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Pentecost 6C/Proper 11C
July 17, 2022
Luke 10:38-42
INTRODUCTION
Last week we heard from Luke the story of the Good Samaritan, which begins with the statement that we are to love the Lord our God with heart, mind, soul, and strength, and our neighbor as ourselves, and ends with that famous line from Jesus regarding being a good neighbor: “Go and do likewise.” Today’s story follows that encounter directly, but today, instead of focusing on the loving neighbor bit, we’ll see what it means to love God. In Martha, we will see the “doing” part of loving God that many of us are so good at, but in Mary, as she sits at her Lord’s feet, we will see the listening and loving God part that sometimes comes less easily. So as you listen today, look for anything that might help you in the difficult work of listening to God. Where do you hear God? How do God’s word and God’s voice become apparent in your life? What in today’s scriptures speaks to you, or perhaps comes through to you as something you need to hear from God this day? Let’s listen.
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| "Mary and Martha," by Grace Rehbaum, age 6 (drawn during worship) |
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
The other day, I was bustling about my home, as I do, cleaning up, making food, getting people ready to get out the door, while my family sat on the couch having some interesting conversation about history or something. I was growing increasingly frustrated and stressed that no one was helping me. Finally, I walked in the room, flustered, and blurted out something like, “Would someone please help me??” Michael, in a genuine effort to help me calm down, said, “Relaaaax,” but I shouted all the more, “Telling me to relax only annoys me more! No one calms down just because someone tells them to!”
So… yeah, I resonate with Martha in today’s story.
My guess is there might be some other Marthas out there among you?
Because of that, my guess is there might be others out there who hear this story and think it is not really fair for Jesus to be chastising Martha for tending to all those tasks. Someone has to do it, after all! Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all spend our days in Bible study, instead of doing the dishes! Couldn’t Jesus have maybe suggested they all chip in and give Martha a hand?
Yes, it sounds an awful lot to this “Martha” like Jesus is chastising Martha for being a busybody while Mary just sits there and listens to Jesus.
But, on closer look, I don’t think that is at all what is happening here. In fact, you’ll notice that Jesus doesn’t even comment on Martha’s faithful work of service. See, his observation is not about her actions, but on the state of her heart. Not: “you’re being a busybody, Martha,” but rather, “You are worried and distracted by many things.” And that is a very different observation!
With that in mind, let’s take a closer look. First, let’s paint the scene. It is not actually clear that this scene takes place in Martha’s home. The phrase “into her home” is not in the earliest manuscripts, so this was likely added later. And you’ll notice Mary doesn’t say anything – she may not actually be there. The Greek verb tense Luke uses to say she “sat at the Lord’s feet” (a phrase used to refer to a disciple, who metaphorically sits at the feet of a teacher to learn) indicates that this is not a one-time event, but a repeated one, one Mary does with regularity. So you can see, the picture of this scene is not clear, but here is what we do know: the sisters are engaging in two different parts of discipleship. Mary is engaging in a ministry of study and learning, and Martha is engaging in a ministry of service. The word Luke uses for Martha is “diakonia,” the word from which we get the word “deacon,” a minister of service. So, Martha is a sort of deacon, engaged in some sort of community care ministry.
But we also know that Martha is not particularly enjoying her service. Luke tells us she is “distracted” by her ministry. It’s not clear why she is distracted, or what is distracting her. But if I may project myself once more on this story, here is my typical response when I am feeling stressed or anxious or distracted by my many tasks: I make lists, I go into hyperdrive, and I get incredibly frustrated when people around me don’t do their part. (Refer to my earlier story!) In short: I try to bring order to the chaos, in hopes that these efforts will bring my heart the peace that it craves. And often, this effort (and others’ apparent lack of interest in it) stresses me out even more. Anyone else?
Perhaps that is what is motivating Martha. If she can bring order, she thinks, she can assuage her anxiety and frustration. She powers through, serving more and more people, tiring herself out, and finally, she triangulates Jesus into trying to get Mary to help her: “Don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the work? Tell her to help me!” Surely Jesus would help her make right the disorder of the situation!
