Good morning, Friends! I hope you’re all well this morning. I appreciate that each of you has made the effort to come here to worship today.
I know some of you come from quite a distance, and some of you have many other things that keep you busy during the week. It’s good to take time out, every week, to reflect and pray, to be refreshed and renewed, and I hope that happens here for you.
Today we’re continuing our journey through the gospel of Luke. We started with the New Year, and we’re staying with Luke right up through Easter.
Luke has so many stories which you don’t find anywhere else in the gospels:
• the story of the Prodigal Son, which we read a couple of weeks ago.
• the homeless shepherds, who heard the angel late at night at Christmas, and came running to see the baby in the stable
• Luke tells the story of the woman who came to Jesus during supper one night, and washed his feet with her tears
• Luke tells about ten guys with leprosy, who came to Jesus to be healed, and only one came back to thank him
There’s lots of other special stories in Luke, and we’re trying to look at as many of them as possible. You may not realize that this is something we’re doing every week. It’s kind of in the background. But I want you to learn more, every week, and not just skip around the Bible at random.
Today’s scripture is another one of these unique Luke stories. You’ve probably heard it before.
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.
She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Luke 10:38-42
I love this story, because it’s about ordinary people – just like you and me. We all know Martha and her sister Mary. You probably feel a bit like one or the other at times.
Martha’s the busy one, the one who worries about details and gets things done. She’s the one everyone wants on the Family Life committee, working back in the kitchen. Martha’s the one who doesn’t quit until the last dish is washed and dried and put away. Martha’s the one who gets the food out on the table, no matter how tired she is.
Mary’s the quiet one, who doesn’t hesitate to stop what she’s doing – not because those other things aren’t important, but because she’s in tune with the moment. Mary might be the one you want on Ministry and Counsel, or leading a prayer circle.
They’re both good, and they both have important strengths. One isn’t better than the other. That’s really the point of what I want to say this morning. One isn’t better than the other.
We’re not sure exactly where this story takes place. Luke doesn’t tell us. Luke just says, “Jesus and his disciples were on their way,” from one place to another.
This isn’t a story in a temple or a big cathedral. This isn’t a mountaintop story. It’s an ordinary home, with ordinary people.
Martha was the one, it says, who invited them all to come in. Martha wasn’t unspiritual. She knew who Jesus was, and she was so excited to ask them all to stop and share a meal with them.
A few weeks, ago, I asked you all how it would feel, if Jesus came to your house. I mean, really! How would you feel to have Jesus actually walk in YOUR door, and sit at YOUR table? Don’t you wish that you could throw a party for Jesus? Wouldn’t it be great, if Jesus would come through your door? Jesus wouldn’t just bless the meal. Jesus would bless you, and your family, and your household. Jesus would bless your pets, your garden, your work, and your home. Having Jesus come into your home would be a lifetime blessing, a day to remember for the rest of your life.
And, of course, it wasn’t just Jesus who came in. There were a bunch of disciples who were tagging along with Jesus. A bigger crowd, with extra mouths to feed. More beds to arrange, though back then they probably just slept on the ground, or if it was hot weather, they slept up on the flat roof at night.
Martha was pumped! She was born for this! But it was still a big job. She had to hustle to get everything ready, run to the market, stir the pots, bake more bread, all kinds of stuff to be done. At least a dozen extra places to set, overnight guests, clean the house, haul extra water from the village well, wash all their feet, and be calm, cool and collected, not a hair out of place, just like your momma taught you.
You all get the picture?
And what about her sister? What about Mary? She was just sitting there, watching Jesus, listening to his every word.
Not a bad thing to be doing. Not a bad thing at all! Women didn’t go outside the home much back then. For Mary, this was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
To hear Jesus herself. To see him, up close and face-to-face. To hear what Jesus was saying, not second-hand or through the village rumor mill, but to hear things straight from his own mouth. What an incredible opportunity! Wouldn’t you give anything for that? Wouldn’t you drop everything you were doing, no matter how important it was, just to spend time with Jesus?
Mary wasn’t wrong, either. This was a time that might never come again. This was something she’d tell her grandchildren about – the day that JESUS came.
