2. Sisters See Each Other

In this episode of Friends and Sisters, Tina Boesch and Paige Keeton welcome special guest Oghosa Iyamu to explore the friendship of Jesus with Mary and Martha, reflecting on the way He crossed social boundaries to love them personally and faithfully. Together, they consider what it means to be truly present with one another, highlighting the growth and maturity of Martha’s faith and the beauty of honest vulnerability in friendship. This conversation points us to Jesus—the perfect friend—whose self-giving love transforms the way we serve and walk alongside one another as sisters in Christ. 

• Key Bible passage: Luke 10:38-42 
• Read the story of Lazarus’s resurrection in John 11. 

LINKS 

Friends and Sisters Bible study 

CSB Women’s Study Bible 

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Hosted by Tina Boesch and Paige Clayton Keeton with guest Oghosa Iyamu. 

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Friends and Sisters is a podcast from Lifeway Women.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:11

Hello friends. Welcome to the Friends and Sisters podcast. I'm Tina Bosch. And I'm Paige Keaton.

SPEAKER_06 0:17

And in this podcast, we'll reflect on how to cultivate deep Christ and relationships with one another.

SPEAKER_01 0:23

Whether you are new to your relationship with Jesus or if you've walked it with him for years, this podcast will remind you that you have a place in God's family, and we're all hoping that it's going to inspire you to become a better sister and friend. I know it's inspired me so far. I know. Paige, today we're actually good to talk about seeing and serving our friends, loving them well. I want to ask you, how how can a friend best serve you? Like what's your favorite way to be served by a friend?

SPEAKER_06 0:51

Let's go with a let's go with a nice coffee.

SPEAKER_01 0:53

A nice Okay, what's your coffee order?

SPEAKER_06 0:56

I would say an oat milk latte.

SPEAKER_01 0:58

Like you just want a friend to show up on your doorstep, oat milk latte in hand.

SPEAKER_06 1:02

And maybe, well, there's a there's a a coffee coffee shop in Boone, North Carolina, where I'm from, and they have this thing called everything muffin. It's like a carrot cake kind of muffin.

SPEAKER_03 1:11

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_06 1:12

And so like an oat milk latte with one pump mocha and the carrot and the every it's called the everything muffin. That's a lot of it.

SPEAKER_01 1:17

Does everything muffin have cream cheese icing on top?

SPEAKER_06 1:20

No, it is uh it is not iced. Sorry.

SPEAKER_01 1:22

Oh, I'm missing the cream cheese ice. So is that how you'd be served?

SPEAKER_06 1:24

How would you be served by a friend? Like if I were gonna show up at your door, what would I what would I be carrying?

SPEAKER_01 1:29

You know what? I think you'd be carrying. I love friends who talk to me about what they're reading. So I love a friend who shows up with a book recommendation. Nice. And who wants to talk about what they're thinking about. So I'm like a one-on-one. Talk to me about what you're thinking, talk to me about what you're interested in. Like I guess that kind of quality time for me, that's like that's the best.

SPEAKER_06 1:53

That's what I'm doing quick. Like, here I am with my book. I want a book. Where's my book? Mine would be, you know, counseling books. I'm learning about psychology stuff. Oh, but that's what that's what I bring to your door.

SPEAKER_01 2:04

All right, so we are we are gonna be talking about friendship. And I mean, time with our friends is one of those things that fills us up, it restores our souls. So can you remember a time, give me a time, when you had a friend who you felt really seen by, really served well by. It may be the coffee, but is there another moment page that comes to mind?

SPEAKER_06 2:26

Yes, yes. I was thinking back on this question, and I I am divorced. I was divorced many, many years ago, um, before the before the cell phone I was divorced. And um I uh had long separation just trying to walk with the Lord through what to do, and I he brought me two friends, and that those friends are still like we're friends out there, but we've it was just for this season that he brought them to me. And they they had two purposes. They they saw me in my pain and came to me. One was very deeply spiritual and very wise, godly woman, and she taught me about God used her to teach me about um my sin and my flesh because I felt very much like a little bit self-righteous. She was very gentle, but then there's another friend that he just brought, and she was just fun. She taught me I had my first sushi with her ever, and then she just would hold my hand, we would laugh, or she would sit with me when I cried and just experience with a friend. That's bonding. It was yeah, because she was new, and you know, we we met at work, I met both of these women through work at and at my other job there, and but it was but they're I still love these women, they're out there doing their lives, but we that was pretty seasonal, actually, and it was just a gift, they were both gifts and just served me in my sadness and pain.

