Eighth Sunday after Pentecost

8th Sunday after Pentecost

July 18, 2010

St. Paul-Reformation Lutheran Church

One Thing is Needed

Luke 10:38-42

Grace and peace to you from God, our Creator, Christ, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

The first reaction to our Gospel story about Martha and Mary from our Bible Matters Group on Wednesday was this: “I’ve never liked this story and wish we could throw it out of the assigned readings.” You won’t be surprised to hear that this was said by a woman. A woman tired of the way this story has been interpreted to “scold” women like herself who were taught to be the consummate hosts to their guests, taught that every little thing should be just right in order for hospitality to be “just right.” Is it any wonder that one of the biggest names in the business of home and hospitality today is Martha…Stewart?

And what do we make of Jesus being such a bossy guest? Does his response seem just a bit cranky to you? It’s clear in this stained glass window depiction that Martha was feeling a bit cranky, too, first because she was upset her sister was not helping; and later because Jesus scolded her. I imagine that Mary was feeling a bit vindicated.

The story brings to my mind my older sister, Martha. But she was not a “Martha” of the kind depicted in our Gospel reading. My Martha was not a homemaker. She disliked cleaning and was a great collector of things that grew dusty and out of date.. But that didn’t matter to her. She was one to sit with people, to listen to stories, to engage neighbors with her questions, and with her funny ways of recounting her life experiences.

My sister Martha sat at Jesus’ feet throughout her long illness. She had a drawing of Jesus that she hung on the wall as close to the ceiling as possible. When we talked about the cancer and her shortened life, she’d say: “I talk with Jesus all the time and we’ve got things worked out. I’m not worried.”

Do you have family members or friends that come to mind as you hear this lesson from Luke?

In order to explore this short lesson of only five verses, let’s consider the context in which it comes. Jesus has “set his face toward Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51) He’s told some to let the dead bury their own dead. What is needful is to follow him.

In last Sunday’s gospel story, Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan in response to a young lawyer who asked what he must do to inherit eternal life. First Jesus asked him what the law commands, to which he replied that we are to love God with our whole heart and soul and mind, and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Jesus says that the answer is right. “Do this and you will live.”

Jesus told the story of how a Samaritan, one who would have been reviled by the Israelites, showed compassion for a stranger, for a neighbor he didn’t even know. And that is the context for our two sisters today. These stories are about offering hospitality, about attentiveness and action.

Our reading from Genesis lifts up hospitality, an important value in the culture of the Old Testament. In that story, Abraham greets strangers who come near his home. With his wife, Sarah, they offer hospitality to them. She prepared the little cakes for them. Abraham had a calf prepared for a feast. He also stayed with the visitors while they ate.

Hospitality requires both acts of service, and attentiveness. Sarah and Martha both made preparations. Abraham attended the guests. And Mary sat that the feet of Jesus listening and learning. If anything, I believe these stories are about offering hospitality both through taking action and through attentiveness.

The Good Samaritan was attentive to the stranger who was hurt and abandoned on the side of the road. This was contrasted with several people who walked by but did nothing. It was the Samaritan who took action to care for the man.

Abraham went out to greet the strangers and invited them to rest and eat. He asked his wife, Sarah, to make some bread for them. He was attentive to the needs of the travelers and took steps to serve them bread and meat. And at the end of the story, Abraham was blessed with a foretelling that he would indeed have a child as God had promised.

Martha was attentive to the physical needs of Jesus when she invited him into her home. She worked hard to get every thing ready. Mary was attentive to Jesus’ presence with them and she sat at Jesus’ feet to listen and learn.

Think about the many women and men who work in the fellowship halls and kitchens of churches today. What would we do without them? What would happen at potlucks like we will have next Sunday morning at Como Park? What would become of the Hallie Q. Brown food shelf without the men and women who not only bring food and clothing items but also pick up food from Trader Joes, and offer coffee, conversation, and connection with the guests who come?

What would we do without the crew of volunteers who keep the grounds of our church looking lovely for all who pass by? What about the volunteers who usher, serve treats, prepare communion, sing and make music? There are many roles involved in offering hospitality.

Where would we be if we didn’t have the women and men who teach Sunday School? Or the people who organize adult forums? They are attentive to our need to learn about God and how we can serve others.

All these roles are important to the well being of our community. A preacher would be crazy to suggest that the only way of interpreting these stories is to say that “sitting and listening, praying and learning are more important than serving or laying out the welcome mat. I don’t think that is what Jesus is saying either.

At the same time, it is important in the busyness of life to take time to sit at the feet of Jesus. To listen for the still small voice of God within us. To talk with Jesus about what worries us, about what we need. To ask for the wisdom and the grace to be attentive to the needs of others and creative about how to serve them.

These stories tell us more about the realm of God here and now. They tell us that hospitality requires both action and attentiveness to our neighbors. Hospitality calls for relationship. And when we take time for relationship with others and with God, we are doing what is needful.

We are told that when we serve the least among us we are serving Jesus himself. St. Paul-Reformation has long focused on justice making in the world. We’ve got some things down in the realm of acting on behalf of our neighbor.

What are the ways we sit at the feet of Jesus? When we leave space to listen and to learn, we pay attention to Jesus and open ourselves to be changed. When we worship, we hear the Word of God and come to the table Jesus prepares with the simple things of bread and wine. When we are silent in community, we listen to the presence of God among us.

What you are attentive to says a lot about what you worship. This story of Martha and Mary is an invitation. It’s an invitation to sit at the feet of Jesus, to let go of our busyness, to release our anxieties. Attentiveness to Jesus lets us enter a relationship in which we can glimpse the extraordinary in the mundane. Attentiveness to Jesus opens us to experience the holiness present in each moment.

When Jesus told Martha there is need of only one thing, perhaps that one thing was to serve bread instead of an elaborate meal. Jesus wants to be in relationship with us. We are offered a relationship so intimate that we receive Jesus in our very selves. Jesus loves each of us just as we are. God loves you so much that each of you carry Christ within you.

The God of the universe is attentive to us when we sit at God’s feet in prayer. What matters most is not so much what you are doing, but that you are attentive to God’s presence and purpose in each experience. When we glimpse that, we are sitting at the feet of Jesus, who points us to God. Amen.