Being Distracted from the Real Thing - Looking at Martha and Mary
Gate Pa – 16th Sunday in OT - 2022
Hebrew Scripture: Amos 8:1-12
Psalm: Psalm 52
Epistle: Col 1:15-29
Gospel: Luke 10:38-42
Explore the story of Mary and Martha as about what takes us away from what is important, rather than reading this as saying that listening to Jesus being more important that offering hospitality.
What might be the real things for us, and what distracts us?
The Sermon
1. Introduction:
This is the kind of gospel reading that can get preacher, especially
a man, into a lot of trouble, both here and at home. I need to tread carefully
here.
Too many men have preached lovely pious sermons about the need
to focus on Jesus rather than on mundane things like morning or afternoon teas,
or parish lunches; and then enjoyed the morning tea at end of the service and left
the women to tidy up when everyone had left. I heard a story about one woman standing
up in church after one such sermon and inviting the priest and the rest of the congregation
to just come and help.
It can be very easy be very patronising towards Martha and all
those who minister as Martha did.
So maybe we should just look at Amos and his very
straightforward warning against putting profit ahead of people and the common
good.
Or maybe we should have a look at Martha and Mary.
ð So what do you think this is about?
-
what
questions have?
- what like to say Jesus about that?
2. Gospels
Before I start, we need to note that we already heard a story
about Mary and Martha this year from John’s gospel. But there are some big differences. And these differences
remind us that the Gospels are NOT history books, but books of theology. They
seek to answer questions like: who is Jesus, who is God, who are we, and how do
we follow Christ in way of love as Paul describes it.
Luke is using and reinterpreting the stories of Jesus to offer
his understanding of all of that and more.
So some of the differences are
where this
story sits in the whole story of Jesus (this one as Jesus is setting out towards
Jerusalem, John, just before he enters Jerusalem (on Palm Sunday).
There is no
mention of Lazarus – Martha welcomes Jesus and entourage to HER house. There
seems to be no man about.
Mary keeps
her hair hidden and oil away.
In John the
big issue is about the cost of the oil Mary used and how it could have been given
to poor. In the story we heard today the issue might be about the roles of the 2
sisters in providing hospitality.
As we read this story we also need to keep in mind that all churches then were small house churches. Each time they met the burden of hospitality was on the house owner. So at one level this story can to be seen to address the issue of who should carry the burden of that hospitality.
3. Two Sisters
At a basic level this is a story of two sisters, one of whom feels
responsible for providing guests needs and is feeling very annoyed at the fact her
sister is not helping. And she wants Jesus intervene.
I’m sure that maybe quite a few of you sympathise, both with Mary and with Martha
on that. This is a very human situation. And there are lots of ways of reading
this.
4.
Radical Jesus and Mary
One way to read this story is to begin with how disturbing it might have been for Martha to see her sister among the men, acting as a disciple, at the feet of the rabbi. We can see Martha trying to protect her sister (and maybe Jesus).
5. Distraction
Another way is to pay attention to the language around Martha.
The words used are really interesting.
Vs 40 – Martha is described as being preoccupied. The Greek word
can mean distracted or over-occupied with cares or business.
Vs 41 – The Greek words in Jesus’ response to Martha are translated
as worried
and distracted. Interestingly in Greek is the same word used to describe
those wailing in grief. It can mean radical anxiety, terrify, strike with panic.
Some commentators suggest this is the real issue. Martha is so preoccupied, panicked even, that she is not really able to offer hospitality let alone receive what Jesus is offering.
6.
My Mum
Reading these commentaries made me realise something about my
mum. Whenever she was having friends around for lunch, or we were visiting, she
always cooked the meals weeks in advance, which seemed strange to me. She would
hassle me about what wanted 2 months out. But as I read the commentaries I realised
why she did it.
My dad died nearly 40 years ago. So when she was offering hospitality
she was it. I think she just wanted to be free welcome people, to make them
feel comfortable, and to be able to engage in conversation. She did not want to
be stuck out in kitchen getting everything ready. So, she made sure everything was
already ready by cooking it weeks in advance. On the day it just needed heating
mostly. And it was always delicious – not that I am biased.
To use the language of this story, Mum did not want to be preoccupied,
worried and distracted by preparing the meal. She wanted to be able really
welcome guests, to offer hospitality and to receive the company they offered
her.
One way of reading this story is that the issue is not one of
listening to Jesus OR offering hospitality, as it is so often read. But what is
getting in the way of Martha both truly offering hospitality AND listening to
Jesus. Her distraction is blinding her to everything else. She is so consumed
by task at hand that lose sight bigger picture. Jesus is inviting her to stop
and offer hospitality by just being with him in this moment.
So, as Jesus travels down to Jerusalem, maybe he is warning hi
followers to not get distracted, and to focus on the bigger picture. Which
given by what is coming up seems reasonable.
And maybe Luke is using this story to warn the house churches of his time, and especially those offering hospitality to those churches, to not get so consumed by the offering of hospitality that they forget why people have gathered there in first place, and to remind them to be part of that as well.
7.
What about us?
I wonder what this story might offer us
Have a conversation?
8.
Some of my thoughts
Here are some examples
Sometimes we Anglicans can get so concerned about getting the
words of the liturgy right and people doing right things at right time that we forget
that liturgy is about entering space
where we are met by the life changing God, and we are being shaped and moulded
to be a people join in God’s mission. The words and actions not important in
and of themselves. They are important because they are vehicle by which God
acts.
Sometimes we get so consumed what happens on Sunday that it becomes
the measure of a parish’s life, and we forget that the importance of what
happens on Sunday is how it shapes how we live life for the rest week.
Sometimes we are so busy keeping a parish going, we forget what
the parish is here for. I remember talking to a parishioner at Ngongotaha when they
first decided to become a local shared ministry unit. He talked about being so
consumed by fundraising to pay the vicar’s stipend they had forgotten what they
were there for. Now they had been relieved of that they could now look to be a people
of mission. Too often we keep church going for the sake of keeping church going.
When we do that we lose sight what church is about - God’s mission. We become like
Martha.
Martha who was so consumed by getting everything right that
she had forgotten the point of it was offer hospitality to Jesus. Maybe Mary was one truly offering
hospitality – by staying with the men and listening. Well, until they were
hungry anyway.
Not is not to say that what Martha was doing was unimportant, but that she forgot why she was doing it.
9. Conclusion
- what questions have?
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