Rev. Julian Studden's talk at the Diocesan CWL Advent Retreat in Calgary on Dec 2, 2023
Reference to “Hidden Women of the Gospels” by Kathy Coffey
1. Hospitality
Hospitality is exceedingly important in the biblical world in general and in Luke’s Gospel in particular.
In Jesus’ time custom required that when you welcomed a guest, you must do certain things, or you are insulting the guest. A few chapters earlier we hear that Simon the Pharisee Luke 7:44 invited Jesus to dinner and failed to busy himself doing the things that were normally done when a visitor came for a meal. Simon had failed to greet his guest and wash his feet and Jesus was quick to point out Simon’s errors as a host.
Likewise, here, Martha is busy doing what was expected. Mary wasn't.
What is more important - being busy serving the Lord or sitting quietly and listening and learning?
When Jesus comes to Bethany, Martha demonstrates hospitality by welcoming Jesus into the home she shares with her sister Mary. She then busies herself with the tasks of serving their guest (diakonian). Although we are not told precisely what those tasks are, a good guess is that she began preparing a meal.
Meanwhile her sister Mary sits at Jesus’ feet, listening to his words. Rather than assuming the role expected of women in her culture, she takes her place at the feet of Jesus. She assumes the posture of a student learning at the feet of a rabbi, a role traditionally reserved for men.
2. Distraction and Worry
This pleasant story takes a sharp turn when Martha, distracted by her many tasks, comes to Jesus and asks, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me”(10:40).
Many who read or hear this story may cheer for Mary in her inversion of traditional roles. Many may also empathize with Martha’s resentment of her sister for leaving her to do all the work. Jesus’ response to Martha seems less than empathetic, chiding her for her distraction and worry, and praising Mary: “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. * Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her” (10:41-42).
3. The problem
The problem with Martha is not that she is busy serving and providing hospitality. Certainly, Jesus commends this kind of service to the neighbor many times, notably in the parable of the Good Samaritan that immediately precedes the story of Mary and Martha. Luke 10:29-37.
A man asks what he must do to receive eternal life and Jesus answers, "Love God and love your neighbor and you will have eternal life". He goes on to explain how to do this with the story of a Samaritan who, unlike previous passers-by who did nothing, got busy helping the man lying wounded on the side of the road. Jesus’ final words are "Go and do the same", meaning, "Go and get busy showing love to others whenever the opportunity arises and you will have eternal life".
It’s clear from this that being a follower of Jesus involves a lot more than sitting and listening. But today we hear Martha being taken to task because she was busy showing her love for Jesus by cooking up a storm in the kitchen.
Note carefully Jesus doesn't tell Martha that she shouldn't be serving; it’s good to serve others and to care for their physical needs. But what Jesus does do is to gently rebuke her because ‘she is anxious and troubled about many things’. Her enthusiasm for serving has got her into a panic, so much so that she has forgotten about the guest. She has worked herself up into such a state that it’s all become too much and so has some unkind things to say about her sister.
The problem with Martha is not her serving, but rather that she is worried and distracted. The word translated “distracted” in verse 40, periespato, has the connotation of being pulled or dragged in different directions.
4. Attention to the guest
Martha’s distraction and worry leave no room for the most important aspect of hospitality — gracious attention to the guest. In fact, she breaks all the rules of hospitality by trying to embarrass her sister in front of her guests, and by asking her guest to intervene in a family dispute. She even goes so far as to accuse Jesus of not caring about her (Lord, do you not care…?).
Jesus wants her to see that something is wrong if serving has become a chore and has caused her to become worried and upset. It’s good to be busy serving others but when serving turns into stressful busyness then it’s time to stop what you are doing and listen. As one person put it, ‘There is a time to go and do; there is a time to listen and reflect. Knowing which and when is a matter of spiritual discernment’.
5. Driving a wedge
Martha’s worry and distraction prevent her from being truly present with Jesus and cause her to drive a wedge between her sister and herself, and between Jesus and herself. She has missed out on the “one thing needed” for true hospitality.
There is no greater hospitality than listening to your guest. How much more so when the guest is Jesus! So, Jesus says that Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.
