convent kitchen; but doing the work there are not mortals in old dresses, but beautiful, white-winged angels. One serenely puts the kettle on the fire to boil, and one is lifting up a pail of water with heavenly grace, and one is at the kitchen dresser reaching up for plates; and I believe there is a little cherub running about and getting in the way, trying to help. All are so busy, and working with such a will, and so refining the work as they do it that somehow you forget that pans are pans, and pots are pots, and only think of the angels, and how very natural and beautiful kitchen work is, — just what the angels would do, of course." "A servant with this clause Makes drudgery divine; Who sweeps a room as for thy laws, Makes that and the action fine, "This is the famous stone That turneth all to gold; For that which God doth touch and own Cannot for less be told." "We cannot kindle when we will The fire that in the heart resides; The spirit bloweth and is still,. "Rev. N. F. Smith in an address at the Northfield Woman's Conference, spoke words of deep insight concerning Martha and Mary, from which we give some extracts. "The incident is a picture of two loving hearts each trying in her own way to express her love for Christ and do what she conceives to be the thing that would please Him best. Martha's way was the way of active service, it was love serving; Mary's way was to listen at His feet and hear His word, it was love listening. Martha's was love serving; Mary's was love receiving. Martha was doing something for Jesus; Mary was letting Jesus do something for her. "It seems to me I can hear the sisters talking together in the kitchen about these unexpected guests, and the entertainment that is to be put before them, and particularly before the Master. I can hear Mary saying: 'Now this is the one opportunity of our lives. Never again perhaps shall we have the chance in our own home of sitting down with Jesus and hearing His word.' "The other sister's word would be quite different from that. She would say: 'If this is indeed our last opportunity of entertaining the Saviour, we must spread before Him the best our house contains.' "Martha's motive was as good as her sister's, but she misread the Master's mind. Why is it that her way is not the best way? "In the first place such a view of life puts too high an estimate on purely temporal things. Bear in mind that it was not a question of dinner or no dinner in that house that day, but a question of how much dinner. You are not to suppose that Mary did nothing. If you will study the narrative carefully I think you will agree that she did do something. When Martha came to Jesus she said I read from the Revised Version 'Lord, dost thou not care that my sister did leave me to serve alone?' 'Another reason why such a view of life is mistaken is that it falls easily into peevish discontent. Martha was distracted about many things. "Then again, such a life forgets that the only really effective service grows out of communion with the Master. "And finally, Martha's view of life is choosing the thing that cannot last. Jesus' words of commendation were these, Mary hath chosen the good part which shall not be taken away from her.' Here was a sad part of Martha's service - it could be so quickly taken away." LESSON V.- February 1. THE UNFRIENDLY NEIGHBOR: A PARABLE ON PRAYER. - Luke 11: 1–13. COMMIT VS. 9, 10. GOLDEN TEXT. — Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. LUKE 11:9. his Perean ministry, near the close of his third year, about four months before his crucifixion. THE ROUND TABLE. THE TEACHER AND HIS CLASS. Place in the Life of Christ. — Early in Mr. Spurgeon tells a story of a man who was invited to come into an orchard and eat some of the fruit. He refused, for he said that he had picked up some of the apples by the roadside that fell from those The trees, and they were poor and bitter. owner replied that those trees were placed there on purpose, so that the boys would not be attracted into the orchard to steal. But come inside, and there the apples are delicious. There are lessons which, seen from the outside only, seem unattractive to the children, like the apples from the trees by the roadside. But the teacher's business is to make the entrance to the field of study as attractive as possible, to lure the young to FOR RESEARCH AND DISCUSSION. Why do we need to learn how to pray? Compare v. 13 with Matt. 7: 11, and note the PLAN OF THE LESSON. the riches of blessing and help which will SUBJECT: Lessons in the School of reward those who study into the very heart of the scripture. LEARN BY HEART. THE LESSON IN ITS SETTING. Time. - December, A.D. 29. Soon after Jesus' return from the Feast of Dedication, and the incident at the home of Martha and Mary, in our last lesson. Place. - - Somewhere in Perea, east of the Jordan. Prayer. THE TEACHER'S LIBRARY. Some of the later Books on Prayer are How can God answer Prayer by W. E. Biederwolf. (Winona Pub. Co.) The Practice of Prayer by G. Campbell Morgan (Revell). How to talk with God. (S. S. Times Co.) Illustrative Answers to Prayer by H. C. Trumbull (Revell). The Golden Gate of Prayer, by J. R. Miller, D.D. (Crowell). Professor Phelps' The Still Hour is a religious classic. J. R. Miller's Practical Religion has an interesting chapter on the "Sweet Odor of Prayer." Stalker's Imago Christi has a beautiful and effective study of "Christ as a Man of Prayer." Hubbard's The Teachings of Jesus in Parables. 