There's a brief story in Luke 10:38-42, where Jesus is visiting in the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus - two sisters and their brother. It's a busy time at their house, because people have come to see Jesus, and to marvel at Lazarus, who was just raised from the dead by Jesus. Martha is working to serve the guests, and Mary is sitting and listening. Martha asks Jesus to tell Mary to help her, and - surprisingly - he doesn't. Instead, he gently reproves Martha for worrying, and says that Mary has "chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her".

It doesn't seem fair, on the face of it. But here's what's going on in the internal sense of the story:

In verses 38-39, when the Lord stops in this village to visit Martha and Mary, it means that the Lord is received by people who are love truth and of good.

In verses 41-42, when Martha is busy and stressed, she represents our state of mind when we are in the affection of truth, but are not yet purified from the anxieties of self-love. Then the Lord instructs us, that we should pay attention to the higher affection of good, and exalt it in our lives.

3181. Verses 59-61 And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant and his men. And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, Our sister, may you become thousands of myriads, and may your seed inherit the gate of those who hate you. And Rebekah rose up, and her maids, and they rode on the camels and went after the man. And the servant took Rebekah and went.

'They sent away Rebekah their sister' means separation from the affection for Divine truth. 'And her nurse' means from the innocence belonging to that affection. 'And Abraham's servant and his men' means from the Divine things within the natural man. 'And they blessed Rebekah and said to her' means heartfelt desires resulting from Divine enlightenment. 'Our sister, may you become thousands of myriads' means infinite fruitfulness of the affection for truth. 'And may your seed inherit the gate of those who hate you' means the Lord's spiritual kingdom arising from the marriage of good and truth in the Divine Human, a kingdom possessing charity and faith where evil and falsity had been previously. 'And Rebekah rose up' means a raising up of the affection for truth and the resulting separation. 'And her maids' means subsidiary affections. 'And they rode on the camels' means that the understanding part of the mind was raised up above natural facts. 'And went after the man' means under the guidance of natural Divine Truth. 'And the servant took Rebekah and went' means that natural Divine Good did the introducing.