My wife knows a lot more about writing than I do. And one of the things my wife always says is that the best kind of conflict in a story is where both people are right. Martha’s right. And Mary’s right. They’re both right. Like I said, one sister isn’t better than the other.
Martha was running around, trying to be oh-so-gracious, but this was a time where her sister got on her very last nerve. When was her sister going to stop being so lazy, and help out? I’m sure Martha loved Mary, but this was not a time to sit around.
Finally, she appealed to Jesus. “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
I have heard those same words, so many times, in so many places. I’ve heard them from overworked committees, who are trying so hard to get things done.
I’ve heard these words from couples, who can’t agree on work around the house. Those taxes aren’t going to file themselves! That “honey do” list is so old it’s got dust on it! It’s your turn to take out the trash – I’ve done it ten times in a row already!
We all know this kind of conversation – at home, at work, at church, everywhere.
And to be perfectly fair, the Marthas of this world are often right. It isn’t fair that they have to do so much of the work. We’re all perfectly capable of letting someone else do it.
But Mary was right, too. She wanted nothing better than to be with Jesus, to see his eyes, to feel his love.
I don’t know if you’ve ever heard the old Quaker joke. Everybody else is saying, “Don’t just sit there, DO SOMETHING!”
And Quakers are the ones who say, “Don’t just DO something, SIT THERE!”
Sometimes, being quiet is the most important thing of all.
That’s why we have open worship. Instead of having somebody talk at you, even if what they’re saying is good, wouldn’t it be better sometimes to be quiet, to make room for the Spirit? Sometimes a message that comes from a full heart, out of quiet prayer, is better than a sermon that someone has spent hours writing. I know, there can be dead silences. There can be boring silences. But there can also be living silence, like a river, like the wind.
Sometimes the best thing in the whole world is just to sit on the beach, and watch the waves roll in, and just be there, with the wind and the open sky.
Anybody want to argue about that?
Martha said, ““Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
And Jesus answered, “Martha, Martha! You’re worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Maybe Jesus meant that Martha was trying to cook too many dishes for the company. I mean, three kinds of pickles can be fun, but maybe just one is enough.
Maybe Jesus meant that Martha and all her bustling around was disrupting the moment, when everybody just wanted to rest for a little bit.
Or maybe Jesus meant that the two sisters shouldn’t judge and criticize each other. In their own way, both of them were right.
We all need to be Martha sometimes. There’s so much to be done, and I need to do my part.
John Wesley, a famous preacher, told people, “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”
I’m kind of that way. I’m Martha. I’d rather wear out than rust out. Everywhere I turn, I always see things that need doing. I’m not much of a cook, but I like to fix things. A burned-out light, a broken window, a worn electric cord, and I’m on it. A shelf that isn’t organized, a railing that would help somebody, a leak, a problem, I’m there.
Teaching is exciting for me! It’s like opening doors and windows. It’s like breaking chains, and setting people free. I’ve got Martha, deep in my bones, every day, till I’m exhausted.
And that’s the thing. I’m Mary, too. Mary knew about the healing power of listening and quiet. Mary knew that sometimes the best thing isn’t to do something, but sit there.
Mary and Martha were both Quakers, by the way. Just thought I’d throw that in there. Mary and Martha are BOTH part of every Quaker meeting. Quakers like to be busy. And Quakers love quiet. Martha and Mary. Mary and Martha.
But Mary knew something important, too. When we’re exhausted, sometimes the best thing isn’t to keep on working, but to rest. When we’re tired from all the noise in the world, sometimes it’s important to get up early, and listen to the birds sing.
George Fox, one of the founders of the Quaker movement, had this to say:
“Be still and cool in thy mind and spirit from thy own thoughts, and then thou wilt feel the principle of God to turn thy mind to the Lord God from whom help comes, whereby thou wilt receive His strength and power to allay all blusterings from storms and tempests.”
I don’t know about you, but these days I feel pretty battered from many different directions. All the bad news just exhausts me. I wish I could turn it all off. I need to balance my week, with both Martha time and Mary time. You don’t have to choose just one. Most of us need both.
The thing is, both Martha and Mary were blessed. The busy sister, who wanted to make Jesus happy, and the quiet sister, who just sat there, looking at Jesus.
We don’t have to be one, or the other, all the time. We can be both.