Pray or Play?
Luke 10:38-42 - 7/18/2004
Most of you know that I traveled to West Virginia recently to attend Annual Conference. But some of you may wonder, “What is Annual Conference?” The short of it is, it’s like a giant church board meeting made up of representatives from every Church of the Brethren congregation in the United States, Africa, India, Korea, and other countries where we have churches.
The theme of Annual Conference this year was “Loving God and Our Neighbor,” so there was much focus in worship on “Who is my neighbor?” and even during discussions of business items, we were subtly reminded to think about exactly who are our neighbors.
The Bible poses many of those “great questions.” Often the questions are direct, like “Who is My Neighbor?" (Luke 10:29) “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 10:25) and “What do you think about the Christ?” (Matt 22:42). Other times, questions are implied, like the one raised by today's text that Julie read.
The Mary and Martha story. You’re probably all familiar with it; some of you have probably heard sermons on it at least 50 times. Most of the sermons I’ve heard on Mary and Martha have been about priorities--busyness versus taking time to pray every day. You know, too busy doing things for Jesus and not enough time spent with Jesus. But this week I tried to look at these verses in a different way. And I believe we are challenged by a remark that Jesus, this carpenter from Nazareth of Galilee, made to his friend Martha during this visit to her home.
During Jesus' visit, Martha is working hard in the kitchen, while her sister is chatting with Jesus in the family room. Martha complains to Jesus that she is stuck in the kitchen doing all the work by herself. And she asks him to send Mary into the kitchen to help. Jesus then says to Martha that Mary "has chosen the better part."
In Luke 8, before Jesus began traveling, before his visit at Mary and Martha’s when he is first teaching his disciples, he says that the true disciple is the one who lets nothing distract him or her from "hearing the word." He illustrates his point with the parable of the sower, saying that some of the seed falls on the path to be trampled on, some of it the birds ate, some fell on rock, some on thorns, and some seeds fell in good soil (8:15).
The disciples asked Jesus what the parable meant and he explained to them that “the seed is the word of God” (Luke 8:11) and the different places the seed falls are different people. If we have been prepared as “good soil,” Jesus says we are the ones who do not let the distraction of riches and cares dilute their enthusiasm for the gospel. Luke 8:15 says “in good soil, these are the ones who, when they hear the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart and bear fruit with patient endurance.” Jesus demonstrates this single-mindedness himself in 8:21, when he refuses to be distracted from his work by the arrival of his own mother and brothers and states that his true family are those who "hear the word of God and do it."
By focusing on Mary's attention to Jesus, the story of the two sisters in chapter 10 reinforces Jesus' teaching in chapter 8. Unlike Martha, who is distracted by all the things she thinks she must do to be a good hostess to Jesus, Mary understands that it is more important to pay close attention to Jesus' teaching.
I discovered a curious pun in the text connecting Martha's worrying over "many things" and Mary's choosing of "one thing," which is a better part—the Greek word translated is actually portion. And the word for "portion," describing Mary's choice to listen to Jesus, is a word commonly used to describe dishes of food.
So by telling Martha that Mary has chosen a better "portion" while she is in the kitchen trying to prepare many different "portions" (dishes) when only one is really necessary, Jesus is simultaneously hinting that Martha could simplify the meal so that she can prioritize her life as Mary has. Only ONE thing is really necessary at that moment - namely, to hear Jesus' words. As Jesus will emphasize later in the gospel, he is more interested in serving others than in being served by them (Luke 12:37; 22:27).
Ironically, Martha may be trying to be an example of the type of servanthood that Jesus says he desires in his disciples, but her aggravation with Mary reveals that she hasn't yet gotten the full picture of what that kind of servant life should look like. It is one thing to voluntarily serve others. But Martha was not willing, apparently, to serve her sister along with Jesus.
Now let’s look at Mary. As a woman, Mary chose the nontraditional role of disciple, rather than the more traditional role of supporter of Jesus and his disciples. This is a decision that Jesus appreciates, but Martha does not. The Bible is full of nontraditional converts - foreigners, sinners, women. Here we have a direct contrast set out between a woman in a traditional woman’s role of food preparer and server and a woman in a non-traditional role for her gender, that of a disciple.
