Psalm 15; Luke 10: 38 - 42 by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
July 17, 2016
O Lord, who may abide in your tent?
Who may dwell on your holy hill?
Those who walk blamelessly, and do what is right,
and speak the truth from their heart;
who do not slander with their tongue,
and do no evil to their friends,
nor take up a reproach against their neighbours;
in whose eyes the wicked are despised,
but who honour those who fear the Lord;
who stand by their oath even to their hurt;
who do not lend money at interest,
and do not take a bribe against the innocent.
Those who do these things shall never be moved. - Psalm 15
Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.’ But the Lord answered her, ‘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.’ - Luke 10: 38-42
Martha and Mary. The sisters. These two ladies seem so easy to relate to. We see glimpses of their genuine relationship through the various gospel accounts. They shared a close relationship with each other and with their brother Lazarus. They were very good friends with Jesus. It was in their home that Jesus found a place of welcome and respite. We even see a bit of sibling rivalry here in Luke’s story. Martha tells Jesus to make her sister step up her game to help and properly welcome him as a guest. Martha must have had a bit of Southern charm in her, don’t you agree?
But here in Luke’s story I have a hard time elevating one sister’s behavior over the other. We have all heard it said before that we need to be more like Mary than Martha. But the sisters share two different sides of our very selves that we all can identify with, whether we are male or female. Martha enjoys doing for others. Mary enjoys just being still. The parallel of their differences is similar to that of extraverts and introverts. Extraverts get energy from being with other people while introverts get energy from being alone. We all have a bit of extravert and introvert in us. We may prefer one over the other. However, we have a need for both and on our best days we seek balancing the two in our daily living.
Martha and Mary allude to the two parts of our faith that inform one another as we seek to follow Christ. One part of our faith is more outward. It is the extension of hospitality from our hearts and hands through our ministries of care to others. It is what Martha was so deeply focused on as she welcomed Christ into her home as her neighbor, friend, and Lord. Martha set her eyes on the tasks of serving. The Greek word here for tasks is where we get the English word deacon and diaconate – or ministry of care. Martha sets her eyes on serving Christ and others with such care and with such faithfulness.
The other part of our faith is more inward. It is our ability to receive divine hospitality given by the very heart and hands of God. We receive God’s hospitality as spiritual direction from our Teacher and Lord. It is what Mary is so deeply focused on as she sits at the feet of Christ and listens to what he is saying to her.
Have you ever wondered just what Jesus was saying to Mary that caused her to hang on Jesus’ every word?
It has been a real question for me this week. Throughout Luke’s tenth chapter Jesus says a lot to his disciples.
As the chapter begins he sends seventy followers out on God’s mission. Jesus shares the realities of the hard work that lies ahead: “The harvest is plenty but the laborers are few” (Luke 10:2). Do you hear Jesus implying that there are times the disciples will feel overwhelmed by thinking there is not enough joint effort? Doesn't that sound familiar to the story of Martha and Mary?
Jesus goes on to say: “Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you’” (Luke 10: 8-9). Do you hear Jesus imply to go out and receive hospitality in the homes you visit but also extend God’s hospitality with ministries of care? That sounds familiar too.
Jesus told the disciples, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it” (Luke 10: 23-24). Do you hear Jesus implying how the disciples are being trained to pay attention to God’s divine instruction? Do you hear and see a connection?
Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan to the lawyer and the disciples (Luke 10: 27-28). Just last week we heard Jesus imply that if we love God and neighbor through the virtue of compassion then we will truly live by having an active life in the kingdom of God.
And the continuous thread seems to be on following God’s mission of hospitality in a prayerful and yet prudent way. “Luke’s Gospel uses hospitality as a social context for the spread of the Christian message” (Mikeal C. Parsons, Working Preacher)
I cannot help but wonder as the ceramic pots and wooden spoons were clinging and clanging in the kitchen if Jesus was taking the opportunity to disciple Mary - and Martha too - on the beautiful gift of God’s hospitality. We hear Martha trying to faithfully extend it and we see Mary is trying to faithfully receive it. “Blessed are those who hear and see what you hear and see” (Luke 10:23) In order for us to follow Jesus’ example of serving others we must also taste and experience God’s spiritual goodness, God's hospitality. We must make room to empty ourselves and cleanse our palates so that we might be filled with God’s fruit of the Spirit to share in service with others.
