Sermon for Sunday July 17, 2022 - Busy
GOSPEL: Luke 10:38-42
The holy gospel according to Luke.
Glory to you, O Lord.
38Now as [Jesus and his disciples] went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. 40But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.” 41But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; 42there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”
The gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.
We didn’t really take offence
at the parable of the Good Samaritan,
but we should have.
The one who represents God in the parable
is the hated outsider;
more than the beloved religious leader,
it is the outsider who showed mercy.
Go, and do likewise.
This would have been shocking.
We aren’t shocked at the story of Jesus
visiting the home of Martha,
but maybe we should be.
Martha is the head of the household.
She is independent and financially stable.
Her brother, Lazarus, is not the homeowner,
perhaps Martha is a widow, we don’t know.
She welcomes Jesus,
and I presume the disciples,
into her home.
In John’s Gospel,
a large crowd is there as well.
The setting is not unlike house-church,
as the people gather at the feet of their Rabbi,
to listen, to learn.
Reverend Doctor Niveen Sarras,
a Lutheran Pastor
born and raised in Bethlehem, Palestine,
offers insight into the culture.
In modern Palestine,
those who are invited to eat together
become part of the family circle.
In ancient and modern Palestine,
showing hospitality allows the guest to share
in the sacredness of the family space.
It would be customary for the women to prepare the meal.
Women would do all the work in the kitchen.
It would be very unusual for a woman
to join the men
before the preparations are finished.
“Failing to be a good hostess
means disrespecting the guest.”
Honouring Jesus,
welcoming Jesus and the disciples into her home
is Martha’s primary concern.
Mary neglects the traditional duties of the women.
Mary joins the men,
and becomes a student
at the feet of her Rabbi,
which culturally meant disrespect.
Jesus does not scold Mary,
Jesus is not critical of Martha’s service.
Martha is exhausted and anxious
because of her duties as hostess.
Jesus acknowledges this.
Martha’s request is reasonable.
But Jesus also names that Martha is distracted.
“there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”
It seems to me that Martha is distracted
while doing what is right,
and doing what is expected of her.
Isn’t that what you and I try to do every day:
to do what is right,
and what is expected of us?
Here’s what is right and expected of us these days:
You should walk 10,000 steps a day,
get an hour of exercise,
read for an hour a day,
and be creative with art or woodworking,
and stay up to date with social media,
you should make home-cooked meals with fresh produce
(non of that convenience food),
put in at least 8 hours at the office,
10 if you count the lunch hour and your commute,
and you need 8 hours of sleep.
Your kids should be in sports programs,
and music lessons,
and you need to stay and watch,
this isn’t babysitting, you know.
Make sure you spend quality time with your children,
and children need to have play-dates with their friends,
and get their homework done early,
so they can get 10-12 hours of sleep,
but don’t forget dance class.
And when your children are grown up,
whether you’re lucky enough to retire
or forced to retire,
You really ought to volunteer more,
that is good for the community
and for the health of your brain.
You need a little more sleep,
and it’s okay to take a nap,
but don’t forget about bible study,
and the garden that needs weeding,
and there’s chorrin’ to be done,
even though it seems to take longer
these days;
and you really should get to know
your neighbours more,
and try that drop-in program.
Oh, and don’t forget your medical appointments.
I’m exhausted just talking about it.
But these are the things that are right,
things that are expected of us:
we are expected to cram 36 hours of goodness
into a 24 hour day.
Maybe, like Martha,
we are distracted
with doing what is right,
and doing what is expected of us.
Many of us are distracted by the cult of “busy”
We over-commit,
our calendars are filled out to the margins,
We complain “I’m too busy”
but then wear that busy-ness as a badge of honour.
Busy is a real problem.
As Rob Bell puts it,
Busy is a drug that a lot of people are addicted to.
Yes, we will all have times or seasons
that are more full than others.
Accountants have their tax season,
Farmers have their harvest,
Yet too often,
any time
and all the time,
we just make ourselves busy
as a way of reassuring ourselves
that our lives have meaning and purpose.