But Jesus sees that the real disorder is not with Mary’s choice to pursue the ministry of learning. The disorder is with Martha’s heart. Martha has convinced herself, you see, that changing the circumstances around her will bring her the peace and wholeness she craves. Just like I so often convince myself that a clean house and a fully crossed off to-do list will allow me, finally, to rest. That is why I am so irritated by my well-intentioned husband telling me to relax: who can relax when there is so much stress to be had?? But of course, crossing off the to-do list will not change Martha’s heart, which is where the real trouble is, any more than it will change ours.
And Jesus knows how to get this message through to Martha, and to us, if we have ears to hear.
The first thing Jesus does, is he sees Martha. He says her name – not once, but twice. She is in such a state, you see, that she can’t at first even hear him trying to reach her. Like in my story, I was not in a position to “Relaaax,” because I had worked myself into such a state that I didn’t even feel that anyone saw my efforts or cared. So Jesus gently says Martha’s name, twice, not in a “tsk tsk” way, but in a kindly compassionate way, to let her know that he sees her.
Having gotten her attention, the next thing Jesus does is to name Martha’s ailment, further proving that he sees her, perhaps even better than she sees herself. And again, her sin is not that she is a busybody. “You are worried and distracted by many things,” he says. Truly, this is the problem. I have often heard this text as chastising and accusing, which hardly seems fair because someone has to do All The Things! But that’s not it. What Jesus does here is name what is causing her suffering: not her tasks, but the worry and distraction with which she does them.
Here is something interesting I learned about those words, worry and distraction: the root meaning in the Greek of the word “worry” is “strangle” or “seize by the throat and tear.” The root meaning of the word “distraction” is “a separation or a dragging apart of something that should be whole.” These words evoke an image of woundedness and fracture. They are states of mind that leave us fragmented, lacking wholeness. Jesus identifies that Martha is in such a state of fragmentation. It has left her unable to enjoy his company and savor his presence. Further, she is unable to find the usual joy and inspiration in her work, nor to receive anything Jesus might offer her. Indeed, she is unable to show him genuine love. Instead, she questions his love (“Lord, do you not care?”), she focuses on herself (“My sister has left me to do all the work by myself”) and she triangulates Jesus (“Tell her then to help me.”)
With this insight, I begin to wonder: what am I losing, how am I suffering, spending so much energy on my worry and distraction?
We all crave wholeness, right? We all want balance, and peace, and contentment. But our worries and distractions consume our minds and keep this peace out of reach. Worst of all, we thought our worries and distractions were helping us! We worry, so we seek distraction from our worries, and keep ourselves busy tending these external things, instead of tending to the state of our hearts.
Jesus’ last move here, made only after he makes sure Martha knows she is seen for her efforts and her struggle, is that he offers her a different way. “There is need of only one thing. Mary is doing it – see? That choice will bring her life, peace, and wholeness, the sort that won’t be taken away.” Suddenly it becomes clear that all those efforts we make to bring order to our external circumstances will not bring lasting peace to our hearts. We think, “If I could only change this situation and that mess and those people, fix them, and make them the way they should be, then I will find personal peace.” But that’s a lie. That will never work to bring lasting peace to our hearts. Lasting peace comes from a change inside ourselves, not from changes in other people or external circumstances. Lasting peace comes from dwelling in the Word, from time with Jesus – perhaps in the form of contemplative prayer, or reading and reflecting regularly on scripture. These efforts won’t change our circumstances, but they will change the state of our hearts, and how we respond to our circumstances. That peace, that effort, in Jesus’ words, is the “better part, which will not be taken away from [us].”
You see, there is nothing inherently wrong with serving others – indeed, this is good and faithful and necessary! As we heard last week, loving and serving our neighbor is foundational for our faith! But this part must go hand in hand with the work of loving God, dwelling with God, listening and learning “at his feet.” This is what will orient or re-orient our hearts and minds toward the God of life, and will, even when things get stressful and difficult, bring us the peace and wholeness that allows us to love and serve one another.
Let us pray… God of peace, we are worried and distracted by many things. Orient our hearts toward you, so that we would find the peace and wholeness that only you can bring, and so that we could serve with joy. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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