Pentecost 9 C: An Invitation to More
Dear Partner in Preaching,
I have been, as I expect you have as well, heart sick over the events of the last week. Two more black men – Alton Sterling and Philando Castile – shot and killed by police in Baton Rouge and St. Paul. The brutal slaughter of police in Dallas. These feel like troubled days indeed, and I very much want our preaching to offer relevant and realistic words of hope. At the same time, I will confess to having a hard time relating the story of Mary and Martha to these events. I think I’ve found a way in, but am still working on it, so I’ll share my thoughts thus far below and will be grateful for you to share your insights as well.
Let me begin with two admissions. The first is that I’ve never liked this story all that much. The second is that I suspect much of that reaction stems from my own misreading of this scene. As to the first, here’s the deal: For most of my life, I’ve assumed that the moral of the story is that Mary’s attention to Jesus’ teaching is better and more important than Martha’s work to be hospitable. And that’s always bugged me. Not only have I known lots of folks – women and men – who feel this story greatly undervalues their own efforts at hospitality and service but, quite frankly, I identify far more easily with Martha than Mary. Give me a choice between quiet contemplation and active work or service, and nine times out of ten I’ll choose the latter.
Lately, however, I’ve been persuaded that despite the language of “the better part,” this story isn’t about favoring contemplation over action or learning over service or devotion over hospitality at all. Rather, it’s about seeing what is possible. Martha’s work, you see, was what was expected of her. Guests were coming and so Martha gets busy making sure everyone has what they need. This was – and more often then we’d like to admit, sometimes still is – what was and is expected of women. And that work not only was expected but valued. Indeed, there are few things that Luke lifts up as more important than hospitality in his gospel.
What was not expected was that Mary would take the position of a disciple, one seated at the feet of Jesus listening to him teach. If hospitality was most often considered women’s work, discipleship – and particularly discipleship as learning from the teacher – was most often considered men’s work. Luke’s Gospel has been recognized for years as having what we might describe as a more “progressive” view of women, as he regularly cites women as important to the mission and ministry of Jesus. But more often than not, the roles these women play are still supportive, providing resources and hospitality to the men who followed and listened to Jesus. (Think, for instance, of the women who followed Jesus and their role to support him [Luke 8:1-3] and, eventually, tend to his crucified body [Luke 23:49, 55-56]).
Mary, however, takes her place as one worthy to sit at Jesus’ feet to listen and learn, right along side the men. So perhaps Jesus’ admonition to Martha about “the better part” is not about the roles each plays – both have tremendous value in the gospels – but rather that Mary has seen the possibility of doing something different, actually of being someone different – a disciple of Jesus – in a way few would have expected or allowed a woman to consider. Perhaps, that is, it’s Mary’s assumption that she is worthy to sit as Jesus’ feet that he commends. She imagines and lives into a possibility that stretches the cultural norm because she is in the presence of the one through whom God promises that all things are possible.
Not only that, but based on rhetorical patterns in the Gospels, I suspect that when Jesus repeats Martha’s name, he is not expressing exasperation but deep affection: Martha, Martha, precisely because I love you I want you neither to be distracted nor trapped by your work and role but instead imagine all that is possible for you, as Mary has done.
Like I said, I’m still working on this, and maybe that rendition of Jesus’ words may seem like it stretches things a bit, but I still think this story is less about lifting up one kind of service – the contemplative life over the active one, for instance – than it is to stretch our imagination to what we see as viable options for our lives. What do we see? Whom do we see as worthy? How do we see ourselves? How do we see others? At times, even, do we see others at all? (These questions and themes resonate with our discussion of the parable of the Good Samaritan last week as well, as seeing someone as worthy and imagining a different way of regarding an outsider is also at the heart of that passage.)
And all of this is where I find a way through this story to the tragic events of the past weeks. At its heart, I believe, the Black Lives Matter movement is a plea, request, and demand to be seen. To be treated with equality. As I’ve said at another place on this website, it’s not that the activists of this movement don’t think all lives matter, it’s that they are critiquing a culture that acts as if some lives matter less than others.