SPEAKER_02 3:41

I love that.

SPEAKER_06 3:42

Yeah, so tell me we talk a little bit later in this this episode that we're about to have about hospitality and talking about our our girls, Martha and Mary. Mary and Martha. We're gonna talk, we're gonna go there. And so as it relates, and you know, Martha got in a little trouble around hospitality.

SPEAKER_01 3:59

But but in addition, she's mainly worried about that, right?

SPEAKER_06 4:02

Right, but in a in a but friendship can be hospitable. So, what ways have you experienced that in your life?

SPEAKER_01 4:09

Yeah. Yes, so oh gosh, so many ways, so many friends come to mind. Um, I realize even just thinking about serving, one of the things I love so much about friends, I know a friend is a really good friend if they feel comfortable in my kitchen. And if we're eating, they feel comfortable like helping put the dishes away. People who just join in. Um, one of the friends um that has been like that for me is a woman named Laurel, and she was one of these friends that we shared definitely a common love of books. So we definitely connected over books and art. There are things that both of us love. And at one point, Laurel realized I was trying to work on writing, like it wasn't something I had done a lot of, but I had um Micah was little, Naomi had just been born. I had no quiet time, and it was we were living in a city in a small apartment, and so there was literally no quiet space for me to write. And Laurel's like, Tina, I want you to use my apartment as your writing retreat. And she and her husband, or she she and her family were gonna be traveling on a vacation. She gave me access, her key for a week, and I could be with my family and then use her apartment for a week for the days that um just to focus and to write. I still remember that time as being so sweet. I spent a ton of time with Laurel in her home. That is hospitality, that's what it looks like, that's what serving, yeah, in a Christian way looks like. That's right. We're gonna get to read um about Mary and Martha. And these are women we think we know, but I have a feeling in this conversation, we're gonna look at something, we're gonna learn some new things, and we're gonna get to have a conversation with Agosa Iamu, who is a Bible teacher and a speaker and a writer, and she's recently published a study called Forever Welcomed. And she thinks a lot about what it means to be invited into relationship with Jesus and into relationship with one another. And so as I read this passage from Luke 10 that we're gonna be talking with Agosa about, um, I want us to really focus on what it what Jesus looks like as a friend in this passage. That's not usually the perspective we read this with. No. Um and so let's focus there. What do we see about Jesus as a friend to Mary and Martha? Okay. So Luke 10, verse 38. While they were traveling, he, Jesus, entered a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who also sat at the Lord's feet and was listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks, and she came up and asked, Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to serve alone? So tell her to give me a hand. The Lord answered her, Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has made the right choice, and it will not be taken away from her. Because we are ready to talk about Luke 10. Um, there have been so many times when I've read this passage and thought, okay, what does this tell me about these women, Mary and Martha? And I think in preparing to look at this passage with you, I realized actually we should be asking, what does this tell us about Jesus? So, Ogosa, tell me, when you read this passage, how do you see Jesus as a friend?

SPEAKER_02 7:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:58

In this passage, what do you take away from the way that Jesus is relating to these women who are his friend?

