"Only one thing"-Sermon for Proper 11, Luke 10:38-42:
So, as I am just back from our Navajoland Pilgrimage followed directly by three weeks of vacation, the story that sits before us today, from the Gospel of Luke, feels particularly resonant to me. And, I say that because the Navajoland Pilgrimage and most of my holiday were very much Mary-like moments for me. And, what I mean is that on the pilgrimage, in a sense like Mary sitting before Jesus, I sat at the feet, once again, of our Navajo friends…soaking in the wisdom they offer…a life rooted, not in the acquisition of things or accolades, but in being fully present with the people and places where they find themselves rooted at any particular time. For the Navajo uniquely and powerfully find their center and purpose in the enduring beauty that exists in fellow human beings and the natural world…both of which can never really be controlled or owned by anyone for they both belong to God alone…and are always intended for our mutual blessing. Further, while in Navajoland, I found myself sitting at the feet of my fellow pilgrims, as they shared the “revelations of divine love” that they experienced in each day on the pilgrim’s trail…the blessings and challenges that grow us through meaningful work done on the behalf of other people and encountering the living God in new relationships and experiences with open hearts.
Then, while on holiday, though there were some very sad days as the news came to us of the devastating floods back home, still on many of our days away I sat at the feet of creation itself…in all of its wonder…as only colorful Colorado and the Rocky Mountains can reveal. Whether soaking in a breathtaking view from a high place ascended by foot or reveling in the vibrant colors and intricate patterns of a small trout held in my hand before releasing it back into a stream…there were few days that went by when I was not overcome by awe, often, to the point of tears…moved at my core to offer praise and thanksgiving to the Beautiful Mind that thought it all up and brought it all into being. And, then there was the chance to sit at the feet of my most beloved ones, my family, uninterrupted by the demands of work and other responsibilities that fill all of our lives…much of the time. And, all that I have just described…from pilgrimage to holiday…and I will note that word holiday comes from the two words Holy Day…all that I just described was and is, indeed, an expression, an experience, like Mary’s, of sitting at Jesus’ feet, the Holy One’s feet, and soaking in the wisdom, love, healing and purpose that only God in Christ can offer…and does offer us…as Christ is revealed to us in people and place…in our relationships with both.
So, indeed, I have been reveling in a Mary sort of moment over these past days…and I am grateful to you for extending that time and grace to me…which is what I really want to talk to you about today. You see, preachers, when sermonizing on this passage, myself included, often focus on Mary and Martha, as two distinct camps, that most of us fall into. Either the Mary’s, those who experience the world principally through relationships and experiences, or the Martha’s, who experience the world principally through the completion of a meaningful task, approached with diligence and care…the serendipitous verses the planners…the spiritualists verses the materialists…the thinkers verses the doers. And, we may indeed lean one way or another, as any good personality sorter will tell us about ourselves. For what it’s worth, I am an ENFJ on the Meyers Briggs and 6 wing 7 on the enneagram. But, the truth is we are way more complex than that. We are all Mary and Martha in different seasons and situations in our life. Yet, in our overly scheduled, reward driven, busy is good, the one who dies with the most toys wins, culture, which has profoundly shaped us, we all actually might lean a little more Martha than Mary, at least, much of the time. And, I am no exception. It takes all my strength not to respond to the question…”how’s it going”…by beginning with the word…busy. Sometimes, I start with good…but busy is always shortly to follow.
But, with that said, I don’t think this passage is intended to be a rebuke to Martha or the Martha that lives in each of us. It is worth noting that Jesus did not enter the kitchen and order Martha out because she had made a poor choice by being sure all in her home were well-feed and generously cared for. That’s not the story we just heard read. Instead, Martha, seemingly at her wits end, first approaches Jesus asking him to order Mary into the kitchen. And, I don’t think it is an accident that Jesus first responds to Martha by saying her name twice. It is like he’s saying, “Martha, Martha I see you. I know you are working hard and selflessly for the benefit of all of us…but your hard work, though rooted in love, is now becoming something else…something like stress and anxiety…which is distracting you from other important things…the people and the experience that is also present to you in this very moment. You choose how you spend your time. You choose who you will be in this moment. But, I am not…I can’t…take this away from Mary…she has made her choice…and it’s a good one.” You see, I think what Jesus is really offering Martha is not a rebuke or judgement…but a chance to make a different choice…the chance to choose a different good…the chance to create balance in her life. Jesus is not asking her to be anyone other than who she is…for she, like all of us, is actually Mary and Martha, and Jesus is, again, inviting her to find her balance…to lean into her own Mary sort of moment…to walk away from her distractions…to lay down her burdens, and the anxiety that accompanies them, and just be…be present in the very midst of the people and place surrounding her…that she might be renewed, restored, recreated…be filled with wisdom, love, healing and purpose…which is always found when sitting at the feet of Jesus and is the one thing…the most important thing.
