Luke 10:38-42
“Driven to Distraction”
July 17, 2022
My brother Bob, the one smack dab in the center of the family order, and his wife Laura amaze us every 4th of July weekend.
They generously host our annual family combination birthday/graduation/Independence Day “party” – a word that is definitely not adequate.
They not only feed at least 2 dozen of us a total of at least 3 meals but they also have all of us sleeping at their house in every nook and cranny.
Throughout the party proper which typically runs about 6-8 hours, Bob spends much of that time over a hot grill while Laura is keeping multiple balls in the air navigating food, beverages, and all those family issues that come with a high-energy clan with plenty of opinions.
We always try to ensure that the two of them get a chance to enjoy the festivities and they always claim they do but I can say seeing them working so hard to keep us fed and entertained brings out an appreciation that comes withs lots of us diving in to do whatever needs doing.
Somehow both of them stay engaged with both the tasks to be done and the listening and interacting that makes you want to spend more time with them.
So often this story is told in such a way to pit Mary against Martha –
the one who wants to hear what Jesus has to say and the one who wants to offer him hospitality – that’s the positive take.
Others would describe Martha as the one who is busy doing while Mary is busy being.
Jesus drops in unexpectedly and in keeping with the tradition of radical hospitality, it was only natural for Martha to assume that Mary would do her part to extend the welcome mat – help prep the food, get the table ready, making sure that Jesus was treated as an honored guest.
Mary plopping herself down and just listening to what Jesus had to share sends Martha into a tizzy.
You can just imagine what she was saying under her breath, indignant and angry that her sister isn’t lifting a finger.
It doesn’t take long for Martha to get defensive and try to pull Jesus into the beef she has with her sister’s lack of help.
Jesus instead sees through the Martha who is busy and goes straight to the Martha who is worried and distracted.
This passage is not saying that the contemplative life is more important than the active life.
In English we hear that Mary has picked “the better part” but in Greek that word is defined as good.
Jesus here is highlighting that the choice Mary has made has value but is not dismissing Martha.
Jesus is drawing attention to the God that is both within us and actively at work with us out in the world.
Rather than seeing this as a lesson on either/or, we should consider it as both/and.
Ours is a faith that is not intended to be all inside our heads and hearts.
But we definitely need quiet time for prayer, study, reflection.
Carving out that kind of time is vital to keeping us in relationship with our still-speaking God.
Hopefully, this also leads to a deepening faith with every passing year.
A faith that does not question, reflect, and seek out more context will not be there when life’s circumstances change as they most assuredly will.
Our bodies and minds change as we grow older and experience more of life – shouldn’t our faith grow with us?
Attempting to hold it in the same shape that it was when we were children or young adults denies the opportunity for the God who journeys with us to reflect who we are becoming not just who we once were.
As we change and grow we also need to get to work, taking what we know of God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit and applying it to our own life and the world around us.
Luke places an emphasis on hospitality throughout his telling of Jesus’ ministry.
Luke also emphasizes the empowerment of those previously viewed as powerless in the culture of their time.
Without knowing whether Lazarus was present at home with his sisters when Jesus came to visit or if the disciples went in with him, we don’t know whether Jesus was going against the cultural norm of the time by being in a home with two women who were not his relatives.
We do know that it was countercultural that Jesus is teaching a woman who is occupying the space usually reserved for the males of the household.
Just last week we heard about the parable of the Samaritan who demonstrated how we are to love our neighbor.
Today’s story has Mary showing how we are to love God.
Both of these – a Samaritan and a woman – would have been unusual models of goodness in the culture of the time and yet Jesus uses them as examples of what we are to strive for.
He makes the point of inclusivity – this is what the kingdom of God that he’s ushering in looks like.
We are called to both a life of ever-deepening relationship with God and a life of action.
We are to be both hearers of the Word and doers of it.
Let us then raise this prayer from the Maine UMC District Superintendent:
Lord, thank you for all the Martha’s in life.
They organize and prepare and make sure all is ready for our meals, our services, and our ministries.
Lord, thank you for all the Mary’s in our midst.
They remind us to sit at your feet and soak all that you are into our thirsty souls.
Lord, thank you that in life, we need not choose to be either a Martha or a Mary.
We are free to incorporate both of these parts into the whole of who we are.
We can all set the table and sit at your feet.
We can all get things accomplished and spend time alone with you.
Mostly, Lord, help us not to worry or become distracted but to always reside with you…Let us live all of our moments with reverence and devotion, Lord. Amen.
(from Rev. Dr. Jacquelyn Brannen, Katahdin District Superintendent)