SPEAKER_05 8:06

Yeah. Well, this passage is so rich. And one of the things that first stands out to me is the fact that Jesus was willing to engage with both Mary and Martha. These are unmarried women. And typically in this day, a rabbi did not go into the home of unmarried women. There was no male household. And so we see Jesus able to go beyond social boundaries in order to have a friendship with these women. And that is huge, and that is something that really stands out to me. The fact that Jesus is willing to cross boundaries. Jesus is willing to put himself in positions in order to be able to love others. And that stands out to me because I think it's easy in friendships to um kind of gravitate to people who are like you, or people who think like you, people who talk like you. But what does it mean to be able to love people who are different from us, to love people who may um have different interests and maybe uh backgrounds than we do? So that was something about Jesus that really stood out to me. Also, how Jesus is concerned with seeing them beyond physical sight. Right. Um Jesus sees their longings, he sees their desires. You know, he knew that uh Martha was distracted. Yeah, he said, You are distracted by many things. And so he was able to see her beyond the physical. He saw her longings, he saw her fears and her desires. And I think when we think about friendship, we're not just thinking about seeing one another in the physical, but we want to see each other. We want to know what is your story? What is your heart? What are the things that motivate you? What are your fears? And so I love that Jesus um he sees beyond physical stuff and he's willing to cross boundaries in order to build relationships. And that is something for me that I just love reading and seeing about Jesus is that um he is a friend. Like, yes, he is the Messiah, yes, he is the savior of the world, but he is also friend, and he is also willing to um enter into spaces that um may not be um as comfortable or that we deem as like glorious or beautiful, but he's doing that so that he can love um others, and I just love that about Jesus. So good.

SPEAKER_06 10:15

Yeah, and you can see from that interaction with them that it's not a surface-level relationship, right? He goes deeper. So, how is he modeling that for us in our own relationships to be able to go to go deeper with him like and to go deeper with with people? He wasn't afraid to just speak the truth, right? But but in kindness, we weren't there, but he was he was direct for her for her good.

SPEAKER_05 10:36

Right, right. And I believe that um going beyond surface, it has to have transparency and vulnerability. We see that with Jesus, that when Martha comes and says, hey, she's not, you know, helping me out, and what does Jesus do? He speaks truth in love. Yeah, he he doesn't go, yeah, you're right. You know what? Yeah, Mary, get up and go, you know, yeah. He is able to speak the truth in love. And I think sometimes in relationships, it can be easy to kind of do a gang frustration, like if you're upset, I'm upset, or if you don't like that person, I don't like. But I think are we willing to speak the truth in love? Are we willing to correct our friends and say, hey, actually, here's another way to see it. Yeah, here's a different way to look at it. And I love that about Jesus is that he is willing to be vulnerable. But also, I want to point out Martha because I think a lot of times I have read it and I've been like, Martha, why'd you say that? Like, why like what is that about, you know? Yeah. And I think to remember that she trusted Jesus enough to be vulnerable.

SPEAKER_01 11:35

Yes. And also You know, she's gonna call out her sister in front of me. And she it doesn't address Mary, she doesn't say, Mary, come help me. Right. She actually says, Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Mary's sitting right there exactly. And he's like, Jesus. Right. Don't you see me?

SPEAKER_05 11:54

Right. Yeah, right. And I just think that it just shows how much she trusts Jesus.

SPEAKER_06 12:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 12:00

Like she trusts Jesus with her frustrations. Yeah. She trusts Jesus, you know, when she um is not happy or not um just in a good place. And I just think about that with my own heart. Like, am I willing to bring that to Jesus? Yeah. When I'm struggling with comparison, because that's what we have here. Like she's comparing herself to what her sister's doing. And when I'm in those situations, you know, when I'm looking at other women and I'm thinking, Lord, why don't you have them do X, Y, and Z? Yeah, am I willing to bring that to the Lord and be honest with my heart? Because we all struggle with comparison. What about me?

SPEAKER_06 12:36

What about me?

SPEAKER_05 12:36

Right, exactly. What about me, Lord? You're blessing her. What about me? Yeah. I've been working hard, I've been serving, you know. So when we really look at Martha, we can all relate to being in a position where we feel like maybe God is overlooking our service, God is overlooking our work, and he's blessing another sister, and we're comparing our work. And to be able to bring that to Jesus, yeah, just as much as we bring our worship of praise and our song, are we willing to bring our frustration and our fears and our longings and say, Um, Lord, do you see me over here? Yeah. And so I just really admire her transparency that she trusted Jesus enough and and Jesus was able to help reorient her heart. And that's what happens when we bring it to Jesus.

