Pentecost 8
Year C
July 18, 2010
Genesis 18:1-10a
Colossians 1:15-28
Luke 10:38-42
It was the Tuesday after Easter, 1994.
I had just finished working a 100 hour plus week – and that is no exaggeration. In that particular call, eighty hour weeks were pretty common. 100 hour weeks were not unheard of.
I had arrived at the church around eight that morning and was sitting in my tiny, windowless office.
Papers and books were stacked up everywhere – chair, floor, desk. The pile on the desk was teetering precariously.
I dug down through a pile of papers, looking for my “To Do” list.
When I found it, just sat there and stared at it.
And stared at it.
And stared at it.
I was completely paralyzed.
I had no idea what to do next. It all needed doing.
And so, I sat there. Not moving. Not doing anything. For several hours.
And then… something snapped. OK, maybe something had snapped before that…
But I suddenly realized I couldn’t keep running my life that way. I realized that I needed to change something dramatically.
And starting on that day... I did.
Whenever I read this morning’s Gospel Lesson, I always identify with Martha.
Being a “Type A”, task oriented kind of person, I can understand both her motivation and her complaint.
Before Jesus arrived there was, no doubt, a house to clean and a meal to prepare. Once he had arrived she had to do everything a good hostess should do: offer a bowl to wash his feet, offer him a drink, serve the meal.
That’s what was expected.
That was the right thing to do.
To do any less would have been rude.
And then there was Mary… just sitting there.
Didn’t she understand common courtesy?
What was her problem?
And yet, Jesus says, it was Mary who chose the better part. Martha must have been shocked. I would have been.
We live in a “Martha” culture, you and I.
We live in a culture where “doers” like Martha are rewarded. In fact, the more we do the more people praise us.
I know that from personal experience.
When I was working those eighty and hundred hour weeks I got lots of strokes for it. Everyone praised me for being a such a hard worker.
Of course, what I couldn’t see was what I was doing to my family, and to my health, and, most of all, to my relationship with God.
I was so busy doing ministry that I forgot to take care of my own spiritual life. I was so busy helping others with their faith that I had forgotten to take care of my own.
And that’s disastrous.
Which is exactly why Jesus warns Martha.
I see a lot of people caught in Martha’s trap these days.
People so busy with all sorts of things that they have forgotten to take time for God – not to mention the other important relationships in their lives!
People tell me all the time that they just don’t have the time to do things like pray, or read scripture, or attend weekly worship.
There are just too many other things to do.
But, in the end, all the doing will not redeem us.
In the end, all the doing will simply leave us worn out, burned out and empty.
In the end, all the doing will kill us.
And that’s true even if the doing is something good, worthwhile or even fun.
If we don’t take time – like Mary does – to sit at Jesus’ feet and listen to our master, we will soon find ourselves estranged from the very God who created us, and loves us, and who gives us life. And that’s just not good.
I have to admit, I still struggle with these things. I still tend to over-commit and over-extend myself. I still get so busy sometimes that I forget to tend to my relationship with God.
It’s something you have to be ever vigilant about – especially in the busy, busy worlds most of us live in day to day.
It’s not easy to sit with Mary at the feet of Jesus – especially when there are so many things to get done!
There is always a part of me – that guilty part – that won’t stop pointing out all the things that are not getting done.
But, you know, that’s the devil’s voice, not the Lord’s.
Because, the truth is, when I do make the time to sit at Jesus’ feet with Mary, I feel so much better for it. I feel so much more grounded and focused.
And what’s amazing is: I am much more productive when I do!
You see, this is not a matter of either being Martha or Mary.
It is a matter of learning how to discern when it is time to sit with Jesus and when it is time to get up and serve.
We find that struggle – in reverse -- in other places in Scripture. Paul has to remind the Thessalonians that they need to do their work – and not just sit around waiting for Christ to return. (2 Thessalonians 3:6-13).
Abraham, in our first lesson is not criticized for the hospitality he shows to the strangers who visit him. Serving them was the right thing to do.
There are plenty of passages within the scriptures that call us to lives of service, to active lives working for God and God’s reign in the world.
But, the point of today’s Gospel is that one needs Sabbath time too. One needs time to focus on God, to nurture one’s spirit, and to listen to Jesus…
Otherwise all our efforts will simply wear us out… or worse, distract us from the One who gave us our lives in the first place.
Jesus wanted Martha to understand that there is a time and place for everything – even for sitting and listening.
Like Martha, I need to be reminded of that from time to time. And I don’t think I’m alone in that.
And maybe we need those of you who are more like Mary to help us.
Amen.