In When the Heart
Waits, Sue Monk Kidd writes about how Mary, Martha’s sister, defied social
taboos by entering the circle of men gathered around Jesus. Jesus doesn’t run
her off but holds her up as an example of right devotion and focus. He
recognizes the state of her heart.
A whole village in Samaria comes to know Jesus because Jesus
defied taboos by being alone with a woman, and a Samaritan woman at that,
shocking the disciples upon their return. Among many other instances that rile
the Pharisees, Jesus eats at Matthew’s house with a whole gang of riff-raff. He’s
right there in the midst of their raucous dinner, interacting and I’m sure,
enjoying himself.
It was not only after Jesus’ resurrection that he walked
through locked doors and broke open the gates of hell. He lived a life of
freedom, challenging structures that choked out life and love and growth during
his ministry on earth.
When we get caught up in appearances and propriety, I
wonder if we put the gospel on lockdown. We substitute rules for grace, laws
for love, fear for freedom, and caution for trust. We don’t allow people to
risk and dream bold dreams for Christ because we’ve locked them into a prison
of rules to keep them safe. We disregard mercy because it’s messy. It takes
time to learn the state of someone’s heart, and most of us are so busy being
good people that we don’t have time to look into another’s eyes and hear the
cry of their heart.
Because Mary was bold enough to follow her heart, we have
an example that shows us what Jesus desires from us—our still, listening
selves, not people so busy doing for Jesus that they don’t know Jesus. We would
do well to be as attentive as Mary, both to Jesus and to one another. You do
not learn the state of another’s heart by their conformity to rules. The story
of the rich young man, who followed all the rules but could not follow Jesus,
shows us that. When a person desires to be with Christ at any cost, they will
leave appearances and propriety in the dust in order to be with the One they
desire most of all.
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