SPEAKER_06 13:17

Don't you wonder what she said after that or what she what she what her reaction was to that correction in a way? And like, oh like, but I'm sure, you know, such a felt loved we weren't in the moment with with that, but I'm sure she felt loved and see and seen. Right. Um a little bit corrected of a way to look at it. Like, what if she had been? I'm so glad my sister's getting time with Jesus at his feet, and I can serve them. Like our heart is most more likely like her heart was in comparison, and not like, oh, my sister's being blessed with this. Like we don't tend to do that. No, we're like, Well, what are you doing?

SPEAKER_05 13:51

Why are you? What about me?

SPEAKER_01 13:53

What about me?

SPEAKER_05 13:54

You know?

SPEAKER_01 13:55

But Jesus is so clear. Mary made the right choice. He says it so clearly. Mary has made the right choice. She's doing the only thing that's really necessary, which is sitting at my feet, being present with me. Right. I want to talk about that presence, that sense of presence. So Mary is really present with Jesus. Jesus is also present with her.

SPEAKER_03 14:20

Right.

SPEAKER_01 14:20

And I think there's something so powerful about presence. You wrote about another passage where we see Mary and Martha again.

SPEAKER_02 14:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:30

And that's a passage where the thing they want most is Jesus to be around. Yes. Can you talk a little bit about what you learned from looking at the moment when Mary and Martha call for Jesus and he doesn't show up? Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 14:47

Yeah. I think it's so interesting that when both Martha and Mary go to Jesus, they say, Lord, if you had been here. If you had been here.

SPEAKER_01 14:57

And we're talking about the moment when their brother Lazarus was sick and dying. Yes, yes, and John and Jesus.

SPEAKER_05 15:05

Right.

SPEAKER_01 15:05

And he didn't show, he waited.

SPEAKER_05 15:08

Right, he waited. And I think that that's so interesting about the waiting. So I'm going to comment on that too. But um the presence part, I think that's so interesting because whether we are serving or whether we are physically just sitting with someone and being present, the goal is presence. So what Jesus was rebuking of Martha wasn't necessarily her service, but the fact that she wasn't present in her service. She wasn't present and she wasn't able to really be there. And so sometimes we can be physically somewhere, but we're not actually present. So I'm sitting with you, but I'm not present with you. Right. Right. And so what Jesus is after is the presence, not so much of how serving, because both of them were doing hospitable things. Yeah. In that culture, what Martha was doing was an act of love. Right. You know, and um what Mary was doing was an act of love, but Mary was present in her act of love. And so that's what's so important about it. And um I think that's fascinating when Jesus, um, when both Mary and Martha say, if you had been here, um, and that's interesting because they probably knew by now that Jesus could have healed Lazarus from wherever he was. Oh, yes. You know, but they said, if you had been here, so there was something not just about the miracle of Jesus, but the presence of Jesus that they wanted there with them. And um I think this this is so fascinating. It says this um Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. And this is John 11 and verse 30. Um, and I think that's so interesting because before Jesus, he could have just came and said, Let me just be lying to Lazarus. Yeah. But it but it says Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. He was present. He knew that he was going to go heal Lazarus, and still he was present and he had a conversation with both Martha and Mary. He took the time to be present in their grief and he wept. And I think that is so important that even though Jesus knew the outcome, he still dispute is huge. Was present with them in their grief. Yeah. And he stayed in, you know, process with both Mary and Martha. So I just think that that's so um interesting. And you brought up waiting. So I'll just make this little and then I'll own it on the screen. I just I just think it's so interesting that um John connects love and waiting. Because oftentimes we think that love is you meet my every expectation. You work according to my timeline, and Jesus is interested in God's greater work. And so it's so interesting that it says in verse 6, John 11, verse 6, so when he heard that he was sick, Lazarus, he stayed two more days in the place where he was. So Jesus hears that he's sick and he stays.

