Sibling Rivalry

Luke 10:38-42, 8th Sunday after Pentecost

I know Martha.

I’ve always been concerned, as a follower of Jesus, what I am supposed to do. When I was twelve I was certain I needed to be a missionary to be a good Christian, and I really did not want to do it!

I hung out with the Campus Crusade folks for a few years – the boys were very interesting – and wondered how to be good enough to be a Christian.

Then I went to the Conference United Nations/Washington DC trip, with Clare Karsten and Toby Horst, and I learned that Christians could get involved in peace and justice issues. I wasn’t a great activist but I was hooked.

Then I worked at a camp for inner city children and wondered how I could help those living in poverty.

In my first appointment I wrote the application papers for Habitat for Humanity in Winona County. In my second appointment I started a ministry for urban young adults. In my third appointment I helped settle a family of 14 refugees from Sierra Leone. In my fourth appointment I chaired the board of CHUM, which works for justice for the poor but also provides food, shelter, health care and community for the homeless in Duluth.

I’ve served on many committees in the Minnesota Annual Conference and have gone to General and Jurisdictional Conference.

I know Martha.

But Mary isn’t a stranger to me, either.

Even as a child I would wander off to pray or write poetry. I snuck into the empty sanctuary when I could, I sought out God’s presence.

When I got to Hamline I discovered I loved Biblical studies, and I took every class I could. In seminary I won an award for biblical studies at UTS, mostly because I was interested in a time when most students did not care for it.

I’ve led spirituality retreats at every church I’ve served and I’ve hosted many worship services for my colleagues.

I’ve studied Centering Prayer and wondered how to incorporate more meditation into my life and my Christian teaching.

I know Mary.

I’ve always thought of Mary and Martha as two different people but you know – they both live inside me. And what do you think – they fight. They fight with each other. They argue and they fuss.

“Mary, get up and get in here and help me. There is a world to feed and you are sitting down doing nothing. People are dying. You need to do more than pray.”

“Martha, sit down a minute and think about what you are doing. If you don’t take time to rest and to listen to God, how do you know you are even doing the right thing?”

“Jesus said to offer mercy to your neighbor.”

“Jesus also said I have chosen the better part.”

So they fight. And I get confused. What kind of Christian am I supposed to be? What kind of pastor am I supposed to be? What am I supposed to do?

But I found a way to help them get along.

A few years ago I started a Covenant Discipleship group at Hope because I wanted to help my congregation grow spiritually. What I discovered was that it helped me grow in my understanding of what it means to be Christian. It helped me make peace between my Mary and my Martha.

You see, John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, was all about prayer, study, and time with God. And he was all about changing the world through action. He figured out we needed both of these to grow as followers of Jesus. So our United Methodist Rule of Discipleship is this: “To witness to Jesus Christ in the world, and to follow his teachings through acts of compassion, justice, worship, and devotion under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.”

So every week for the last few years six other women and I got together and shared what we had done in the way of mercy: acts of compassion and justice, and piety: acts of devotion and worship. Some of the women were amazing at devotion; I did better with justice. We all struggled with some of it, and tried to do more of the part that was harder for us.

I started the group because I thought it would help my congregation grow spiritually. Of course I forgot it would do something to me to0, and what I discovered was that my Mary and my Martha didn’t fight so much anymore. I found room for both of them – Martha reporting on compassion and justice and Mary on devotion and worship. Some weeks one did more than the other, but I found more balance between the two.

Isn’t this great? Mary and Martha don’t have to fight. Of course, what about the text today? Doesn’t Jesus say, “Mary has chosen the better part, and it shall not be taken away from her?”

Well, this is one story we need to take into context. Just before this story we have the lawyer asking about eternal life, and the answer is: love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind – I hear acts of piety here – and your neighbor as yourself – acts of mercy, right there. Both are present. Then the rest of the story is about acts of mercy and Jesus’ statement, “Go and do likewise.”

Then after this story of Mary and Martha we learn about prayer. And if you think that is all about piety and not about mercy then we need to look at it more closely.

This text is balanced itself by it’s location in the Gospel. Mary and Martha do not have to fight. There is time for each of them. The key is to listen to Jesus, to what Jesus is saying to you – is he telling you to “go and do likewise” like the lawyer or “she has chosen the better part” to Martha? What is Jesus saying to you right now?