And it doesn’t stop there. The massacre in Orlando, the resistance to admitting refugees to our country and sanctuary, the fear-mongering that has plagued this election, all of these are a result, in part, from our penchant to hold so steadfastly to our own cultural norms and expectations that we refuse to see others as God does and cannot see the new possibilities God is still unfolding before us. Even the despicable violence unleashed in anger and, I suspect, profound mental illness in Dallas is part and parcel of a world and culture that constantly draws lines between who’s in and who’s out, who counts and who doesn’t, who is worthy of respect and who is not. But here’s the thing: it’s clear from not only Luke’s Gospel but the whole of the New Testament that whenever you draw a line between who’s in and who’s out, you will inevitably find Jesus on the other side.
So perhaps this week, Dear Partner, we can help our people experience this story and hear Jesus words to Martha not as rebuke but as invitation – the invitation to see more in herself than she thought possible and, in turn, to see the same possibilities in others. And perhaps we can then be more prepared to hear God inviting us to see more in ourselves than we’ve seen previously and, in turn, to see others – all others – also as God’s beloved children. I suspect that Jesus’ early listeners were surprised by the expansiveness of Jesus’ vision and message, and I have a hunch our listeners will be, too.
Well, that’s what I’ve got this week, Dear Partner. I look forward to you sharing your thoughts in the comments below. Thanks very much for sharing this word of empowerment, as it needs to be sounded again and again, especially when our vision feels so limited. Blessings on your proclamation.
Yours in Christ,
David
Very interesting and helpful. I like it very much.
I, likewise, found this story not on my top ten list for preaching. But, now I am not so sure.
I also see Jesus’ words to Martha as invitation rather than critique motivated by his affection for her. But here is the thing: providing hospitality was and is in that part of the world a big deal. Very important work. So, why is what Mary is doing, “the good portion”? Moreover, could it be that when Jesus says, “you are anxious and troubled by many things, but only one thing is necessary” it is not a reference to Martha’s work as the commentaries seem to suggest. Rather, is Jesus suggesting that “hearing” Him is the “one thing” that is necessary (for life). Indeed, is Jesus not inviting Martha to join Mary!
In the Recovery Community, one often hears that the recovering person has only one problem: sobriety. All others are “situations”. Take care of the one problem empowers the recovering person to deal with all those other concerns of broken relationships, financial security, health and a host of other really big “problems” with hope and confidence in the power of God to work solutions yet unseen with out crippling fear.
The violence we are seeing in the news, the disdain for those who do not belong due to race, or place of origin or religion etc. the empty pews and unsupported institutions of the church and more are really big “problems”.
Maybe Jesus is reminding us this Sunday that only one thing is needed: to sit at Jesus feet, trusting in the power of the Holy Spirit to make all things new and to reveal to us the way to truly be “God’s hands” as we attempt to address these really troubling situations.
I am not entirely there yet with this text in working this thru to Sunday’s proclamation. It is a work in progress but that is where I am today. Comments please!
Great words. Thx!
I too have been wondering about the text and its word for the world we face. I find your words helpful and I have also been thinking about the image of Mary planting herself at Jesus’ feet claiming her right to learn alongside the male disciples and the image that has been in news of the young woman planting herself with bold peaceful presence in front the heavily armed law enforcement trying to move her. Perhaps Mary was a model of risking bold acts that too are acts of hospitality and inclusion.
David,
thanks for your heartfelt struggle with the text. I would suggest that a possible in-road to our current events is through your comment about the movement’s request “to be seen”. Perhaps that request is at the heart of Martha’s frustration too. Perhaps it is at the heart of all of our lives. Don’t we all have a need to “be seen” and be validated. That might mean a need to be loved by our parents, be recognized by our boss, or seen as something more than our skin color. But we all need to know that “we matter”. Especially that we matter to God.
The good news I see in this story is that Jesus lets Martha know that she matters; because he took the time to address her concern. He listened to her and responded directly to her. Perhaps we could invite our church people to discuss ways that the church can validate others in our communities? Just my addition to your thoughts. Thanks again for all that you do!!!
“At its heart, I believe, the Black Lives Matter movement is a plea, request, and demand to be seen. To be treated with equality.” YES!
Martha’s frustration is that Mary isn’t helping. No, Mary has stepped outside of the boundaries of social convention and into God’s realm.