SPEAKER_04 18:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 18:05

And Jesus has the greater work of God in mind. And I think that is so important in our friendships, is that we want to be pursuing God's greater work. For example, just even me being here this weekend. My sister, she is a widow, and uh me and my uh mom have been helping her with her boys and everything. And my mom happens to be out of town this same weekend, and she's like, I ghost, I don't know how it's just gonna be me with the boys. And I said, Hey, the Lord's gonna be with you. Yeah, the Lord is gonna show up for you in a way that He may not be able to show up if mom and I were here. And um, I could have canceled, I could have, you know, been there, but you know, that is just as glorifying as when I am in the trenches with her and helping with my nephews and being there. And so sometimes us serving others is allowing God to be present and not always just running to fix everything, but allowing God to fill voids in their life and to be present with them just as much as when I am able to be physically present. And so I think we have to be always focused on Jesus' greater work.

SPEAKER_01 19:10

Yeah, that's right. I'm curious when you think about the Mary and Martha that we meet in the passage in Luke, yeah, where Martha's busy, she's distracted, we don't see her at Jesus' feet in that moment. Yeah, but when we meet her in John 11, I am wondering, do you see growth and maturity in her Agosa?

unknown 19:33

Yes.

SPEAKER_05 19:34

Tell us how. Yes, okay. I I love this verse in 24. Uh Martha said to him, She's talking to Jesus. I know that he will rise again and the resurrection at the last day. Um, we see, and then you know, Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. Uh, the one who believes in me, even if he dies, he will live. Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this? And she says this, yes, Lord, she told him, I believe you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who comes into the world. I mean, that is a profound profession of who Jesus is. This is not the Martha who was sitting at the feet of Jesus, but this is the Martha who was proclaiming some pretty serious theology.

SPEAKER_06 20:21

Who probably switched gears after that encounter with Jesus. Right. And just was like, oh, wait, I'm missing it. Right. Yeah. Right. Now she's not missing it.

SPEAKER_05 20:28

Exactly, exactly. And she's able to make this profound profession of who Jesus is so she sees him rightly. She sees him clearly for who he is. I love that Jesus was present with them, that he listened, that he was able to enter into their grief.

SPEAKER_01 20:46

He entered into the grief in their experience. Right, yeah, right, knowing the outcome. Yeah, we potentially weep.

SPEAKER_06 20:52

Yeah, he's like he was in it.

SPEAKER_05 20:54

Right. And I think that that's so important in our friendships. Like for us to be able to enter in and to be able to sit and to understand that a a lot of times we may not even be called to do all the things, but just sit and be present and to be able to pray and seek the Lord and know that my presence is an embodiment of God's care. I love that all throughout scripture it talks about God says, like, I am with you, and I am with you, and I am with you. And one of the ways that God is with his people is through his people.

SPEAKER_01 21:30

Yes. Incarnational ministry. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 21:33

You know, the embodiment of God's witness, of his care for his people.

SPEAKER_03 21:38

That's right.

SPEAKER_05 21:38

And I think that when we are present and when we are with people, we remind people that God is with them. And a lot of times, how God is with his people, one of the ways is through his people and through us showing up in that embodied care.

SPEAKER_06 21:52

And this a lot of the study this this week is about being seen. Talking about being seen. And so talk more about like how. We can apply that in our own faith walk in our own relationships to allow others to see us. Yeah. And then also to see them. Like what's your advice for people in walking life with relationships?

SPEAKER_05 22:11

Yeah, I think that's great. I think about both ways. I think if we really want people to see us, we have to be vulnerable and we have to be honest about where we are and how we're doing. You know, how often do somebody say, Hey, how you doing? You know, and they're close friends, and we're like, we're doing great. It's fine. It's awesome. You know, and we know that it's been a hard week.

SPEAKER_06 22:30

Right.

SPEAKER_05 22:30

We know that there are things going on. And that's not to say we have to spill everything, but are we honest? Are we able to say, hey, this week is actually a hard week?

SPEAKER_06 22:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 22:37

This week I actually would love if you could pray for me. Yeah. I'm actually struggling. I'm actually really wondering if God is still good. Yeah. I really feel like he's forgot about me, that he doesn't see me in my season. Um, would you pray that I could be just reminded of God's goodness and his presence? And I think to know that that doesn't make you less of a Christian or less of a person who loves the Lord, but knowing that we all struggle with those things.

