Ever found yourself genuinely busy — and quietly relieved? Dan Orange on Mary, Martha, and the excuse we all hide behind.

About this episode

Dan Orange takes the well-worn Mary and Martha story and lifts a question most of us would rather not answer — what if our busyness isn't the problem, but the disguise? Through three moments at Jesus' feet (Mary listening, Mary anointing, Jesus washing the disciples'), Dan walks us through what it looks like to serve without hiding behind the serving. Honest, scriptural, and gently uncomfortable in all the right places.

In this talk

• Why "are you a Mary or a Martha?" might be the wrong question
• The "Martha, Martha" moment — tender attention, not a telling-off
• Dan's own story — being told he had the "gift of helps" and wondering if it was a bit of a lame one
• Three feet, three lessons — sitting, anointing, washing
• Martha's second appearance (John 11) — busy and the one who confessed Jesus as the Christ
• What Ephesians 5:15-16 actually means by "making the best use of the time"

Conversation Street highlights

Anna and Ade picked up Dan's talk with a few honest threads worth rewinding for.

Ade — listening isn't the whole of it. Ade brought in Matthew 7 (the wise and foolish builders) as a counter-balance. Listening matters. So does acting. "We have to both listen and act and not use listening as almost an excuse not to go and act."

Anna — both women grow. Anna noticed something she'd never seen before — both Mary and Martha move in the story. Mary goes from sitting at Jesus' feet to extravagant worship. Martha goes from busy-busy-busy to expectant faith and one of the clearest confessions of who Jesus is in the whole Gospel. "There's a growth in both of them from spending time with Jesus."

Dan — hiding in plain sight. Dan got specific about what hiding looks like for him. End of a church service, prompts to go and get prayer, and instead — "I need to do the PA, I need to turn these mics down." Real jobs. Genuine needs. And also, a place to hide.

Ade — the buzz of being busy. "There's a popular, almost social misconception that if you're busy, you're important because you've got lots of stuff to do, rather than, well, actually, maybe you're just not very good at organising your time."

Alicia in the feed. Alicia commented that she'd just been doing a Bible study on overwhelm, and added a thought that reframed the whole moment — "I think the Lord was showing compassion to Martha in the way, in that moment." Anna picked it up and ran with it. The "Martha, Martha" wasn't a ticking off. It was compassion.

Key references

• Bible: Luke 10:38-42 (Mary and Martha); John 11 (Lazarus and Martha's confession); John 12 (Mary anoints Jesus' feet); John 13 (Jesus washes the disciples' feet); 1 Corinthians 12:28 (the gift of helps); Ephesians 5:15-16 (making the best use of the time); Matthew 7 (wise and foolish builders — Ade in Conversation Street)
• Background: The seven Marys of the New Testament — Mary mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, Mary of Bethany, Mary mother of James, Mary wife of Clopas, Mary of Rome, Mary mother of John Mark. The name Mary means "bitter".

Quotes from the talk"In that moment they could have waited. In that moment they should have been second. In that moment I could have been sat at the feet of Jesus." — Dan Orange"It's good to serve, but we need to be present. We need to be listening to God's prompting. Perhaps some of us hide behind our activities." — Dan Orange"Let's learn at his feet, worship at his feet, and serve at the feet of others." — Dan OrangeNext Sunday

Dave Connolly — "When You're Running on Empty". Hosts Sharon and Mike. A natural continuation of tonight's theme — if Dan named the hiding, Dave is going to talk about what happens when you can't keep it up any more. Worth being here.

Links

• Find out more or get in touch at crowd.church
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