And yet Mary has no voice while Martha has a clear voice! Is Jesus suggesting that quiet women are preferable to vocal ones?
And if hospitality is the key: is it Mary being present as she listens and Martha who is unable to be present in offering hospitality, is that the “one thing?” Or is it that Mary accepts Jesus’ hospitality and Martha does not wish to receive it and only give?
This is a great and confounding passage!
I’ll start off by saying I’m a lay person. I came across your blog a few months ago and have been learning. The Mary-Martha story is one of my favorites, and of course, I’m definitely a Mary. I could sit and ponder life all day long, if I didn’t have any responsibilities. 🙂
The key word for me in this story is “distracted”. It’s repeated twice. Martha was distracted by her tasks, she was distracted by her expectations. She was distracted by her needs. Jesus wants us to keep our focus on him. To listen to Him. To follow Him.
Right now in the US, people are distracted. They are distracted by 24 hour news, social media, busy schedules. We’ve lost our focus on Jesus. We’ve forgotten what he taught us, to love our neighbors as ourselves. We’ve forgotten that God made the whole world. We’ve forgotten to follow Jesus.
Jesus wants us to not be distracted and every once in a while to sit at his feet and listen and learn, like Mary did.
Well thought and well said. I too am a lay person, serving a small church as a Synodically Authorized Minister. I cherish the time that I am able to spend at the masters feet. Life is very distracting at times, and seems to lead us away from the teachings of the master. Perhaps that is part of the master’s design, and it is up to us to stay focused.
Just sharing the following –
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In Eugene H. Peterson’s The Message, Jesus says: “Martha, dear Martha, you’re fussing far too much and getting yourself worked up over nothing. One thing only is essential, and Mary has chosen it — it’s the main course, and won’t be taken from her.”
Perhaps Peterson’s words “main course” for “better part” (NRSV) can help this well-worn story be heard in fresh ways. A woman in the parish I serve commented that she never likes hearing this text preached because she always comes away with the sense that it’s never possible to get things right. If, like Martha, she works hard, she will be labeled “overfunctioning.” If, like Mary, she sits and listens too long, nothing gets done. Giuseppe Belli’s 19th-century sonnet “Martha and Magdalene” ends with Martha’s snapping back at Jesus when he tells her that Mary’s choice is more important: “So says you, but I know better. Listen, if I sat around on my salvation the way she does, who’d keep this house together?” (Divine Inspiration: The Life of Jesus in World Poetry).
Thinking of God’s word as the “main course” in the feast of life, however, doesn’t give that immediate sense that listening is better than doing. Rather, it places these activities in balance. Whereas the corporate world reminds us to keep the “main thing the main thing,” Christians are urged to remember that the main course is just that, the main course. Jesus is the host, not Martha or Mary or any one of us, and he spreads the word like a banquet to nourish and strengthen us. The word has within it commands both to sit and listen, and to go and do. We “sit on our salvation,” as the sonnet has it, but then scatter into the world and work of daily life.
—Stephanie Frey, “Living with Martha,” Christian Century, July 13, 2004.
The idea of being “present” in the task; Mary being fully in the moment with Jesus while Martha isn’t able to experience the presence of God in an opportunity to serve, that feels like the “one thing” that one sister knows and the other misses. How often do we miss a “God moment” when our hearts grumble because we feel that our job is less important, while we miss a chance to know Grace in moments of service?
After all, washing 24 dirty feet wasn’t very glamorous.
You mean, Jesus says, and Luke consistently repeats, “Women’s lives matter”? Radical.
I am wondering particularly about Greek word in verse 42 that is often translated “better” although I have also read “good” and “best.” Agathan. I have forgotten how the Greek forms the comparative. It can make a homiletical difference if the translation is “a good part” or “the good part” versus “the better part.”
I also commend to you all the musings of a fellow theologian, Mary Hanson, in http://stromerhanson.blogspot.com/2014/11/what-was-martha-doing-diakonia-in-luke.html.
Thanks!