If we’re busy,
we’re not empty,
we’re not living trivial lives.
If we are busy,
we hope others will feel jealous,
because we are more important than them.
We are glorifying busy -
busy equals success.
This might not shock us,
but it might offend.
Like Martha,
maybe our busy-ness is a distraction:
we fill our time to distract us
from what really matters,
from what is really happening in our hearts,
from what is really happening
in our living rooms.
If we keep busy,
we don’t have to feel the feelings
that we don’t want to feel.
Here’s where I believe it is really offensive:
I am convinced that when we make ourselves busy -
Week after week,
month after month,
when our calendars are booked solid,
when we always rush
from one appointment to the next,
when we don’t leave room in our lives
open and available for others, -
we don’t leave room in our lives
open and available for God.
Our God works in the interruptions,
and too often we are just too busy to be interrupted.
Granted, not all of us are busy,
but we all sure like our distractions.
We are worried and distracted by many things;
there is need of only one thing.
That one thing is Jesus.
I want to reiterate:
the point is not to be hard on Martha.
She was doing what was right and expected of her.
She was seeking to honour Jesus, her guest.
Mary is the one who is out of line,
yet she chose the better part,
and that will not be taken away from her.
How better to really honour the Guest,
than to listen to them?
To honour Jesus,
is to sit at the feet of our Rabbi.
There’s a time to be Martha,
and a time to be Mary.
There is a time for loving service,
for diakonia,
a time for being hospitable in the kitchen,
a time for doing the work,
and a time to listen to God’s Word.
Listening to Jesus comes first.
Remember, the story of Mary and Martha
comes immediately after
the Parable of the Good Samaritan.
The lawyer in the parable of the Good Samaritan,
he tries to justify himself,
he wants to love God and love neighbour
but on his own terms,
asking what “I must do”
in order to inherit eternal life.
Jesus is the Good Samaritan,
who lifts us up out of our sin,
who shows us mercy and forgiveness,
and then, after being forgiven,
we are invited to go and do likewise,
to show mercy, likewise.
You cannot love the Lord your God
with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength
if you do not listen to God’s Word, first.
Good works, loving service to others
might just be us trying to justify ourselves
without first learning
at the feet of our Rabbi.
Listening to Jesus comes first,
loving service is what follows.
To truly welcome and honour Jesus, Martha’s guest,
she needed to set aside her distractions,
and sit at Jesus’ feet.
We live in a place and time of constant distractions,
and by God’s Spirit,
you have come to worship:
you are sitting at Jesus’ feet,
you have come to be forgiven by Jesus,
the Good Samaritan,
you have made space amidst the busy-ness of life
to be fed at the Lord’s Table.
Church is the place where we declare that
You and I,
we do not make our lives matter,
we do not give our lives purpose.
In Baptism, God makes our lives matter.
In Baptism, God gives our lives purpose.
After Jesus was crucified on a Roman cross,
buried in the grave,
the women came to the tomb,
to serve - to care for Jesus’ body.
These women were the first to share
the good news of Jesus’ resurrection.
Martha and Mary lived in Bethany,
near Jerusalem.
Mary was the one who anointed Jesus’ feet
with costly perfume.
I wonder - was Mary part of that group of women?
Was Martha?
Both were invited to sit at Jesus’ feet.
I wonder what happened next for them?
Whether you make time like Mary
or are distracted like Martha,
Jesus is speaking.
The life Jesus invites us into,
the path of following Jesus,
does not begin with us doing what is good,
doing what is right,
doing what is expected of us;
Abundant life begins at Jesus’ feet.
Indeed, “there is need of only one thing”
and it is found at Jesus’ feet.
May you say no to the cult of busy,
leaving room for God to show up in the interruptions.
May you set aside your many distractions
to listen at Jesus’ feet
to find that one thing.
And once you have listened like Mary,
May you find God’s way
for you to serve like Martha.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
