July 20, 2025: May God’s words be spoken, may God’s words be heard.  Amen.

Any Brady Bunch fans feel like saying “Martha, Martha, Martha?”   Yeah…okay – that reference is really to Marsha, but still. 

Now, this gospel, for a lot of folks, has been on the top 10 list of annoying scripture readings – right next to that pesky one about divorce, and the other about doing good to those who persecute you – not to mention that ridiculous one about women keeping silent.  And this feeling is particularly true for women, because for far too long the church used this text through the centuries to hold women back – to define, really limit, women’s roles in the church.

But that isn’t what is really being said here.  If the two people in the story were Peter and James, we wouldn’t assume that the narrative should describe men’s roles, so let’s stop with that already, instead get to the heart of what is going on here.

As we heard, Martha welcomes Jesus and his band of followers into her home, and begins to do as anyone would, to make things comfortable for her guests.  We know from other texts, particularly in the Gospel of John, that there is more going on here.  Mary, Martha, and their brother Lazarus, are friends of Jesus.  So, Jesus hung out there with them from time to time, you know – watching the ball game and catching up on all the latest Jerusalem gossip, as you do.

Now, back to the scene…Inviting someone into your home, even if they were friends, meant preparing food, setting out water to wash with, or other things one might do for travelers who have walked a long way on dusty roads.  And Martha, as the hostess with the mostest, intends to do what her faith (and ours) requires, and extend the best hospitality possible to those who enter her home.

But her sister Mary takes the place of a disciple at the feet of Jesus, listening intently to him.  Martha is NOT amused, and wants Jesus to tell Mary to get up and get to work.  But Jesus says to her, “Martha, don’t tell me, tell Mary.  You know triangulation is bad for group dynamics.”  Something maybe that would have been very helpful to the church down the line, but not really what he said.  Instead, Jesus says “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”

Dang it Jesus, what exactly do you mean by “the better” part? 

I mean, hospitality is important, or so other stories with Jesus would tell us.  Remember the Good Samaritan last week, or the sending of the 70 the week before that?  No, it is clear from everything Jesus talked about, from the laws of hospitality found throughout the Hebrew scriptures, that Jesus, being a Jew, would never have rebuked someone for being a good host.  In fact, he rebuked people for NOT being good hosts.  So, if that isn’t it, what is going on here, and why does it matter to us now?

Well, first, it might help to hear a different story about these two women, one we don’t get in scripture.  “There is a famous legend told about Martha of Bethany that was popular in the Middle Ages. In this story, which takes place after the resurrection of Jesus, she becomes a traveling preacher and ends up in a small town in France that, unfortunately, has a chronic dragon problem. She manages to slay the dragon and, in doing so, wins the whole town over to Christianity. In that same story, her sister Mary, on that same trip, ends up starting a monastery in the wilderness, meaning they both live out the roles assigned to them in Christian history: Martha acts and Mary studies. Martha represents an active faith, while Mary represents a contemplative faith.”[1]

Here’s the thing this legend teaches us: Mary chose the better part, because it was the better part for her at that time. Is Mary’s choice one that would work for Martha?  We don’t know, and Jesus isn’t suggesting that here.  If he were, he would have told Martha to do likewise – he does not.  Still, given the story, it would seem she would be more inclined to feel antsy sitting quietly listening in that moment. 

I know people like that, heck… sometimes I am Mary, to be sure, but often I am a lot like Martha – and I know that does NOT come as a surprise to any of you. 

Some of you may be instantly drawn to one or the other.  In some ways, given that the world today seems to always align with and respond to extroverts, it would be understandable for introverts to say “Rejoice! We are finally getting our due! Go Mary!” But really, it is a gospel for all of us – Marys & Marthas – and all the in-betweens of our nature. 

The same is true for the church as a whole.  Some want us to be a place of comfort, of learning, of spiritual renewal – and we are and should be.  Others want us to live as Jesus calls us to live in the world – doing as he did – healing the wounded and broken, seeking those in the margins, freeing the oppressed, serving the poor and forgotten, and we are and should be.

But we need to set aside our natural tendency to polarize – to set as good one thing, and its opposite as bad, especially when it comes to this particular gospel story.  The parts that Mary and Martha have chosen are not about pitting women’s roles vs. men’s roles, of housework vs. study, or action vs. passivity.  It is about balance, not equal at all times, but balance. Mary and Martha are not opposites, but two sides of the same coin – and so is the church – and so are all of you. And these days, we need to balance both within ourselves, and as a church in response to the world in which we live, because there is so much turmoil brewing seemingly everywhere.

