Week 1: Chapter 1 — A Tale of Two Sisters

1.Weaver introduces two women who both love Jesus, yet respond to His presence in completely different ways. In your own words, what is the essential difference between Mary's response and Martha's response when Jesus comes to their home?

2.Weaver is careful to say that Martha is not a villain in this story — she is doing something good and necessary. Why, then, does Jesus gently correct her? What does His correction reveal about what He values most in a relationship with His followers?

3.Weaver describes the tension many women feel between longing for closeness with God and being constantly pulled toward tasks and responsibilities. Where do you most feel that tension in your own life right now?

4.Weaver uses the image of the "living room" and the "kitchen" to describe two different postures toward God. What do these images capture that a more abstract theological term might miss?

5.Jesus says Mary has chosen "the better part" (Luke 10:42). This implies a choice — and that not all choices are equally good, even among good things. What "good things" in your life most often compete with the better thing of sitting at Jesus' feet?

6.Weaver writes for women who feel they are never quite godly enough, loving enough, or doing enough. Do you recognize yourself in that description? What does that underlying sense of inadequacy tell you about where you are currently looking for approval?

7.How does the fact that Jesus received Martha's hospitality — He came to her home, He ate her food — complicate any reading of this story that simply dismisses service as unimportant? What is Weaver actually arguing about the relationship between service and intimacy?

8.As you begin this study, which sister do you most identify with — Mary or Martha — and what do you hope Jesus might say to you, tenderly and personally, by the time you finish this book?