SPEAKER_06 23:03

It's so true. And I also think speaking back to just what you said about vulnerability and and being because it you really that's really humility because you're dropping your prize. That's right. You're not saying you're saying I'm okay to be saying I'm weak. We don't like to say we're weak. We'd like to be so strong and have it all together, but we don't. And so that opens the opportunity for someone else to to minister to you or to whoever has said that I'm having a bad day, or even in bringing that what could turn into sin to light of I'm struggling with competition. That's right. That that protects from from sin or from like just speaking into that. So that's that takes a lot of courage. Oh, yeah. Um, and and actually it allows the Lord to move in those relationships and help bring healing with each other. That's what it's about.

SPEAKER_05 23:43

Yes. And I agree too. How often have we been vulnerable with someone and then they're vulnerable with us? Like when we take off our cape, yeah, then they're like, okay, mine's is coming off too. Okay, you're struggling with that. Actually, I'm struggling with that too. Yeah. You know, actually I I struggle with it. You know, so we're also like modeling it. And they feel less shame in that.

SPEAKER_06 24:02

If we feel less shame, you're not the only one that struggles with that. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. We're able to say, Oh, struggle with that too. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 24:09

Builds the kingdom. It does, it does. And it takes us beyond that surface level and actually has us, you know, in those authentic relationships, which I think we all want. We all want deep friendship. We want it, but we often don't realize they're they're costly. They cost us our pride. They do. You know, like we have to, we have to, it costs us our pride in many ways. Um, we've got to be humble and we've got to be vulnerable and transparent if we really want the kind of relationships that I know so many of us want. We've got to be willing to enter in and to be vulnerable.

SPEAKER_01 24:41

So Agosa, as we wrap up our conversation together, yeah, I do want to ask you, what is one thing that you would love for women to take away? Because we said at the beginning of this conversation, this passage really isn't about Mary and Martha.

SPEAKER_04 24:57

Right. Right.

SPEAKER_01 24:58

It's what do we learn about Jesus Himself? What is revealed about Jesus? And specifically, Jesus is a friend.

SPEAKER_05 25:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:06

What would you want women to remember about Jesus as a friend?

SPEAKER_05 25:09

I feel like in our culture, we often approach friendships of what can you do for me?

SPEAKER_02 25:14

How can you serve me?

SPEAKER_05 25:16

And to know that Jesus approaches it very different, you know, when he talks about friendship and this love and this laying down life, this sacrificial love. And I believe that our friendships could really be transformed if we approach them. How could I serve you? How could I be of service in your life versus how can you serve me? How can this benefit me? And when I think about my own life and relationships that have, you know, broken down anywhere, it's usually because one of us is wanting to be served rather than to serve. And Jesus said, I have come to serve, not to be served.

SPEAKER_01 25:59

I think it's interesting that even as he spent time with Mary and Martha, we see this characteristic begin to be born in them. Right. Like after Lazarus is raised, we see Mary anointing Jesus' feet for his burial. She's serving him in anticipation.

SPEAKER_05 26:16

At the feet again.

SPEAKER_01 26:17

At the feet again. And that's where we want to be, doesn't it? Isn't it?

SPEAKER_05 26:21

Amen. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:23

Oh my gosh, Paige, we have a lot to talk about.

SPEAKER_06 26:27

I'm gonna say it again. I say it every time I love her.

SPEAKER_01 26:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 26:29

She is so engaging and had such different insight. I know. I loved, I my favorite thing as a counselor is talking about vulnerability. Okay. Like where she was saying, we were and uncovering that that they were both really honest and vulnerable to Jesus when they went to him when he came, you know, after Lazarus had died, and they were like, Why, why, where were you? Why didn't you come? You could have saved him, kind of kind of posture, but also very humble before him, but still also expressing you let you let us down.

SPEAKER_01 27:03

They're really honest.

SPEAKER_06 27:04

And they felt safe doing that. They felt safe doing that, and that's the beauty of healthy friendship grounded in Christ, is that we can be vulnerable. It's a safe place to be vulnerable. And and even express that truth and love piece of of going, you I'm hurt by this. How can we resolve it or what can we do? And and he it was a safe place to do that. And then he wept with them, then he got into the vulnerability with them and wept with them.

