Luke 10:38-42
+ In the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
I wonder which of the two in our gospel reading you relate to
most (and this applies to the fellas as well)! Do you see yourself as a “Mary”,
sitting there quietly listening at the feet of Jesus? Or are you more of a
“Martha”, never having time to sit down, always rushing about, doing three or
four things at once? I have a sneaking suspicion that most of us, if we are honest
would probably see ourselves more as Martha’s……always busy, worrying that
things are maybe not quite right and doing our best to make sure that things go
to plan. I’m sure that many of us have had friends round for dinner, and spent
hours working out the perfect menu, selecting the right wine (to be served at
the right temperature), making sure the seating plan is in order, and oh so
carefully choosing the right kind of background music to create the perfect
atmosphere for a dinner party to remember!
I’m sure that thoughts similar to these would have been
running through Martha’s mind as she prepared for and received their honoured
guest. She was in fact fulfilling the expected role of a woman at that time,
certainly no time to sit down for five minutes at the feet of Jesus like her
sister Mary!
Mary, on the other hand seems to have no problem with
behaving in quite a different, and even radical way with Jesus. She sits at the
feet of Jesus as though she is a disciple! This is almost unheard of! It is simply not a woman’s place to take upon
herself what was very much the male role of student, learning from the Teacher.
In that simple act, by doing something that seems so very ordinary to us today,
she completely turns upside down the expectations of society as to the correct
way in which women should behave.
Sometimes we forget perhaps just how radical parts of the
Bible actually are. We become so used to always having it there in the
background that we can sometimes miss those times when the status quo is
changed, particularly in such a quiet way. This is one of those times!
We read in other sections of the gospels of a similar
scenario, such as when Jesus visited the home of Lazarus (who he had raised
from the dead, and who also happened to be the brother of Mary and Martha). We
again see Martha rushing about making sure everything is perfect and Mary sat
at the feet of Jesus anointing him with perfume!
At the beginning of my Reader training we were asked to
complete one of those personality style tests that are meant to pinpoint what
style of personality you have. Some of you might be familiar with the
Myers-Briggs Personality Indicator……..this was a very much simplified version
of that and certainly wasn’t an exact science! It basically slotted us into a
number of categories according to whether we were an activist/doing kind of
person or more of a contemplative/thinking one. For what it’s worth I came out
as being at the more contemplative end of the scale, though in reality I
reckon, like many I am a mix of both, but apparently it’s the contemplation
that dominates!
If such tests were around in their time I reckon most of us
would be able to guess what personality types Mary and Martha would fall into!
Mary, the one who takes time to sit and learn, perhaps a bit more studious!
Martha the practical one, eager to get things done, distracted, we are told by
“many tasks”. We see similar personalities in the male disciples as well; it’s
not simply a gender thing!
In a situation that those of you who are parents will
probably sympathise with Martha complains to Jesus, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do the work all by
myself? Tell her then to help me!” (Lk 10:40) “I’m doing it all and she just
sits there”! It does seem pretty unfair! And the response of Jesus? Don’t
allow yourself to be so distracted by external things all the time. Slow down
and focus on that which is really important!
It’s easy to get so distracted by things that are going on
around us that sometimes we lose focus on what is really important. Even here
in church, we can get so caught up sometimes in PCC meetings, rotas for the
coffee, getting people to help out at the jumble sale, even who is presiding or
preaching from one week to the next, that we can forget to take out time to be
still like Mary.
All of those things, like Martha’s own preparations are
important, but we need the times of simply sitting at the feet of Jesus to
recharge and refresh us. We need to find time in our often distracted day when
we can just be still and know that He is God and receive His love! Hospitality
and generosity to others are absolutely essential to the gospel message, how we
treat others is a key part of Jesus’s teaching, as we saw in last week’s
recollection of the Good Samaritan. Yet, at the same time our actions need to
be supported by our being fed by the one who brings us fullness of life.
Today we give thanks for the service that St John’s College
has given not only this church, but also the local community. Like Martha they
have been beavering away over the years providing us not only with our parish
lunches, but also many who come to the community centre for a bite to eat and a
friendly face at the same time as providing work experience for their students.
The church would miss its Martha’s, and we will miss St John’s, but we wish
them well and assure them of our prayers as they themselves move into a new
phase.
So, I come back to the question I asked at the beginning! Are
you a Martha or a Mary? And truth be told, each of us will have a mixture of
the characteristics of each with us. We need both Martha and Mary. We need to
be people who are prepared to go out and get our hands dirty and also take time
to sit at the feet of Our Lord and be refreshed.
AMEN
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