Sunday, July 20, 2025

Martha and Mary

 

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.

 Amos 8:1-12        Psalm 52        Colossians 1:15-28        Luke 10:38-42

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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