Just this week a church was bombed in Gaza, adding on to the continued brutality of response to the attack by Hamas on Israel two years ago.  While we in the US can certainly not point fingers about using an attack to engage in unjust war, that doesn’t make what Israel is doing just when children in hospitals, priests in churches, volunteers in NGOs, and many more innocents are slaughtered every day by the thousands.  This is intentional genocide against children of God.

This week also saw the continued brutality of our own government – grabbing up people from farms and Home Depots based on the color of their skin or their accent, including a US veteran and countless citizens.  Every single human being is made in the image of God by God.  That means everything that is done to any  brown and black person, any Asian person, any tribal or first nation person, and yes, even any person of European descent, anything done to them is done to the very image of God.  And, these actions by our government are not only reprehensible for that reason, but they violate the laws of our faith and our country. 

The commandments of our faith call us to welcome the stranger.  The laws of our nation require that every person receive due process – all of them, not just citizens. 

And sadly there is much more, as the rich are getting richer while the poor are getting poorer here in the US.  The earth groans under our long abuse and all of creation suffers from the catastrophic weather and loss of human and animal life that results.  More people are pushed to the margins because of who they love, what gender they claim, or what faith they profess. 

So, with all that is happening to God’s creation, to the children of God all over the world, if there is ever a time we need to understand this story, it is now. 

Because folks, we need to be Martha.  Martha who provides for those wearied by the journey of life, who labors to care for others, who welcomes the Jesus that is in the stranger; the economic and spiritually poor; the sick; the physically, emotionally, or spiritually imprisoned.  Part of being Martha today is to also be a visible and vocal presence in the world – protesting against that which would seek to harm any part of God’s creation, advocating for the dignity and freedom of every child of God, fighting boldly for peace and justice, and spreading the good news of God’s unconditional love and grace.

Yet, being Martha in the world, doing the work of Jesus, while an important and a vital part of who we are, is unsustainable on its own.  It is impossible to feed others, when you are not being fed yourself.  It’s kind of like the speech you get from the flight attendants before every take off – “In the unlikely event that the cabin loses pressure, oxygen masks will drop from the ceiling.  Place the mask over your face, and tighten with the straps on either side.  Please place the mask on yourself first, before assisting others.”  They tell you that last bit, because it will be difficult to help anyone if you are gasping for air. 

As I have said many times, so many – you likely know what’s coming – church is not the destination, it is where we are given strength for the journey.  The church is where we can work out our faith.  And, the church is also where we are given the life sustaining oxygen of the Word, the Word of scripture, and the Word of Christ in the Eucharist.  Without the renewal we get here, we will find the journey ahead, the one we are called to do as the body of Christ in the world, our Martha work, to be impossible to sustain.  And by God, we need to do this work, now more than ever. 

So, we also need to be Mary – to come here, to take a rest, to listen to the Word, to be nourished by Christ.  I need it, you need it, we all need it.  Church is where we can find what we need.  Is it any wonder that in times of crisis folks flock to churches?  It is because for all the turmoil, we are tired and worn.  We need to sit at the feet of Jesus and be restored. 

And even coming to church itself there is a bit of both Mary and Martha going on, right?  From worship roles like Lector or Usher or Choir, to bringing food for coffee hour or setting the table for the rest of us as part of the altar guild, to monitoring the livestream for those who could not be here in person – the way some get nourishment in Christ is in setting the table for the rest of us.  For others, the nourishment is found in contemplative prayer in our pews, coming early for quiet time in the church, or walking the labyrinth.  But even so, all become Mary in hearing the Word proclaimed, and in taking in Christ in the Eucharistic Feast.

And when we allow that Mary nature to take hold, we will come to truly understand that right here with us is Jesus.  Jesus is in the house – this house!  That was true for Mary and Martha, and it is true for us here today.  And, Jesus is in the world too – in the eyes of those in need of love, in need of someone to speak for them, in need of peace, in need of wholeness, in need of a welcoming place.  And, Jesus is in us too, as the body of Christ. 

So, let us be the Mary & Marthas we are meant to be, each choosing the better part – that work that is our particular calling in a particular time and place.  The work of sitting at the feet of Christ here to be nourished by him at this altar. And the work of being voices for justice and peace for those who have been pushed to the margins, of spreading restorative love and kindness where others have sewn hate and violence, of being the light of Christ in a world of darkness.

The dragons we slay will free the oppressed.

The monasteries we establish will be a world in peace.

Amen.

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[1] Workingpreacher.com commentary

The Rev. Diana L. Wilcox

Christ Church in Bloomfield & Glen Ridge

July 20, 2025

Pentecost 6 – Year C – Proper 11

1st Reading – Amos 8:1-12

Psalm 52

2nd Reading – Colossians 1:15-28

Gospel – Luke 10:38-42

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