Lectionary 16C

Luke 10:38-42

The well-known story we hear in today’s gospel often sets one sister against the other: the older, dutiful and responsible doer against the younger and oblivious slacker.

In some ways it’s not a new story. After all, there are other sibling rivalries in Scripture:

Adam and Eve’s firstborn son Cain murdered his brother Abel out of jealousy;

Isaac and Rebekah’s son Jacob bought his older brother Esau’s birthright from him and then tricked their father into giving him the blessing that rightfully belonged to Esau.

Jacob’s sons threw their younger brother Joseph into a pit and left him for dead, only discovering that he hadn’t died when, afflicted by famine, they traveled to Egypt for help.

In Mark’s gospel, James and John vie for seats on Jesus’ right and his left, and, in Matthew, Jesus’ own siblings question his role. But perhaps one of the closest parallels we have to today’s gospel is the story of the prodigal father where the older brother thinks his bitter fulfillment of his responsibilities is a better response than his younger brother’s flagrant wastefulness and recklessness.

In each of these pairings, Scripture gives us a negative example, showing us how not to act or respond - with jealousy, envy, deceit, pride or resentment.

Clearly, Martha is resentful of her sister. Maybe it’s because Mary has left all the labor to Martha, but maybe it’s because Mary has chosen to act differently and defied the cultural norms of their day by sitting at the feet of their rabbi. I’m reminded that when something gets under my skin, it’s often because I am afraid; my sense of security, control or worth feels threatened. We can only guess at what’s going on in Martha that she feels so vulnerable.

When she questions Jesus and asks him to admonish her sister Mary, Jesus refuses, and instead he tells Martha, “You are putting yourself into an uproar”. I don’t like that his response sounds dismissive of her feelings, but it does redirect her away from shaming her sister and pushes her to look at what truly has her so upset.

But there’s more to this story than sibling rivalry.

And there’s more to it than choosing whether to be an active doer or to be a reflective listener. Following Jesus means being both. As the late theologian and preacher Fred Craddock wrote, “Knowing which and when is a matter of spiritual discernment.”[i]

What catches my attention is how Martha’s preoccupation with her tasks or plans keeps her from spending time with Jesus and sitting at his feet.

German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote that doing independent from hearing the Word fails; “one thing is needful: not to hear or to do, but to do both in one, …to be and continue in unity with Jesus Christ.”[ii]

Luke says Martha welcomed Jesus into her home and then she got distracted by her many tasks.

In choosing to focus on her busy work, Martha disconnects and moves away from Jesus:

from relationship;

from resting in God’s presence;

from receiving God’s Word;

from soaking in God’s love.

In choosing to focus on her tasks and what she thought was needed, Martha disregards the extraordinary opportunity of meeting Jesus face to face and spending time with Him.

Watching Martha, I reflect on how easily I am distracted and pulled away from spending time with God. Not by the justifiable distraction of necessary work, but by mere inattention, from barking dogs or the chime of a text message or the intrusion of a random thought that leads down a rabbit hole.

It’s so easy to give importance to what is immediate, apparent and visible and discount the spiritual things. As C.S. Lewis wrote in Screwtape Letters, “the safest road to Hell is the gradual one — the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.” [iii]

But Jesus offers us another way. When he refuses to rebuke Mary for her devotion, he reorients Martha’s attention to what is needed:

to be in relationship with Him,

to sit at His feet and rest in His presence,

to hear His Word,

and to be loved by Him.

And all of this is possible not because of our own efforts or merits, but because God loves us and extends grace to us.

It’s not a matter of being in the right place at the right time or choosing well. It’s about recognizing we are already in God’s presence and freeing ourselves to experience God’s grace for us right where we are. It’s about drawing near to God and soaking in God’s love for us.

If Mary’s posture still feels self-indulgent, consider that Luther says that faith comes by hearing the Word of God. [This] Word is the basis

of the assurance of faith,

of newness of life,

of belonging to Christ and his history, which means belonging to the new world of God, to God’s kingdom….[iv]

Systematic theologian Oswald Bayer writes,

The moment we turn aside and look back at ourselves and our own doing instead of at God and God’s promise, at that moment we are again left with ourselves and with our own judgment about ourselves [and we become entangled in ourselves.][v]

In other words, when we become distracted and turn away from God, we turn in on ourselves, which is Luther’s very definition of sin.

The better part that Mary chooses is understanding that sitting at Jesus’ feet, listening to His Word and teaching, is exactly where a disciple belongs.

This past week was Music Week at Lutheridge. My younger daughter was a music week camper from third grade all through high school, and then I went to camp with confirmation students, so it holds a special place in our hearts. Camp is a place where it’s easy to sit in God’s presence, to hear God’s Word and to soak in God’s love. But most of us can’t spend our lives at camp. We have to choose more carefully to spend time with God.

Today’s gospel reminds us that the God who created us, knows us and loves us waits for us to turn away from the distractions and rest in the holy and divine that awaits.

Let us pray…

Good and gracious God, Thank you for your Son Jesus whose presence with us shows us your love for us. When we are distracted, turn us again to You, that we would soak in your love for us and live in the grace you have already given us. Strengthen our faith by the hearing of your Word. We pray in the name of your Son Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Amen.

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[i] Fred B. Craddock. Luke. 152.

[ii] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Ethics. 46-47.

[iii] C.S. Lewis Screwtape Letters, 56.

[iv] Oswald Bayer. Living by Faith: Justification and Sanctification. 43.

[v] ibid, 44.