Choose the Better

 

Choose the Better

 

Luke 10:38-42; Luke 19:28-44

 

Today is the Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday is a Christian feast that commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. For today’s message, however, I chose the title “Choose the Better” rather than “Jesus’ Triumphal Entry.” This title came from Luke 10:41,42, in which Jesus said, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” People say that life is a collection of choices. Every day we make small and big choices. We choose what to eat and what to drink. We choose a school to go. We also choose a man or a woman to marry. In making such choices, we always evaluate available options and take the best or the better. “Choose the better!” This is what we all want. We also think that we always choose the better, and it is easy to choose the better. However, it is not as easy as it sounds. It is because, first of all, many times we do not know which is better. And secondly, even if we know which is better, we often cannot choose it for some reasons.

 

 

 

 

There is an essay titled “Shooting an Elephant” written by George Orwell. George Orwell is an English novelist, essayist, journalist and critic, and wrote famous novels such as Animal Farm and 1984. Shooting an Elephant is an episode that Orwell experienced when he was working as a police officer in Burma. At that time, Burma was a British colony. one day at his office he received a phone call reporting that an elephant was ravaging the street. Then he took his rifle which was too small to kill an elephant. When he arrived at the scene, the elephant was not there, and he saw some damages left by the animal, a bamboo hut destroyed, a cow killed, fruit stalls raid, and a rubbish van overturned. Then going further, Orwell found an Indian man on the ground who had been trampled to death by the elephant. As soon as he saw the dead man, George Orwell sent a man to a friend’s house to borrow an elephant rifle.

 

 

 

As they saw the heavy rifle, the village people began to follow Orwell. They all shouted excitedly that the police officer was going to shoot the elephant with the big gun. In fact, Orwell had no intention to shoot the elephant. He had merely sent for the rifle to defend himself. At last, he found the elephant on a paddy field. He knew that he should not shoot the elephant. Peacefully eating at a distance, the elephant looked no more dangerous than a cow. So he decided to watch the elephant for a little while and then go home. He knew what was better. But at that moment he glanced round at the crowd that had followed him. More than two thousand yellow faces, all happy and excited over this bit of fun, were certain that the elephant was going to be shot. Then Orwell realized that he should have to shoot the elephant after all. The people expected it of him. He could feel their two thousand wills and four thousand eyes pressing him forward irresistibly. Now he had only one alternative. He shoved the cartridge into the magazine, aimed at the head of the animal, and pulled the trigger. He shot the elephant. Although he knew the better, he could not choose the better.

 

 

 

We can see a similar situation when Jesus visited the house of Martha and Mary. While Jesus was staying at their house, the two sisters behaved much differently from each other. Martha was busy in doing this and that, but her sister Mary sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he said. Still everything looked good, but at some moment Martha came to Jesus and complained fretfully, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” Martha might expect that Jesus would take her side and rebuke her sister Mary. But contrary to her expectation, the Lord answered tenderly, “Martha, Martha! You are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better and it will not be taken away from her.” According to Jesus’ words, Mary chose the better and Martha didn’t have the right to take it away from Mary.

 

We may think that Mary was immature, selfish and uncaring. In such a super-busy moment when her sister Martha was drowned in all kinds of chores, she was doing nothing but sitting at Jesus’ feet and listening to his words. In fact, however, this is not easy at all. As we see, her sister Martha was annoyed at her unconcern and kept calling her for help. Probably people around Mary were also whispering to one another. “Huh! What is Mary doing over there when her sister is working so hard?” “Think about how much Jesus loved her! She must have been spoiled. Tut-tut!” They clicked their tongue. Sensing the pressure from people around her, Mary might also feel conflict in herself. “Should I go out and help Martha. But I don’t want to miss this beautiful word of life only to do the dishes.” Resisting such pressure from outside and conflict inside, Mary took a firm stand. She didn’t give up what she chose. George Orwell surrendered himself to four thousand eyes and shot the elephant, giving up the better. But Mary didn’t give up the better and kept it against pressure from people around her. Then she was happy and Jesus praised her faith.

 

We may ask a question, “Didn’t Martha also choose the better?” Isn’t it good to prepare food and serve the Lord? Possibly yes. From today’s passage, however, we can peek into her heart. Verse 40 says, “Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.” She was “distracted or overburdened.” In Verse 41 as well, Jesus said, “You are worried and upset about many things.” All these show that what Martha was doing were not what she wanted to do. She was doing things not out of her willing choice but driven by worry and anxiety. Martha didn’t know what was better. Even if she knew what was better, she couldn’t concentrate on that. People came to Martha and told her to do this and that. Margaret came and said to her that the Lord would like seafood but Cathy came and told her that Jesus might prefer vegetarian dishes. Then Judy came and recommended that it would be nice to prepare lunch boxes for the hungry disciples. Martha was pushed this way and that way. Although Jesus was in front of her, Martha couldn’t see the Lord and couldn’t hear His voice. She couldn’t enjoy a loving fellowship with the Lord. Like George Orwell’s heart was captured by the two thousand Burmese natives, Martha’s heart was also occupied by many worries and anxieties. She couldn’t choose the better. She had to do what she didn’t want and therefore she was not happy.

 

Luke 19:28-44 describes the scene that Jesus was entering Jerusalem. When Jesus was approaching Jerusalem, a large crowd of his disciples praised God joyfully, singing, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest.” They received Jesus as the king coming in the name of the Lord. They received Jesus as the king who would bring peace to them. Why did the crowd welcome Jesus so fervently? Verse 37 says that it was because of all the miracles they had seen. They saw miraculous power in Jesus (like the big gun carried by George Orwell) and believed that he would rescue them from the Gentile oppressors and restore the Davidic Kingdom. As Jesus approached Jerusalem, however, he saw the city and wept over it. Jesus was not delighted at people’s welcoming. Rather he cried bitterly, and said, “If you had only known on this day what would bring you peace – but now it is hidden from your eyes.” Then Jesus prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem and said that it was because they did not recognize the time of God’s coming to them. People welcomed Jesus as their king of peace, but Jesus said that they were wrong and he was not such a king whom they had been waiting for. This was really a heartbreaking moment to Jesus, and to the people. When Jesus entered Jerusalem, all the people were dancing and singing out of excitement, expecting spectacular miracles from heaven. But Jesus did not perform such miracles. He betrayed their expectation and disappointed their eyes shockingly. Shattering their hope, Jesus, whom they had welcomed loudly as their mighty king, was arrested, mocked, and crucified like a gentle lamb. In this way, Jesus, instead of pleasing many people’s eyes, obeyed God’s will and died on the cross in silence. There was no excitement. There was no spectacular drama. Jesus chose the cross, and by doing so, pleased God. Jesus chose the better.

 

Matthew 6:22 says, “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.” In the King James Version, the part “if your eyes are good” is translated “if thine eye be single” and this is the most literal translation of the original text. That is, if our eye is single, our body will be full of light. We are blind not because we don’t have eyes, but because we have too many eyes like George Orwell and Martha. Mary had a single eye which was fixed on Jesus. Jesus also had a single eye which was fixed on the cross. When we have a single eye, it is easy to know which is better and to choose the better. We can see treasures hidden behind the cross, with resisting pressure from the world. May God sanctify our eyes so that we may know and rejoice the way of peace revealed in Jesus’ cross!