PENTECOST 7

May my words and my thoughts be acceptable to you, O Lord, my refuge and my redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)

SEASON: PENTECOST 7
PROPER: 11 C
PLACE: St. John's Parish, Kingsville
DATE: July 22, 2001

TEXT: Luke 10:38-42 – Mary and Martha
“As they went on their way, Jesus entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying.”

See also: Genesis 18:1-14 - Abraham’s Visit from God
“And Sarah was listening at the tent entrance behind him.”

ISSUE: Two stories tell how two women listen to the heart beat of God. Sarah listens to the messengers of God tell Abraham she will bear a son. Mary sits at the feet of the Lord listening to his word. The least among the people of God become worthy to hear the life-giving message of hope. The passage of Mary and Martha who is so distracted, teaches the real need for having a spiritual life close to God. Through the spiritual guidance we live our lives. A spiritual life is hardly secondary. We must be hospitable in our relationship with God.

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Hospitality was an important aspect of both ancient and Middle Eastern Culture. We have two stories this morning in both the Hebrew Scriptures and Luke’s Gospel that are expressive of the importance of appropriate hospitality. A part of the code of living was that travelers would be received into homes and given food, protection, and safe lodging.
In the Hebrew Story of Abraham and Sarah, three men come to Abraham’s home. It is a peculiar story that says it was three men, but the story centers upon one, who is eventually understood as the Lord God himself. You might think of it in terms of three angels, messengers of God. In any event, unbeknown to Abraham, he is entertaining the Lord’s presence. Abraham instructs Sarah to begin making cakes and bread to provide appropriate hospitality. Abraham himself sends servants to select a calf to be prepared for the meal. The accustomed hospitality is provided.
What is especially peculiar about the story is that Sarah does not only do her part being hospitable for the guests, but stands behind the flap of the tent listening to the conversation between Abraham and the Lord. Sarah and Abraham are up in age, well beyond their child-bearing years. She hears the men, the Lord, the angels tell Abraham that when they pass by the next time, Sarah will have a Son. Sarah laughs as they very notion that in her old age she will have such pleasure. But, then, she does in fact bear a son to Abraham, named Issac, which incidentally means laughter.
Luke also tells a somewhat controversial story of the Martha and Mary entertaining and providing hospitality to Jesus and perhaps some of his disciples. We are told that Martha invites Jesus into her home. She has a sister Mary. Martha in her feminine role does the work of preparing a meal. We do get the impression that it is not going to be a light supper. Mary on the other hand takes a masculine role of listening to Jesus and his word. Martha, of course, challenges Mary for her masculine position, and instructs Jesus to tell Mary to get busy and help her in the kitchen. To Martha’s surprise Jesus tells her that she is worried and distracted by many things; there is need for only one thing. “Mary has chosen the better part.” Listening.
Usually when people read or hear sermons, issue is taken with how would things ever get done if we didn’t have Martha’s in the world to do the work. But, let’s not miss the main point. Jesus himself was a very active preacher, teacher, and healer. Jesus himself at the Last Supper actively takes up the towel and washes his disciples feet, no minor act of profound hospitality. But, the point seems to be before running in to do things where angels may fear to tread, do we know what we are about, and what are the things that we should be doing. These stories seem to be about the priority of listening to the heartbeat of God. Sarah is listening through the tent to the very voice of God who gives her great pleasure laughter, and hope. She becomes the mother of nations faithful to God, or at least based on a relationship with God. Mary, undistracted and worried, listens to the Christ express the word, the way of God. Then these people live their lives.
In the Luke story it is particularly interesting that it is women, the lesser folk in the social strata, who are symbolically up graded by Jesus to the call to listen and participate in the mission of Christ. But, the mission of the church, partnership in the ministry of Jesus Christ begins with listening to the voice and the direction of God.
This story of Mary and Martha is a kind of acted out parable similar to the parable of The Sower. Recall that the farmer sows his seed and some falls on poor ground where it becomes choked and distracted and fails to grow well. Yet some falls on good soil, and the crop is bountiful. We need to be clear first about receiving, knowing, and listening to the heartbeat of God before allowing our lives become so distracted that they don’t amount to much, or that we expend a lot of energy without knowing where we are going. I would imagine that Luke’s relating this story to the early Christian Community was elevating the position of women, but also calling the church to being centered on the heartbeat of God, on the close relationship with Jesus Christ, first and foremost, without being led astray to busy, maybe even noble actions, that were irrelevant to the Gospel of Christ.
What is it that God may be directing us to do? Like Sarah we might be stunned! But before we act, we need to listen to what are the needs? What is God calling us to do? What is God calling us to be? In a fast changing world, we can get easily caught up in the business. In the church alone we may feel the demands of working with youth, teaching Sunday School, setting up the altar, singing in the choir, helping with the next flea market, involved in this that an the other thing, not to mention the demands of community and family outside the church. Then, we hear expressions like: “I’m worn out.” “I’m burned out.” “I’m fed up.” I have heard people say, “I feel like I’m losing my spiritual life.” “I feel like my life is without purpose.” “I do things, but there doesn’t seem to be any fun, or I feel useless.” Sometimes you will hear people say about themselves or even about the church, “We’ve lost our center.” “We seem out of focus.” Things are done, and a parish can be very active. Lives can be active but what we do is off center it is not in keeping with what Christ called us to do and to be in the world. Sarah is listening through the tent flap and hears that in your old age you shall become mother of many nations. Mary listening at the feet of Jesus is rediscovering a whole new role and mission in her life as a woman.
Sometimes we do some noble and good things in our lives and in the church. But then, satisfied with what we do or have been doing, we continue doing the same old things over and over again. But life changes, the world changes, and surely we need to change ourselves and listen to the new things that God may be calling us to do and be in our lives. The church, especially in the cities, has closed many churches who had ministries very similar to what we do here. But neighborhoods changed and the church is now called to a very new kind of ministry in some areas, especially the cities.
It is foolish for us to think that nothing changes here in the suburbs. Ministries have to change. It used to be that women were at home all day. Today everyone in the family works, including not only mothers, but teenaged children. Where there are people at home, involvement in competitive sports and an overwhelming number of activities that people can now afford change considerable people’s association with their community church, if they even have one now. Rather than seeking guidance in all the changes and the busyness, we are sometimes more inclined to complain that things just aren’t how they used to be, which in itself is useless and even destructive.
We need to keep our listening ears to the heartbeat of God. What are the new things that God is calling us to do, to be, and to accomplish? There have been a group in the Diocese of Maryland that have made it their whole mission to help people, and parish vestries, to learn how to discern what God is calling them to do. They refer to themselves and the book that tells of their methods as “Listening Hearts.” So much of our prayers are about telling God what God should do, rather than listening to what God would have us to do, and to show us our real calling as God’s agents in a vastly changing world.