Fifth Sunday after Trinity – morning
Sunday 21st July 2019
Trinity 5 – Proper 11 – morning
Coll.1. 1-28
Luke 10. 38-42
Revd Preb Maureen Hobbs
A tale of two sisters?
Mary and Martha. They are often taken to stand for the contemplative and activist sides of our natures and of the church itself. And it is true that we need a mixture of both to be good disciples of Jesus. So which one do you feel yourself most drawn to?
I suspect that most of us have a sneaking sympathy for poor Martha. There she is – an honoured guest in the house – of course she wants to put on her best show of hospitality for him. And all her sister can do is sit at his feet making ‘cow eyes’ at the Teacher! She is no help at all! Is it just an excuse for laziness?
Well, I don’t think so of course. And Jesus himself seems quite firm on the matter, “Mary has chosen the better part”; you can just imagine how frustrated Martha must feel when that is said to her!
But it is worth reflecting on why Luke may have included this little story – an apparent interlude of domestic detail in his Gospel at this point?
Jesus, we are told a few verses earlier, had set his face to go to Jerusalem. He is travelling towards his fate – his final destination. The place which is most holy to him but also where he knows he is likely to meet his death. He knows that he may not pass this way again. Not this side of the resurrection at least!
On the way he has had one encounter with the young lawyer that we met last week. Someone who was eager to justify himself to God and to Jesus with his piety and devotion to duty. And who was told in Jesus’ parable that justification comes from God and not from anything we do or do not do. What matters is our motivation – what lies in the heart. And it can be anyone who demonstrates that. Not just the likely suspects. Even the apparently despised can do good.
Now here we have someone else who is putting duty and practical issues before attending to what is perhaps the most important thing. Listening to what God is trying to say…
I wonder how often we are guilty of the same thing? And I know I include myself in that. How often do we take a perverse delight in how busy and how occupied we are – how important and needed and yes – Justified – that makes us feel. When all God is looking for is for us to stop. Stop with all the frantic activity. Stop with rushing around trying to look after everyone all the time. Yes, of course those actions are important and someone has to attend to them – but maybe not always us – or maybe not at this moment.
Maybe what God is wishing is that we just stop for a moment and try to listen to his words… for he may not pass this way again – or at least not for a long while.
Now this is easy for me to say – especially having just taken a few days’ holiday away from the parish. And it is always difficult to make space in the diary. There are inevitably important meetings or events that I have to miss when I do this. But you know what? The world does not stop turning!
And sometimes, – when we stop pretending that we are the only ones that can get anything done – when we raise our hands and say “No, I don’t think I can manage that…. or, I won’t be there for that, …. or, I don’t think I know how to manage that…. Sometimes it is amazing how someone else can step forward – into the space that we have made, and offer themselves to have a go… And sometimes to our shock (and maybe to our chagrin a bit too) they make a pretty good job of it! Dare I say, a better job than we would probably have done! And that can be uncomfortable to admit, even if only to ourselves!
So how readily do we fall into the same pattern as Martha? Is it all too easy to find perfectly good reasons why we cannot commit to spending some time in prayer, or in reading that book you always meant to get round to, or in time spent attending to God’s word? Maybe that is what Paul is getting at when he refers to those who are mature in Christ?
And sometimes, do we occupy our time with things that no one really wants or needs? Martha was set on forcing a well-prepared meal on Jesus as she imagined the laws of hospitality demanded. Maybe all he wanted was her attention while he was in the house – knowing that he was unlikely to pass that way again. Perhaps the equivalent of a simple cup of tea would have suited him better!
Make time your friend, not your enemy. Make time for the things that are really important to you – even if some of the urgent, but less important things have to get left by the wayside. Summer is a good time to start!
Amen.