Teresa of Avila is one of my heroines from church history. She was one of the first female reformers of the Catholic Church in the sixteenth century. She was the founder of the Carmelite Monastery where monks and nuns, respectively, would work the land in spiritual community as well as devote their entire lives to God in service and prayer. Teresa knew firsthand the life of faith was embraced by receiving and extending God’s hospitality. This is what Teresa says of Martha and Mary:
Seek prayer and engage in prayer not for your own pleasure but to gain the strength to serve God. We must be like both Martha and Mary if we are to show true hospitality to God.[1]
Jesus wants his disciples to prayerfully focus on what we see and hear from God’s hospitality. In order to do so we must seek to balance service to others with sitting at Jesus’ feet. We cannot love our neighbor in God’s hospitable grace without taking time to love God and receive God’s hospitable grace ourselves. We cannot know which steps lead to an active life in the kingdom of God without taking the time to listen to for Jesus’ spiritual direction.
Some days all the work that we pour our faith into seems more of a distraction than true service to others. Even as we try to be the church and plug ourselves into ministries of care where our gifts intersect the needs around us, the needs of the world press in and overwhelm us. We ask ourselves – how can I possibly help to change the world by myself? How can I extend God’s hospitality with my own efforts to make a difference? How can one act of compassion be exponential in a world that is hurting so much? Who will help me? Who will help us? Who will share our interest to be the active body of Christ? Because even Jesus said the harvest is plenty but the laborers are few (Luke 10:2).
It is in these moments of worry and anxiety that we literally feel pulled apart. And it is in these “Martha moments” that it is so very important for us to seek to balance service with stillness. We must claim these “Mary moments” to be still and listen for God’s Spirit and attune ourselves to that very still and very small voice. A ministry colleague of mine said just this week, “Breathe in God’s grace. Breathe out God’s grace to others. Repeat as needed.”
The core truth of breathing in and breathing out God’s grace, God's hospitality is this: God’s hospitality is relational and it always seeks a posture of grace that is reciprocal. This is why the command to love God with our whole being and to love our neighbor as ourselves is so important. It hinges upon the reciprocity of God’s gracious and compassionate hospitality.
As a result, the life of faith involves both intentional action and prayerful reflection. Consider your own journey in following our Rabbi and Lord. How are you doing in seeking the balance between action and reflection, service and stillness, mission and prayer?
Maybe you are knee deep in the harvest and feeling overwhelmed. Christ says blessed are those who hear and see. So listen and look for Christ guiding you to focus less on the distant field and focus more upon your immediate circle of influence where your heart and hands might touch the lives of others - or even just one life.
Maybe the Spirit is nudging you to go out and build new relationships with a different area of the community. Listen and look for opportunities where Christ may be guiding you to receive and extend hospitality on the front porch, at the post office, in the grocery store. The gift of welcome is often found in very ordinary and surprising places if we are open to the Spirit’s leading.
Maybe you have been listening and hanging on Jesus’ every word for a while now and you are seeking the courage to go and put the gift of these words into action. Listen and look for the ordinary intersections to put faith in motion in authentic ways.
The wonder and awe of following in the footsteps of the Rabbi is for us to discern when to choose the better part. We know when to choose the better part as we seek to balance service and stillness. Listen to what Jesus is saying to disciple you and me. Look for the ways Jesus is building us up as the body of Christ.
A life of faithful discipleship is to both receive and extend God’s hospitable grace to spread the gospel message. For in Jesus Christ the gospel in on the move and we are to move with it. May it be so for us.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Sources Referenced:
Artwork, "Martha and Mary," by He Qi
[1] "A Little Daily Wisdom: A Year with Saint Teresa of Avila" (Brewster: Paraclete Press, 2011), devotion entry June 17
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