SPEAKER_01 27:29

One of the things I'm really still thinking about from Agosa's just insights were was the way that Jesus' ministry really is incarnational in the flesh. He was with present with these women in a way that was approachable to them. I mean, here you have God in the flesh who is friends with Mary and Martha, so such good friends, in fact, that they're really honest with him about their frustrations. I love seeing the full circle moment, and I think I just realized this when when Agosa was talking, that the first time we encounter Mary Martha, Martha is serving, but she's really frustrated. Yes. Mary is at Jesus' feet learning. And then when we see them the last time, um right after their brother has been raised from the dead, I want to go here because I think it's really beautiful to see the restoration because Jesus may have in that moment reminded Martha that what Mary is doing was the most important thing, but he doesn't minimize her gifts in serving. Right. Right. And ultimately she gets to live into that in this moment. And I think it's a really beautiful moment of restoration. Um, Jesus comes to Bethany six days before the Passover, and I'm in John 12, and this is, and the scripture says this is where Lazarus was, the one Jesus raised from the dead. So we know exactly who we're with.

SPEAKER_06 28:58

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 28:58

We're with this family that's friends of Jesus. So they gave a dinner for him there. And we know Jesus loves table fellowship. Um Martha was serving them, and it's really clear here that this is a good moment. And Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary, and again, this good this goes to the vulnerability because this feels like such hugely. Jesus is there in the flesh, he's present with him, and she took a pound of perfume, pure and expensive nard, and anointed Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. So the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. I mean, to be able to feel so so, so intimate. And it's clear that Jesus had created a place where these women felt this safe with him. They felt so safe with him. I can't imagine a moment that illustrates that better. And when there's pushback from the disciples who see what's happening, Jesus clearly answers leave her alone. She has kept it for the day of my burial. He realizes that she has a sense that something important is happening here, and she is ministering to Jesus, who is her friend.

SPEAKER_06 30:19

She's been studying at his feet and listening. She's she's been present, she knows what's going on.

SPEAKER_01 30:23

And Jesus says, For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.

SPEAKER_03 30:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:30

And Mary's like, I I have Jesus. I'm gonna be with him right now at his feet.

SPEAKER_06 30:37

So how do we how do we provide that incarnational ministry to others? Yeah, that's so here here, you know, that's that's the question and the challenge for us is how do we how do we balance that?

SPEAKER_01 30:50

Yeah, I mean, I think about moments that are like you just know you have to go and be in person with someone. So you know, as we turn our attention to trying to be sisters like that, yes, what advice would you give the women as we move into our week? How this week can we do a good job about being present for people and vulnerable?

SPEAKER_06 31:14

I think a couple things. Slow down. Slow down. I'm bad about just you know, and because we see people better when we're slowing down. And someone asked me that the other day, like, what do we do what do we do in airports before we had before we had cell phones? You know, we walk we people watched. Yeah. We sat and looked around and like but we saw people. And so I think I think to be to have a we have to it it doesn't happen naturally to us to to think uh outward, think of others like but but to be others, try to discipline ourselves to be looking outward. What does this person need? What might someone need from me? And I think we're gonna hit a little bit of that in our next time with with Jeannie. I know.

SPEAKER_01 31:57

Next week we get to talk to our friend Jeannie and we're going to be thinking about how we can care well for one another. And we hope you guys are enjoying your study during the week. This podcast is made to go alongside a Bible study called Friends and Sisters. You can find it in the show notes if you're not already working through it with us. We'd love for you to join us on this journey to understand how to be a better friend and a better sister.

SPEAKER_00 32:24

Thank you for listening to the Friends and Sisters Podcast. Executive producers Tina Bosch and Angie Elkins. Producer Chelsea Walk. Engineer Donnie Gordon, edited by Caleb Hoopingarner, art by Chelsea Walk and Shila Sheffelbean, Photography, Emily Bergeron, content editor, Laura Magnus. For a deeper dive, check out the Friends and Sisters Bible study book that accompanies this podcast, linked in the show notes. Your hosts are Tina Bosch and Paige Keaton, recorded at the LifeWay Podcast Studio in Brentwood, Tennessee.