Martha and Mary The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling Christ Church
Needham
But I am like a
green olive tree in the house of God; *
I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.
Today's gospel passage from Luke
reminds me of my family. I have four grandchildren, three of whom live in
Minnesota. Peter and Nathaniel are not identical 6 year old twins and they are
truly not identical in so many ways. Peter is a mover and shaker who also loves
to draw. Nathaniel is quieter, a child who loves to explore God’s creation like
a scientist. Spiritually, Peter is an evangelist like St. Luke; Nathaniel is a
monk. Meanwhile, their 3 year old sister named Lili has accumulated the traits
and behaviors of both of them while maintaining her own unique style and
character. She’ll probably run for political office someday!
Martha is like Peter. She is
busy in the kitchen with no air conditioning, slaving over a hot stove in the middle of the summer, preparing for a visit from Jesus. Like someone with ADHD,
she is distracted by many things. She wants to welcome Jesus into her home and
feeding him physically is important to her. Meanwhile, her sister Mary is like
Nathaniel. She is sitting on the floor, with a long cool drink in her hand, and
listening carefully to what Jesus has to say.
Part of the blessing of the
summer days in this part of our country is the abundance of fresh summer fruit
that becomes available locally. I always look forward to the ‘east coast
strawberries’ that appear in Friends supermarket on Cape Cod. And then there
are those tiny little Maine blueberries that seem to have a slightly different
flavor than their bigger siblings. Easily popped into my mouth, I let my
blender take the summer off from making those mid-winter smoothies.
“This is what the Lord God
showed Amos-- a basket of summer fruit. He said, "Amos, what do you
see?" And I said, "A basket of summer fruit." Now Amos was an
8th century BC prophet who lived in the northern kingdom of Israel, which was
divided from the southern kingdom of Judah. He who was saying that the Lord God
showed him this basket before God launched into all the doom and gloom that was
about to befall his people. Amos was not painting a very pretty picture for the
future of his people. This was not a good news prophecy.
Amos claimed that the end was
about to come for the people in the kingdom of Israel. There will be wailings
of grief instead of songs of joy in their temple. Dead bodies shall be many. On
that day the sun will go down at noon and darken the earth like a full solar
eclipse. God will turn their feasts into mourning and there will be famines,
droughts, and lamentations throughout the land. It sounds like Israel on
October 7 2024 to me.
Apparently, the people in
Israel, the northern part of the kingdom at that time, had been busy, like
Martha, but busy with all the wrong activities. They had trampled on the needy
and brought ruin to the poor in their land. And so, God showed Amos a basket of
summer fruit which was about to become like mine when I leave it sitting on the
counter in the humid heat for too long. The mold appears. The fruit goes bad;
and the garbage disposal becomes its destination.
I find it also interesting that
the psalmist in today’s lesson refers to himself like “a green olive tree in
the house of God.” Here’s another image taken from creation; and yet in this
one the fruit remains on the tree. It has not yet been picked. It’s still
green, not yet ripe, and not ready for consumption. And so, I wonder, is Martha
like the basket of summer fruit wilting in her busyness, while Mary is like the
green olive tree sitting at the foot of Jesus? Is she still connected to the
living tree of the Son of God?
Last week, we heard Jesus tell a parable about
the Good Samaritan, the man who was moved by pity to stop and care for a
wounded stranger lying on the side of the road. According to the story, neither
a priest nor a Levite stopped, but Jesus didn’t tell us why. Now the road to
Jericho was known for its robbers, and maybe they thought he was a decoy for
those lying in wait. Or maybe, like Martha, they were simply distracted by
their “to do” lists. Too busy with her
own life to care for the life of another or to listen to God.
I imagine Martha walking with her head down,
in deep thought about how to provide properly for her guest. Maybe she was
looking down at her cell phone for the latest news, or a new recipe, and blind
to the needs of those around her. In a rush to get to what she needed to do for
her future guest she wasn’t paying attention to the people in her current life.
Was Jesus accusing Martha of
being unfaithful, rebuking her for her busyness? What does Jesus mean when he
said that her sister Mary had chosen the better part? Like whiplash, the gospel
stories from last week and this week encourage us to behave in two very
different ways. “So, which is it?” I ask myself. “Am I supposed to “get up and
do something” or “sit and listen?” Am I
ripe for picking or am I past my due date? And which, exactly, is the better
part?
I must confess that I have a lot
of Marthas in our family. As busy beavers, we multitask to get the job done.
When Jesus says, “Get up and go,” we can’t get going fast enough, that is,
until we begin to feel resentful about the loads that we are carrying without
any help. Turning to Jesus, and pointing to a family member, we will say,
“Please tell him to get up and help me.’ However, in today’s passage, Jesus
doesn’t tell Mary to get up and get going; but rather he tells Martha to come
out of the kitchen and sit down. Spend some time with him. “Sit down and listen
to me for a little while,” he says to her.
I can relate to both Mary and
Martha. When worried and distracted, I am reminded to be like Mary, to sit at
the feet of Jesus and listen. When I find myself demanding help from others, or
when the kitchen gets too hot, I tell myself to go to another room, sit down
for a little while to listen and pray. I turn to the serenity prayer, to accept
the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the
wisdom to know the difference.
Initially, people may think that
Jesus was saying that Mary is the better disciple, and yet this is not true.
Rather Jesus is saying that everyone is called to be his disciple, and our
discipleship will take many forms. It is not an either/or engagement - a “pots
and pans Martha” versus a “googly-eyed listening Mary.”
Our society and culture, indeed
many of our families, will encourage us to stay busy. They say that being
“idle” is the devil’s playground. And faith without works is dead. At times, we
may even feel unworthy if we aren’t helping the poor and the needy, like good
Samaritans. Our value then becomes defined not by who we are, beloved and
unique children of God, a big, beautiful basket of summer fruit, but rather by
what we do. And when we see people just sitting there, or taking handouts at
our own expense, it fuels our resentments.
When our busyness becomes a
burden and we start making demands of others, Jesus invites us to sit down for
a little while, and listen to the voice of the Spirit. Jesus wants us to know
that we are like a basket of summer fruit, diverse, unique, and beautiful in
the eyes of God. We are containers that can receive the love of God and the
fruits of the Spirit, so that we might also share those gifts with others as
good Samaritans.
There is a well known story
about a man who seeks advice from a wise man. The tale goes like this: A
well-educated, scholarly man approached a Zen Master, seeking the secrets of
enlightenment. The man boasted about his extensive knowledge of the scriptures
and the many practices he had mastered over the years.
Eager to share his wisdom, the
Zen Master offered to serve tea. The Master began pouring tea into the man’s
cup, but even after the cup was full, he continued to pour. The tea overflowed,
spilling onto the tray, the table, and the floor. The scholar exclaimed,
“Master! The cup is full! No more will go in!”
The Zen Master replied, “Like
this cup, you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show
you Zen unless you first empty your cup?”
Before we get up and go, and be
like good Samaritans or like busy Marthas, Jesus invites us to let our cups be
filled first. Today, just for a little while, be like Mary. Stay connected to
the Tree of Life. Sit down and listen to what the Spirit is saying to you. And
then go and do something, even a small act of kindness. Get back in that hot kitchen and be like Martha. And
do not worry. Jesus will be with you on your journey.
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