Trinity Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Sermons 

Curly: "Do you know what the secret of life is?"

Mitch: "No. . . . What?"

Curly: [holds up the first finger on his right hand] "This."

Mitch: "Your finger?"

Curly: "One thing . . . just one thing." You stick to that and everything else don’t mean sh__."

Mitch: "That’s great, but what’s the one thing?"

Curly: "That’s what you’ve got to figure out."

This morning we take up Curly’s challenge by contemplating today’s gospel lesson. As we examine the text of the story of Jesus, Martha, and Mary, see if you can figure out what is the "one thing" that really matters.

Last Sunday, Julie preached on the gospel text immediately preceding what we just have heard. As she pointed out, the parable of the Good Samaritan is one of the best known stories in the New Testament. On the other hand, today’s story is far from familiar. Yet the gospel flows directly from the lawyer and the parable of the Samaritan into the story of Martha and her sister Mary.

Each story can be – and usually is – read independently of the other. Wanting to justify himself, the lawyer in the first story asks Jesus the famous question, "Who is my neighbor?" This leads Jesus to tell a parable about a traveler, some robbers, a priest, a Levite, and a Samaritan. And you know the rest of that story.

In today’s text, Jesus and his disciples are invited into the home of a woman named Martha, where they also encounter her sister Mary. In attending to her guests, Martha found herself busy doing a multitude of tasks, while Mary just sat at Jesus’ feet and listened to what he was saying.

It didn’t take long before Martha became upset at her sister’s inactivity. So, Martha complained to Jesus that she was doing all the work, and getting no help from Mary. (An aside: Raise your hand if you think that Martha was the older of the two sisters.) Instead of answering in a sympathetic manner, Jesus replied to the effect that Martha was being distracted. The original Greek verb -- which occurs only here in the entire New Testament – literally meant "to be pulled or dragged around" and figuratively "to be distracted" or "to be anxious." Meanwhile, Mary was focusing on what was really important, literally "the word of him [Jesus]".

Now, let’s combine the messages of these two stories.

It is clear that Jesus is the key figure in both stories. He is the focus of the questions offered up by the lawyer and by Martha. They both want him to justify their approach to life, even though they have chosen to live in quite different ways. On the one hand, the lawyer wants Jesus to tell him how little he (the lawyer) must do in dealing with his neighbors. On the other hand, Martha wants Jesus to appreciate her for how much she is doing in attending to him and the disciples who have been invited into her home.

In his usual fashion, Jesus sees right through the questions posed by the lawyer and then by Martha. Jesus also turns the table on the questioners. In the lawyer’s case, Jesus takes the lawyer through the parable of the Good Samaritan, concluding with the question, "Which of these three [the priest, the Levite, or the Samaritan] was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers. When the lawyer replied, "The one who showed him mercy," Jesus told the lawyer to "Go and do likewise." Thus, the story concludes with a command to do something specific – namely, to show mercy.

In Martha’s case, Jesus replied that she ought to abandon the "many things" that she was doing and, instead, follow the example of Mary – who was sitting at his feet listening to what he was saying. While Martha was being pulled by forces both beyond her control and of her own making, Mary was calm and silent in her listening. In effect, Martha was commanded to lay aside the distractions in her daily life – and, instead, attend to the word of Jesus.

Thus, in both stories, Jesus reacts to the different human situations represented by the lawyer and by Martha with a command for transformation. In each case, they are told to abandon who they are and what they do. This is consistent with his earlier demands to his earliest disciples to abandon their nets and even their families to follow him.

On the surface, at least, the lawyer and Martha want to be righteous and want to serve others. But they want to do it on their own terms. Jesus is not going to let them go through life along such paths. He urges the lawyer to follow the example of the Samaritan; he urges Martha to follow the example of her sister Mary. Both are alien solutions to familiar problems. Jesus does not tell the lawyer to become like his neighbor, but to adopt the approach of the stranger – the Samaritan – in dealing even with distant neighbors. Nor does Jesus tell Martha to become like her guests in order better to meet their needs, but to adopt the approach of her sister Mary. (This is why I am sure that Martha is the older sister. What could be stranger than for her to honor what her younger sister is doing?)

While some of us can relate to the lawyer’s question about "Who is my neighbor," many more of us can relate to the complaint posed by Martha. Most of us find ourselves overwhelmed by having too much to do, especially when guests descend upon our homes.

Just think about the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Seeing all the work that must be done, it seems very strange to call these "holidays," at least for the women of the house. They scurry around with enormous "to do" lists, while the men of the house mostly sit and watch football games. The women clean, do laundry, go shopping, prepare and serve food, do the dishes, etc., etc. The old expression, "A woman’s work is never done," is never more true than during the holidays. No wonder that so many wives look forward to the end of the holiday season!

Just imagine that all the world’s "Marthas" (including all those who emulate Martha Stewart) took Jesus at his word. Does this mean that they should spend all of their time to sitting at Jesus’ feet and just listening to his word? I don’t think so. Remember what the text says about her sister Mary: "Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken from her." Notice that Mary has the "better" part, not the only part. Jesus does not say that all work (i.e., the worse part) is to be laid aside and that we should not take responsibility for maintaining our homes, our towns, our nations, or the world at large. Far from it! The message is that we ought to re-evaluate our focus on the unimportant distractions on our "to do" lists. Jesus urges us to focus on the "better part," the Word of the Lord, but without completely abandoning the important work that advances the kingdom.

The conjunction of the story of the lawyer and the Samaritan and the story of Martha and her sister Mary shows that Jesus wanted his disciples to challenge cultural rules and societal boundaries. From the first century to the twenty-first century, following Jesus means adopting a new set of rules for living. Ultimately, faithful disciples seek to create a world in which all persons are honored for who they are and what they do.

The story of Jesus and the lawyer and the following story of Jesus and Martha can provide powerful lessons for us today. These stories show us that we ought not be wrapped up in who we are and what we do. Nor should we feel pulled in every direction as we attend to the needs of others. These stories also show us that, when we successfully balance our own needs and those of our neighbors, we no longer will feel anxious about our lives. Instead, we will be able to focus on what is important. Ultimately, we will know the peace of striving for the "better part" of life while still being merciful toward our neighbors. Jesus has not set out opposing positions, but a conjunction of faith and action; not too many things . . . but just one thing.

Amen.

© 2007 Van Kemper (email: rkemper@trinitypresdallas.org)