6. An invitation
Jesus’ words to Martha may be seen as an invitation rather than a rebuke. Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. The one thing needed is for Martha to receive the gracious presence of Jesus, to listen to his words, to know that she is valued not for what she does or how well she does it, but for who she is as a child of God.
7. The One Thing Needed
In a culture of hectic schedules and the relentless pursuit of productivity, we are tempted to measure our worth by how busy we are, by how much we accomplish, or by how well we meet the expectations of others.
Many people in our congregations likely identify with Martha. Feeling pulled in different directions, feeling worried and distracted by many things — these seem to be common threads of life in our fast-paced world. And yet, as Jesus says in Luke 12:25, “Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?” We know that worrying does no good, and that much of what we worry about is not so important in the larger scheme of things, and yet we cannot seem to quell our anxious thoughts and frantic activity.
8. Distraction and excessive business
It is true that much of our business and distraction stems from the noblest of intentions. We want to provide for our families, we want to give our children every opportunity to enrich their lives, we want to serve our neighbors, and yes, we want to serve the Lord. Indeed, where would the church be without its “Marthas,” those faithful folk who perform the tasks of hospitality and service so vital to making the church a welcoming and well-functioning community?
Luke's story of Mary and Martha provides us with a parallel situation in our lives. We may identify more with the meditative Mary or with the must-do Martha. There is a time for practical aspects of service in the Body of Christ, and there is also a time for listening and growing in the love and forgiveness of Christ. In fact, church activity and busyness is in danger of becoming empty and meaningless without each person also sitting at the feet of Jesus through the Word and Sacraments and growing in faith and the new life. Whatever our role is in the church and in the community as we share and care for those who need the love of Christ in their lives or as we give of our time in the everyday matters of church life – cleaning windows, tidying the church grounds, providing music in worship, serving on a committee or a task force – we are all in danger of being ‘worried and troubled over so many things’ that we become prime candidates for burnout, disillusionment, discouragement and may even drop out of the church community.
When we become ‘worried and troubled over so many things’ we are in danger of taking out our frustration on others. When serving causes us to be ‘worried and troubled’ then it’s time to put aside our busy lives and just spend some time being with Jesus, learning from him, being refreshed and recreated by his Spirit.
Remember: ‘There is a time to go and do; there is a time to listen and reflect’.
9. Be still and know…
We would like to think of ourselves as having a good balance between the Mary and the Martha in our lives, but in reality, for most of us the Martha in us has virtually taken over.
Oh, there is always the argument that there is so much to do and somebody has to do the work!’
That may be so but let me ask you this, how do we stop being worried and troubled about what has to be done?
From where do we draw energy and motivation to do it?
How do we prevent burnout and discouragement and disillusionment?
How do we know whether what we are doing is really all that important
if we don’t take the time to stop, listen to our Lord, talk with him, prayerfully think it all through, and let the Spirit guide us?
And yet if all our activities leave us with no time to be still in the Lord’s presence and hear God’s word, Psalm 46:10, we are likely to end up anxious and troubled. We are likely to end up with a kind of service that is devoid of love and joy and is resentful of others.
10. Being nourished
Both listening and doing, receiving God’s Word and serving others, are vital to the Christian life, just as inhaling and exhaling are to breathing. Yet how often do we forget to breathe in deeply? Trying to serve without being nourished by God’s word is like expecting good fruit to grow from a tree that has been uprooted.
11. Conclusion
Luke’s story is left suspended. We do not know what happened next — whether Mary and Martha were reconciled, whether they were all able to enjoy the meal that Martha had prepared, whether Martha was finally able to sit and give her full attention to Jesus.
We do know that Jesus invites all of us who are worried and distracted by many things to sit and rest in his presence, to hear his words of grace and truth, to know that we are loved and valued as children of God, to be renewed in faith and strengthened for service. There is need of only one thing: attention to our guest. As it turns out, our guest is also our host, with abundant gifts to give.
4 Ways to help us have A MARY HEART DURING A MARTHA SEASON.
- Spend time in Jesus’ company in silence listening to what HE DESIRES OF US NOW.
- Motivate ourselves to do everything out of love for Jesus.
- He loves us to serve like He served us out of love. He took our place.
- As we serve let’s be aware that the people we serve is JESUS HIMSELF: “if you have done this to the least of these MY SISTERS AND BROTHERS you have done it to ME".