Thanks, again, David for your struggles and insights by sharing them. Women as disciples in 1st century Palestine? Radical indeed!!! In Jesus’ time when God/Politics/Religion/Worship were tied together, it is tough for us in 21st century America of God “separated” from State to appreciate the radical nature of this (and Luke in general) political and social progressive views being stated. Women became the backbone of the Jesus movement. Sadly, today in the 21st century, many institutions STILL think women have a “proper” place in the kitchen, out of sight, silent, etc. 1st Century women were regarded as transaction property with no rights. Jesus empowered the least, last, lost. We must be DOING the same. The old work/listening paradigm of this story is a misleading interpretation through a conservative piety that neglects the radical nature within its historical setting. A first century meme could have been, “Women’s Lives Matter.” It is, in my opinion, about being lifted up and treated as an equal at God’s Table of Justice and Love.
Thank you,as always for thought provoking ideas. If you have never discovered the work of Pastor Brian Stoffregen, you might want to check out his commentary here http://www.crossmarks.com/brian/luke10x38.htm
Good stuff! And helpful insights on a variety of aspects of this text. It is scholarly, but I believe it is accessible for folks without formal theological training.
Realized with your comment about looking forward to replies that I rarely do comment. So please consider this “make up” for past years of appreciating your insightful (and often sermon-saving) and blessed writing.Thank you, good sir. I can’t imagine how difficult it is to do this SO well and so faithfully. I usually tell congregations I’be been quoting you so long that you rose from professor to president of your seminary. Can’t get a much better endorsement than that! You are SO appreciated, every single week, whether I comment or not, and I suspect that is true of many, many.
David – as per your norm you have opened up the Word in a new and multi-dimentional way. The aspect of your reflection that spoke most to my heart was the following:it’s clear from not only Luke’s Gospel but the whole of the New Testament that whenever you draw a line between who’s in and who’s out, you will inevitably find Jesus on the other side.
We, the privileged of the world, often think that everyone else must think, speak and act the way we do. We often ignore that we are drawing a line between us and the rest of the world when we do that. Jesus certainly spoke and acted with preference to the marginalized – at least in Luke’s version. We want them to be like us, but we are not willing to meet them where they are. Instead of ranting about others, wouldn’t be more Jesus-like to reach out to others with a non threatening invitation, one that is respectful and loving?
Dear David, for the first time I had had some different thoughts about this story. What if, metaphorically speaking, Mary and Martha are two sides of the same coin, two parts of the same person, and Jesus is inviting us all to balance these two parts, but especially women. He is saying it is OK for women to be disciples not only through hospitality but through learning and teaching.
I also think it is a sort about balancing being busy with being fruitful, don;t you think?
Thank you for all that you have written. I’m over in the UK dealing with different challenges though with similar themes. I have been wondering whether this story is one to challenge the single story. Jesus is inviting Martha to see that there are other possibilities and ways to be rather than the one of women’s work. Chimamanda Adichie Ted Talk on the danger of the single story I found enlightening. So the way in to the gospel for me is to consider then the ways we might challenge the single stories that we are hearing. Over here in the UK like you we are challenged about welcoming immigrants, what is the single story that we have heard, how do we go about challenging them?
Thank you for your thoughts and, as your candor. I wonder if also the “better part” Mary has chosen focuses on what she feels called to but not judging or criticizing what her sister feels called to. I am grateful for this story since the sisters squabbling evoke childhood images of my and my sister’s struggles and parenting images of my daughters’ struggles as well. Loving neighbor has its challenges, but sometimes loving our sister(or brother) is just as hard.
Thanks for your words, Dr Lose!
One aspect I’ll add at this 11th hour. In the Colossians reading, we get the notion of Jesus being the image of the invisible God. Martha, like so many of us, was carried away with mundane, “expected” tasks, even though God was in her midst.
I wonder, how often do we let the status quo keep us from seeing God right in front of us?
As always – brilliant and insightful. I particularly resonated with the discipleship of Mary, because that truly makes the most sense.
I’m thinking about this passage in light of current events, including political campaign rhetoric, and wonder about our becoming so consumed with the bad that we lose sight of the goodness that is even closer. Someone asked a radio commentator if we as a culture might be suffering from PTSD after all the recent events. Then that evening I am surprised by a glorious sunset, a newly blossomed flower, some church folk preparing to help a family say goodbye to a loved one. There is a time for work that keeps us busy, and there is a time for sitting still and just being in the moment with God. The difficulty comes when we let the first occupy our time and minds so much that we forget about the second.