A Time to Do; A Time to Listen; A Time to Pray
Genesis 18:1-10A; Colossians 1:24-28; Luke 10:38-42
There’s nothing wrong with that kind of a conclusion, but now from an adult’s perspective, the story isn't as straight forward as it seems. Life is much more complicated as an adult. We can appreciate Martha’s point of view because our lives are packed with so many demands. We understand well what Martha was going through and how she felt. Actually, to tell you the truth, I give Martha credit because I don’t think many of us would have handled it as tactfully and directly she did. I remember several Thanksgivings growing up, as my father, brothers and I would be in the den, comfortably bonding in front of the television watching a football game, we would suddenly hear the harsh bang of a pot on the stove or an abrupt slam of a kitchen cabinet door as a not so subtle reminder that mom was alone in the kitchen preparing the feast and just might appreciate a little help or maybe just a little bit of company.
In Jesus’ time, custom required that when you welcomed a guest, you must do certain things or you would be insulting the guest. A few chapters before today's gospel, we hear that Simon the Pharisee invited Jesus to dinner and failed to busy himself doing the things that were considered common hospitality when a visitor came for a meal. Simon had failed to greet his guest and wash his feet, and Jesus was quick to point out Simon’s errors as a host. Likewise here, Martha is busy doing what was expected. Mary wasn't.
What's more important - being busy serving the Lord or sitting quietly and listening and learning? Who was right Martha or Mary?
Well, according to Jesus’ response to Martha’s complaint about Mary not pitching in and helping in the kitchen, Mary had chosen the right thing. Mary was following Jesus’ own advice, "People do not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God".
But I’m confused, because as we heard last Sunday, immediately before this incident, Jesus tells the story about the Good Samaritan. A man asks what he must do to receive eternal life. And Jesus answers, "Love God and love your neighbor." He goes on to explain how to do this with the story of a Samaritan who, unlike previous passers-by who did nothing, got busy helping the man lying wounded on the side of the road. Jesus’ final words are "Go and do likewise," meaning, "Go and get busy showing love to others whenever the opportunity arises and then you will have eternal life".
So, it would appear clear from this that being a follower of Jesus involves a lot more than sitting and listening. But today we hear Martha being taken to task because she was busy showing her love for Jesus by cooking up a storm in the kitchen.
And then, to add to the confusion, if we look ahead to next Sunday’s gospel, Jesus teaches us how critical it is that praying with persistence be a significant part of our lives as he tells us that if we ask, we will receive; if we seek, we will find; if we knock, the door will be opened for us; and then gives us the Lord’s Prayer as a model of how we should pray.
The problem is that often, hearing the gospels in small doses as we do each Sunday morning, we often look at the gospel with tunnel vision rather than with peripheral vision. We get part of the picture but not the whole picture. Each week we get one piece of the puzzle, but often times we neglect to put those individual pieces together a consolidated whole. We fail to see the connectivity between the stories.
And so, if we did, we would see that this trilogy of readings actually presents us with the three cornerstones of what should make up a healthy and balanced Christian life: service, listening and learning, and prayer. A healthy spiritual life doesn't become fixed and satisfied with one, or prioritize one over the others. It embraces and incorporates all three. In today's society, people like to boast at how well they are at multitasking. Jesus calls all of his followers to be multitasters as well, and to make service, listening and learning, and prayer part of our lives.
Last week, you heard Fr. Marc, Fr. William, or Fr. Andres talk about “the doing.” Next week, you’ll hear them speak about “the praying.” So, I guess my task this week is to say something about “the listening and learning.”
And I think it comes down to this: I think that Jesus is trying to tell us that there’s more to life than serving dinner on time. There’s more to life than getting your point across. There’s more to life than trying to prove yourself or improve your financial status. There’s more to life than trying to please a guest . . . even if that guest happens to be the Lord.
The point of the story about Martha and Mary is that Jesus desires that we be his guests: enjoying his presence . . . feasting on his words . . . basking in his love.
That sounds nice, but as Martha or any person in this church could tell you, it’s not easy. It’s not easy to ignore self-imposed expectations, nor those that aging parents or dependent children place on us. It’s not easy to ignore the pressures of high school term papers, college exams, raising a family, paying down debt, being the bread winner and putting food on the table (or any combination of the above).
But there’s another type of Food we need in order to survive. And the hunger for that Food is the reason we’re here in church today. Here, at least for a little while, the pressure to get ahead, to get caught up and be-on-time is tempered.
Today, through the gospel, Jesus reminds us it’s the Sabbath. It’s time to rest. Christ himself pulls out a chair, bids us to sit down, then proceeds to wait on us himself! Seated at the table of God, the world looks very different indeed. Seated at the table of the Lord, hanging on his every word, listening and learning what he and the Church teaches, being nourished by the meal he serves us, both inspires us to a deeper relationship with him through prayer, and sensitizes and strengthens us to be Good Samaritans and minister to the needs of our “neighbors,” to all those who are in need.
Today, through the gospel, Jesus conveys his desire that we become life-long listeners and life-long learners. He encourages us break away from the hectic pace of our lives and to sit at his feet and listen to him through spiritual reading and through parish programs like RCIA and Bible Study. And to our young people, Jesus stresses his desire that you be conscientious in learning about him in your Religious Education classes or in the Confirmation program.
With the recent changes in the Roman Missal, one of the options that I’m privileged to be able to dismiss our gathering together with each week is: “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.” As you strive to do that this week, may God bless you and help you both in your listening to his word and in your doing of it.
That sounds nice, but as Martha or any person in this church could tell you, it’s not easy. It’s not easy to ignore self-imposed expectations, nor those that aging parents or dependent children place on us. It’s not easy to ignore the pressures of high school term papers, college exams, raising a family, paying down debt, being the bread winner and putting food on the table (or any combination of the above).
But there’s another type of Food we need in order to survive. And the hunger for that Food is the reason we’re here in church today. Here, at least for a little while, the pressure to get ahead, to get caught up and be-on-time is tempered.
Today, through the gospel, Jesus reminds us it’s the Sabbath. It’s time to rest. Christ himself pulls out a chair, bids us to sit down, then proceeds to wait on us himself! Seated at the table of God, the world looks very different indeed. Seated at the table of the Lord, hanging on his every word, listening and learning what he and the Church teaches, being nourished by the meal he serves us, both inspires us to a deeper relationship with him through prayer, and sensitizes and strengthens us to be Good Samaritans and minister to the needs of our “neighbors,” to all those who are in need.
Today, through the gospel, Jesus conveys his desire that we become life-long listeners and life-long learners. He encourages us break away from the hectic pace of our lives and to sit at his feet and listen to him through spiritual reading and through parish programs like RCIA and Bible Study. And to our young people, Jesus stresses his desire that you be conscientious in learning about him in your Religious Education classes or in the Confirmation program.