Even today, some churches assume this disciple role was appropriate only for the male followers of Jesus. This passage makes it clear that the role of disciple was a completely acceptable role for women too. Martha is asking Jesus to instruct Mary as to her proper place in this event. Even Martha is assuming that Mary's choice NOT to be in a traditional female role is cause for rebuke from Jesus. The fact that he does not rebuke her, but rather commends her, reminds us that even if other women, in this or any future generation, were to object to women seeking to be Jesus' disciples, Jesus himself did not object.
Of course, that's the simple form of the question, “Service or sacrifice? Pray or play? Working for Jesus or seeking Him through prayer and devotion?” If Martha is one type--the active Christian, the Christian at work in the world--and if Mary is seen as another type--withdrawn from the world in the quest for prayer and contemplation, and Jesus is saying Mary’s way should be lifted up, then what are we to believe?
The Marthas sweat and slave in the kitchen, the world; the Marys prefer to study, pray, reflect and make daily journal entries. Jesus says Mary's got it right; Martha's got it wrong. His words are a strong reminder that sometimes we get too busy doing - instead of being. We tend to get preoccupied with serving God, and forget to take time out to know God better.
Perhaps it is a false dilemma. It's quite possible that Mary did her part in the kitchen, helped her sister with the preparations prior to Jesus' arrival, vacuumed the house and swept off the porch, kneaded the bread and stoked the fire.
But when the guest arrived, the work, she knew, must stop, and she chose to sit at the feet of Jesus and engage in a conversation - the details of which remain unknown to us.
Martha, on the other hand, could not let it go. Nothing was quite right. The presentation had to be perfect, and when Mary doesn't share her obsessive-compulsive behavior, Martha - the patron saint of multitasking – feels overwhelmed with her chores and begins to feel overworked, underpaid and misunderstood.
In other words, it is a question of balance. Mary had it; Martha did not. Do we?
Unfortunately, Martha moved like the roadrunner on the cartoon—beep! Beep!--that her focus shifted from her guest to herself. She broke the cardinal rule of hospitality by shoving her guest to the side and put herself at the center of attention. She even fussed at Jesus as if he, too, was falling short of his assignment. Why wasn't he demanding that Mary get off her knees and help her sister?
Jesus says Mary is the model. But Martha is the reality. There's no question that we live in a Martha world. The church tells us to beat the pavement for justice and mission. Pastors challenge us to serve, to respond to our calling. The church board reminds us to volunteer to clean the church, attend next week's potluck dinner, donate nonperishable canned goods, visit our shut-ins and go out to invite others to church. In other words, to be Marthas.
What's at issue for us today is whether or not it's possible to be Mary in a Martha world.
I believe it is. For starters, we might stop talking for a second and listen. The activist in each of us prompts us to speak up, to express ourselves, to make our demands. We all have trouble just being still. It’s the one thing I struggle with in my own personal life with Jesus. But He calls us to stop talking. Stop telling him what to do. Stop…sit quietly, and listen to what Jesus is saying. Maybe the words we speak would be wiser if we listened a little more to what Jesus is trying to say to us.
Focus on something besides ourselves. "Martha, Martha - you frenzied I-can-do-it-all woman! You are worried and distracted by many things." Focus on someone or something beyond yourself. Practice that! And even when we are frantically trying to "take care of everybody," aren't we really trying to prove how terribly valuable we are to have around?
Better to be being than doing. A person who has learned how to be a human being, will have no trouble working out how to be a human doing.
Is it better to be a Mary or a Martha? I’m siding with Jesus on this one; it's Mary. But then again, I can see that Mary needs Martha. It is really thanks to Martha that Mary is praised.
But what do you think? Come to me, Jesus invites, all you who are weary. Come to me, All you who are carrying heavy burdens. Come to me, all you who are busy, stressed and anxious. Jesus bids us to learn from him and so find rest for our souls.
Shall we pray the prayer printed in your bulletin? Precious Jesus, you are the true cornerstone of my soul. I invite God's perfect ideas to function through me in mind and body. Take all my false beliefs, habits and attitudes and dissolve them into nothingness. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
BENEDICTION:
The good news is that God loves us just the way we are. Even better news is that God loves us too much to let us stay the way we are. By the grace of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven and made whole. Thanks be to God! Amen!
