"Mary has chosen the better part"
Luke 10:38-42
Proper 11C, July 22, 2007
A Sermon by Fr. James Haney V
We just heard the story of Mary and Martha: Luke ch10 p946. Jesus has gone to the house of Martha and her sister Mary. Mary sits at Jesus’ feet listening to him. Martha complains about being stuck with all the work.
Oftentimes, people see this as a story about being versus doing. Martha is in “do” mode. Mary is in “be” mode. And there is some truth to it. That conflict between being and doing reminds me of the old t-shirt:
To do is to be--Socrates.
To be is to do--Plato.
Do be do be do--Sinatra.
But the story of Martha and Mary asks a deeper question than deciding between, “Let it be” or “Just do it.” The deeper question is, “What kind of being, what kind of doing?”
So let’s take a close look at this short, 5 verse, story.
Luke ch10 v38 ”Now as they went on their way, (Jesus) entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.
That’s an important statement: “Martha welcomed Jesus into HER home.”
That tells us that Martha is the alpha-female in the system. She’s in charge of the house.
And, Martha is trying to do the right thing. Martha is trying to be hospitable to her guest. For middle Eastern cultures, nothing was more important than hospitality. Added to this, from the other gospels, we get the sense that Jesus is a friend of Martha and Mary’s. This makes a hospitable welcome even more important.
So Martha is trying to do what society, and custom, and friendship demand. She’s trying to provide a welcome for Jesus.
v39 “(Martha) had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying.”
This is actually a very radical statement. Sitting at someone’s feet and listening is a job description for a disciple. And it’s a job description that in Jesus’ culture only applied to men. Mary is transgressing societal boundaries here. She’s trying to do what only men are supposed to do.
v40 “But Martha was distracted by her many tasks.” Martha is stuck in the kitchen, trying to do what her society tells her to do. And because Mary is doing what women in her society should not do, Martha is stuck doing everything by herself. And she gets angry.
So when Martha wants to be hospitable to Jesus, and Mary’s not helping, her culture would say that Martha is right in being upset. After all, she’s trying to do what she’s supposed to do, and Mary isn’t. Martha is following the play book, and Mary is not.
Back to v40 “Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to Jesus 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.’”
Several things here. First of all she gets a guest tangled up in a domestic dispute. Instead of talking to Mary directly, she involves Jesus. Actually, in her culture, that’s a bit of a no-no. That’s not a good thing to do to a guest. In trying too hard to be hospitable, she’s being inhospitable.
Plus, she comes to Jesus like we often come to Jesus, with preconceived notions, and a predetermined outcome: “Lord don’t you care?” She expects Jesus to say, “Of course I care.”
“Then tell Mary to help me.”
She expects Jesus to say, “Mary, help her.”
But Jesus comes at things completely differently. Martha thinks Mary is the problem. But Jesus diagnoses a problem with Martha:
v41 “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things.”
Martha, maybe the problem is not Mary. Maybe the problem is you. Maybe the problem is that you’re so tangled up in what you should do and what you ought to do and what everyone expects you to do that you’re missing something. You’re trying to juggle many things, but maybe you’re missing the central thing.
v42 “There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”
‘You’re so tied up with important, but secondary things, that you’re missing out on the one thing that’s essential.’ “Mary has chosen what is better.”
‘Martha, You’re concerned with getting dinner on the table. But Mary is in here with the main course. You come to me telling me what to say. Mary is sitting here listening to what I have to say.”
It doesn’t mean that doing is bad. If Martha came out of the kitchen with a big meal I suspect Jesus would have happily chowed down on it.
Doing is important.
But, and this is an important but, relationship with Jesus is even more important. Spending time with Jesus, hanging out with Jesus, is even more important. The message is, ‘Martha, maybe you need to buck societal expectations, and spend more time with me.’
Like Martha, I often get caught up in work, in schedules and deadlines. There are e-mails I need to answer, people I need to see, sermons that need to be written. And like Martha, I’m easily fooled into thinking that doing all of these tasks is the most important thing I have to do.
And society agrees with me. We don’t like laziness. Our country was built on hard work, on rolling up our sleeves and getting the job done. Sure, sitting around and daydreaming is nice, but it doesn’t pay the bills and it doesn’t keep the lights burning. To do that you have to work.
And when it comes to religion, we also have work to do. Jesus just told us last week to go out and love our neighbors, to help all those we encounter who need our help. And there is much to do.
And yet, Jesus is warning us not to get too caught up in our work. Jesus is calling us not to be distracted by too many things. Getting everything done is not job #1.
Instead, ‘be still,’ Jesus says, ‘be quiet, sit at my feet, enjoy my presence, and just be.’ Spending time with God needs to be a priority around which the rest of your schedule is organized. It’s not supposed to be an afterthought.
In the midst of the busyness of our lives, it’s essential to find quiet time. Time for meditation and prayer. Time when we’re not doing anything, except enjoying God’s presence.
Finding this kind of time is difficult. We don’t want to be idle. We don’t want to feel that we’re wasting time.
But what Jesus is telling us is that spending time with God, even wasting time with God, is far more important than any other task we have.
In our busy world, that may mean many different things.
Getting up a few minutes earlier in the morning before everyone else is up to read your Bible. Turning off the TV late at night and spending some time in prayer. Taking a walk out in nature. Turning off the car radio. Unplugging the earphones on the iPod. Turning off your cellphone or blackberry. Locking yourself in your bathroom.
Find a space. Carve out a time. Spend time with God. Being with God is the most important part. So do it.
The Rev. James P. Haney V
Good Shepherd Episcopal Church
Wichita, Kansas
July 22, 2007
