The Better Part: Luke 10:38-42 - Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

³⁸Now as [Jesus and his disciples] went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. ³⁹She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. ⁴⁰But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.” ⁴¹But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; ⁴²there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”

pocket watch by Jeffrey Smith.  Creative Commons image on flickr

I have this pair of black dress shoes.  They are super comfortable, and the right shoe looks like I wrestled it out of a dog’s mouth.

The first time I wore them, I scuffed them on the front steps of our church.  Badly.  No amount of shoe polish can change the way they look.  I’ve tried.

And every time I put them on, I hear the searing words of someone I once knew: “I have no respect for a pastor who doesn’t shine these shoes!”

But I still wear them.  It just doesn’t feel right to waste something because of a flaw in appearance. 

And yet, I’m reminded of how much effort and energy I do spend—just to keep up appearances. 

It wouldn’t be fair for me to blame this on the likes of Martha Stewart and Calvin Klein, and yet you’re made to feel shame if your homes and your wardrobes don’t look like they say they should…

And this is hardly a modern phenomenon.  Just consider another Martha—who’s frantically toiling away to be a good host for her and her sister’s guest, who is Jesus Christ.  While she’s working her fingers to the bone, her sister Mary is sitting and doing nothing, save for listening to Jesus…

Even though we enjoy the convenience of supermarket-packaged foods and appliances, you can understand why Martha’s upset.  There’s much work to be done, and she’s not getting any help. 

Do you find it strange that she protests—not to Mary, but to Jesus?  Is it his fault?

Yet Jesus offers no applause to Martha.  He tells her she is distracted by many things. 

Now Jesus doesn’t reject her service.  But Jesus does reject that Martha’s labors are for Martha’s sake—more so than his.  And that is why she is frantic. 

Jesus knows the truth of what’s driving Martha: it’s anxiety.  Jesus knows that if everything isn’t done just right and on time, her shame would be unbearable.

Hers is a spiritual condition that is not uncommon among today’s Christians.  We are distracted by many things; pulled in every possible direction; working ourselves practically dead—and much, if not most, of what we toil for is of no lasting consequence.

Think about it: modernity has given birth to all kinds of conveniences designed to make life easier—and yet we’re all more stressed out than ever.  If you don’t believe me, a song called Stressed Out has been at the top of the Billboard Charts for over a year. 

Some of these things have no easy fix—like the economy, healthcare, and the bitter division of our society. 

But how much stress comes simply from the fear of shame: that inner voice telling you that -unless you invest your time and energy into these labors, and please these people, that you’ll be exposed as a nobody?  How much stress comes from F.O.M.O.—the fear of missing out?  That if you don’t own certain possessions, know certain things, or have certain experiences, your life will become unlivable?

You and I fall into the same trap as Martha, all the time.  While Martha’s service for Jesus is both necessary and commendable, her anxiety is not.  It is Mary who is focused upon what is of ultimate importance.  “Mary has chosen the better part,” Jesus says; sitting at his feet, in stillness, and listening. 

Jesus was present, and Mary was paying attention.  Her example is a challenge for all of us, in this frantic, fast-paced world.  Unless you respond to the presence of Jesus in absolute surrender, in stillness and silence, you will be constantly pushed around by anxiety and agitated by shame.  After all, you can’t work your way into God’s favor.  You can only receive God’s graces. 

This is why the greatest urgency of the Christian journey is stillness at the feet of Jesus.  This is why the time is now for you to stop, pay attention to what Jesus is saying and doing, and offer thanksgiving.  There’s a time for listening and a time for going and doing, and yet the Christian journey will lead nowhere without the deliberate surrender to the presence of Christ.

The challenge for you and me is also a challenge for this congregation.  There are a lot of Marthas in this church.  I’m a Martha!  For a church our size, we are constantly blessing the lives of hundreds of neighbors.  Because of this, our greatest growth need—and opportunity—isn’t more service.  It’s not more doing and more programs and more committees.  It’s following the example of Mary with more silence, more listening, more reflection.

This will not come without great sacrifice—because you will have to let things go you consider important.  You will have to disappoint people who are important to you.  Shame and F.O.M.O. are always bitter pills to swallow.  It gets even harder as Jesus shakes up priorities and redefines what is of ultimate concern.  

Yet Jesus gives is what we all long for—which is not more anxiety and stress, but:

·      The peace of entrusting your cares to him

·      The joy of living for what matters to him

·      The confidence of trusting that he holds your life and your world in love.

There’s a time to be like Martha, and a time to be like Mary.  Let us pray to the Spirit for the wisdom and strength to choose the better part.