I said earlier that I have been reveling in a Mary sort of moment much of the time over these past days while on pilgrimage and holiday…and I am grateful to you for extending that time and grace to me…which is what I really want to talk to you about today. For, rather than only focusing on how we are like Mary and Martha…and finding our own balance between the two…as vital as such soul work is…I really want to invite us to be more like Jesus…to graciously and gratefully extend to each other the gift of time of restoration of recreation…by inviting each other to lay some burden down…to choose a different path forward for the next season of their life. That is to be paying close enough attention to each other that we can see when the commitments we have made, as genuinely good as they may be, are driving us to distraction and stress…and then say to one other…it is okay to lay it down…if only for a little while. For, in doing so, you give someone else the gift of picking it up and carrying forward what you have begun. You give them the chance to choose to lean into their Mary side…to step away from distraction and stress…and spend some time sitting at Jesus’ feet…which is always the most important thing. And, friends, in this heavy world…this world that is likely feeling even heavier than it normally does with grief and loss so close to home…this work of caring for one another…paying attention to one another…helping bear each other’s burdens…and at times to invite each other to even lay them down…may be as important, life-giving and even life-saving as ever.
I will never forget a life-giving exchange I experienced when I returned from my last sabbatical eight years ago. At the time, Justin Sutherland, who moved to Idaho a few years back, was our Bishop’s Warden, which is our chief lay leader in the church. And, I will say this is an important and significant volunteer position in our church and was even more so during my four months away. Justin, our Bishop’s Committee, and much smaller staff at the time carried a huge load in my absence…and I remain grateful to them for graciously extending that Mary-like, sabbatical time to me. So, again, shortly after I returned, like the day I returned to the office, Justin asked if we could meet. Justin is a wise, kind and also serious sort of person…so I had a hard time reading if this was just a catch up or something more concerning. And, as I was still feeling sort of disconnected and unaware of what was happening day to day at the church…my mind went to the latter…irrationally worried that he might say something like, “Miles, while you were gone, we realized that it’s time for a new leader at St. Julian’s”. Or, at least, that he might share with me all the challenges I left behind…the messes that needed to be cleaned up or fires that needed to be put out or the such. So, we met the next day for coffee…me carrying my worry, anxiety and distractions heaped upon my shoulders…though just back from sabbatical it already was feeling like it was a distant memory. After a few pleasantries, Justin got straight to what he wanted to share. I took a deep breath, and he said, “Miles, while you were gone, it became very evident how much you do and how much you give to our church family. We are so grateful for you and your hard work, and we don’t want you to pick it all back up. We want to help. We want to continue to lead some of the things we took on in your absence. We don’t want you to burn out, and we need to help take care of you, like you take care of us.” Friends, it took all of my strength not to burst into tears. I don’t know if I have ever felt more affirmed and cared for in my 29 years of ministry. I felt seen and appreciated…and I really did believe that I did not need to pick everything back up that I laid down when I left for sabbatical. As I sat before Justin, I felt like I was sitting at the feet of Jesus...and I mean that.
And, that is what I hope we can be for each other especially in difficult days like these…be like Justin…more so…be like Jesus. Those who are paying close attention to the people around us…at home, work, school and maybe most of all here…in this church…for we, for I, often, ask a lot of you…paying close attention when those we love and serve alongside are lost in distraction, overwhelmed and stressed…that we might gracefully give them permission, like Jesus to Martha, to lay their burdens down…so that someone else can take them up and build on what they began…so that they can be refilled, restored, recreated in spending some Mary-like time at Jesus’ feet, in worship and prayer, in the peace that comes when a burden is lifted…or, at least, when there are others who will help us carry it. It is then that we can see what matters most…sitting at Jesus’ feet…which is always the most important thing...the one thing. Amen.