Sermon by Stuart Pike

Photo Credit: Jimmie on Flickr.com

Sermon Text:

Sunday 21 July 2013

St. Luke’s, Burlington

Luke 10:38-42

When I read today’s Gospel story I always do a sort of mental cringe. My brain is thinking, “I don’t know, Jesus, this doesn’t sound like a good idea.” We don’t get to hear what Martha’s response to Jesus was. My imagination rises to this challenge and provides me with various scenarios, based on my own observances of women, hostesses and those engaged in the everyday tasks of maintaining a household, cooking, cleaning etc. None of those scenarios are pretty.

Probably the tamest of them involves Martha biting back a verbal response, tuning on her heel and silently returning to the kitchen and the entire household thereafter being treated to a cacophony of kitchen noises: cupboards slammed, perhaps glasses or crockery being broken, and the meal produced later that evening being delightfully cremated and served in gloomy silence.

Martha and Mary really represent two very different personalities. Martha is a doer - a worker. Mary is a be-er - a contemplator. Martha takes time to get things done. Mary takes time to think and to just be.

And who are we? thinkers or doers? I think most people are a little of both - though each person probably tends more to one way or the other. In today's lesson, Martha - the doer is upset because Mary has taken time away from doing, and is simply just being - with Jesus, and listening to him. She's learning and not doing. Martha feels abandoned and she turns to Jesus (not to Mary - but to Jesus) with her complaint. 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."

Automatically, the Marthas in the crowd will feel that Jesus is being hard on Martha. Even the Marys might feel that it is a little unfair that Mary didn't do her work first, and then go to sit down and listen to Jesus. Why should Martha be saddled with all of the work? It isn't fair.

Last week's lesson was the story of the Good Samaritan. In that lesson Jesus tells about how important it is to do for others. The Priest and the Levite who passed by on the other side were too worried about holy things to be able to do. They were too interested in their contemplations. Martha was more of a good Samaritan than Mary, certainly. Now Jesus seems to be saying the opposite - that doing isn't as important as being or contemplating. Jesus finishes off his story of the Good Samaritan by saying, "Go and do likewise."

Perhaps the answer is that Jesus really values both doing/work and being/thinking/contemplating. At that particular moment, Mary had chosen better path - it was a time to drop the worries about daily living, and simply to be - with Jesus. Yet at other times, it is time to stop thinking about, and to start doing it - such as the Good Samaritan did.

Last week Jesus says: "Go and do". This week it's, "stop and listen and be."

How many times do we find ourselves being so oriented to the task at hand, that we have no time to stop and listen - or even to stop and rest. Have you ever stopped and thought about how often you pray? Not in Church, I mean just you and God. I wonder how many people live their lives in this busy, busy world, and don't take the time to learn more about their faith, and to grow in their faith. How often in our week do we consciously seek God out? How well do we stop and listen? Going and doing is unbalanced if one never stops and listens and thinks.

On the other hand, how often, in other types of things do we simply listen, and not act. How often do we stop and listen to the news, and shake our head at some situation of injustice and then not act. How often do we pass up the chan