1. AND it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, that when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, even as John also taught his disciples. The Teacher, v. 1. Jesus had returned from Bethany, where we saw him in our last lesson, and was again at work in Perea. The great crisis of his life was but a few months away. The burdens of his last ministry were crowding upon him. The leaving of his vast mission for the world in the hands of a few unlearned and imperfect fishermen, demanded a faith and vision almost immeasurable. There was no power that could sustain him but his Heavenly Father and His Holy Spirit. Hence he was praying in a certain place, because he needed to pray, and to be in closest communion with God at special times, as one eats his food at special times, but lives and works by means of it all the time. TAKE NOTE that the Teacher was experiencing in his own life the very things he taught his disciples at their request. It is well to notice this as we proceed with the lesEvery teaching concerning prayer grew out of Jesus' life and experience. It was not hearsay, it was the fruit of his soul. It is this that makes a great teacher. And every teacher is successful just so far as this is true of his teaching. son. The Disciples Desire Jesus to Give them a Lesson on Prayer, v. 1. When he ceased praying where they knew he was at prayer, or when he returned to them from some secret place where he was alone with God. One of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray. The disciples had much need of prayer, as they realized more and more. We must learn to do even the best things, if we would do them in the best way. With the holiest and most earnest spirit, we need to learn how to express it most perfectly. The one most full of music, or of artistic talent, takes the greatest pains to learn how best to express what is within him. So the disciples needed to learn how to pray, the true spirit of prayer, the right things to pray for, the length or intensity of praying, the attitude toward God, praying alone, or in public, what to expect in answer, and when to expect it, and many other things to cherish or to avoid. There must have been a great contrast between the prayers of the Pharisees, and the prayers of Jesus. In response to this request, Jesus gives them A SERIES OF LESSONS IN HIS SCHOOL OF PRAYER. First Lesson. The Ideal Prayer, vs. 2-4. I. THE LORD'S PRAYER IS IDEAL and perfect as a means of teaching how to pray. It is filled through and through with the true spirit of prayer. It is comprehensive. "It embodies all essential desires of a praying heart, yet in the simplest form, resembling in this respect a pearl on which the light of heaven plays. It expresses and combines in the best order, every divine promise, every human sorrow and want, and every Christian aspiration for the good of others." 2. And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. so in earth. 1 Matt. 6:9. It is unselfish, "ours," not "mine," "us," not "me." Its structure is such that it can be used for bringing large numbers together in the unity of worship, while at the same time its form is not imposed on any. No other prayer recorded in the Bible, not even of Christ, is a repetition of these words, but all are in its spirit. "Rosa Bonheur exclaimed: Brother, paint as God paints.' The student of Jesus as a teacher may say with equal confidence: Brother, teach what Jesus taught, and teach as Jesus taught.' Prof. Martin Brumbaugh. And we may well add, Pray as Jesus prayed. II. THE ORDER OF THE PETITIONS is in accordance with the true spirit of prayer. First of all the prayer is to a loving Father, to whom we would express gratitude, love, and loyalty, and the desire that his name be hallowed, revered, honored, worshipped by all "on earth as it is in heaven." This is the very soul of prayer without which no other prayer avails. Then comes the prayer that the whole world, including ourselves, may attain to the ideal which God is seeking for it. Next is the prayer for the needs that belong to all that live on earth in physical bodies. Then it takes into account the evil in us, and amid which we live, and asks for deliverance and victory; for all these things belong to God's kingdom, where he rules and has the power; and the redeemed creation will manifest the glory of his goodness and be a new revelation of his character to the universe. Nothing better, higher, more noble and perfect than this can be conceived. 99.66 III. THE FATHERHOOD OF GOD, AND BROTHERHOOD OF MAN, v. 2. Our Father which art in heaven. This title expresses that aspect of God which most attracts us to pray to him. When we think of God as infinite, omnipotent, the creator of the universe, who saith to the sea "Hitherto shalt thou come, and no further, and here shall thy proud waves be stayed," "who sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers," "and weighed the mountains in scales," when we see him in the storm and earthquake, — how dare we come to him with our little cares and needs! When we think of him as perfect in holiness, "the high and lofty one who inhabiteth eternity," how can we sinful ones draw nigh to him in prayer! When we think of him as "the bright essence increate," who governs by unchangeable laws, how can we hope for deliverance from the consequences of his laws that we have broken! But when we see him as our Father, a loving person, as we know him in his Son, Jesus Christ as he lived on earth, we can draw nigh unto him as children to a father. If from all literature, all history, all experience, all poetry, all imagination, we could gather together into one picture the noblest qualities of fatherhood and motherhood, loving-kindness and tender mercies, self-sacrifice, longsuffering, and forgiving love, a care that is wise and gracious, seeing the good more gladly than the evil we would have some faint vision of what our Heavenly Father is. And we would gain an acquaintance with our Father and a communion with him that would enrich the soul beyond all compare. Jesus is always putting pray" quite as often as " forward as the great encouragement to pray, that "You can "Speak to Him, thou, for He hears, and Spirit with Spirit can meet — "More things are wrought by prayer - Tennyson. If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer Our implies that all men are brethren, because children of the same Father; implying, too, our fellowship with Christ, our elder brother. "You cannot have God for a father without taking man for a brother." We gain some idea of the way God answers prayer from the way a parent answers his children's prayers, always gladly, always giving what is desired if it be best, but giving something better in case the requested answer would be injurious, and drawing the child into closer acquaintance with his parent through prayers and answers. |