July 26th, 2010
At Jesus’ Feet
July 18, 2010, Eighth Sunday after Pentecost
Rev. Mark Seifried at First Churches of Northampton, UCC & ABC
Based upon Amos 8:1-2 and LUKE 10:38-42,
For many years, a business man bought popcorn from an old street vendor each day after lunch. One day he arrived to find the peddler closing his stand at noon. “Is something wrong?” he asked.
A smile wrinkled the popcorn man’s leathery face. “By no means. All is well.”
“Then why are you closing your popcorn stand?”
“So I can go home, sit on my porch and sip tea with my wife.”
The businessman objected. “But the day is still young. You can still sell.”
“No need to,” the stand owner replied. I’ve made enough money for today.”
“Enough? Are you absurd? You should keep working.”
The spry old man stopped and stared at his well-dressed visitor. “And why should I keep working?”
“To sell more popcorn.”
“And why sell more popcorn?”
“Because the more popcorn you sell, the more money you make. The more money you make, the richer you are. The richer you are, the more popcorn stands you can buy. The more popcorn stands you buy, the more peddlers sell your product, and the richer you become. And when you have enough, you can stop working, sell your popcorn stands, stay home, and sit on the porch with your wife and drink tea.”
The popcorn man said, “I can do that today. I guess I have enough.”
Perhaps we can hear Jesus’ words to Martha that the man chose the better option, which will not be taken away from him. We’ll delve deeper in a moment. For now, please pray with me …
In the story of Martha and Mary, we find that they seem to be just like us. Their friend Jesus, the itinerant rabbi was coming to dinner. They made preparations like you and I would. They cleaned the house, polished the furniture, began preparing dinner and made things just right. Finally, Jesus arrives at the house. Mary sits down, asks Jesus how he is doing and what is going on in his world. All the while, Martha is running around like a fool. The table is set, but Martha goes back and lines up all the silverware and shines the plates. The lettuce for the salad has been picked, but she has to wash it again. The roast is in the oven, but she keeps opening and closing the door to make sure it’s still cooking. Martha is so distracted with her “many tasks” that she forgets she invited Jesus for his companionship and wisdom. She’s upset that Mary isn’t fussing with her.
I can see her darting in and out of the room, trying to get Mary’s attention. Martha clears her throat so Mary will look at her, but gets no response. Mary is listening to Jesus. Martha clangs the cups in the next room, but her noise goes unheard. She goes to the kitchen and bangs pots, but Mary is sitting at Jesus’ feet and gives him all her attention. Finally, Martha gets so upset that she yells at Jesus, and says, “tell my sister to get off her back side and help me. Can’t you see I’m working my fingers to the bone to make this a nice evening? Neither of you seem to care!” Jesus pretty much says, “Dinner smells great, but you’re making a fuss over nothing. I came all this way to spend time with you and don’t care if we get take out and eat off paper plates. Sit down and relax. Your sister has the right idea. You’ve gone from being a hospitable hostess to a nag. Now you’re trying to manipulate me and your sister.”
So who do you identify with? Martha or Mary? Here, deep into the dog days of summer, many people in the congregation are taking vacations. From what I’ve observed, there are “Mary Vacations” and there are “Martha Vacations.” Some people love to take a vacation in which they try to see six European countries in six days. Or they have only two weeks to engage in every single outdoor sport at least once during their vacation and they make the best of it: snorkeling, sky diving, mountain climbing, spelunking, parasailing, tennis, golf, etc.
Some may wonder when they’re going to rest and they say, “Rest? We can rest at home when we get back from my vacation.”
Other people are of the “Mary Vacation” type. They want to “get away from it all.” For them, a great vacation is lying upon a beach or sequestered in a woodland cabin somewhere and doing absolutely nothing. They are into serenity, contemplation, and quiet relaxation. That’s their idea of a vacation.
One type of vacation is no better than another. They are just very different. One vacation puts a premium upon rest and rejuvenation; the other upon adventure and surprise. Either can be a great way to renewal.
This, I think is similar to the tension we get in our gospel lesson for today. It illustrates for us that there is a time to go and do and be like Martha. And there is a time to sit and reflect like Mary.
Since we talked last week about the meticulous ministrations of the Good Samaritan and all that he did for his neighbor in need, this morning, I want to focus a little more on what the blessings of being like Mary would be for some of us. First, let me acknowledge that relating to Mary is hard for me and for many of us. We are used to doing. We do lots for our family. We may do lots for our neighbors and church. Some of us are very effective as community leaders. Many of us do great work with other organizations that make the world better and more just for others. Jesus says, “that’s wonderful, but it’s not full discipleship. To be my disciples you must sit down, be quiet for a while, learn to relax, and listen to me.” And yet, we protest. We don’t have time to be still.
The sad thing about this is that many Christians don’t know Jesus very well or we have forgotten him. Most don’t take the time except for an hour on Sunday morning to get to know him. I guarantee that if those of us who are married skip an entire week without spending time with our spouses, our relationship would not be of much worth if it could exist at all. To have a connection with Jesus, we must take the time to cultivate the relationship. This lack of time is a cultural thing. We see lots of accomplished, busy people who we think are successful and we want to emulate them. We see other more common people and we say, “Oh, the poor man. He’s so devoted to his family, to his career, to his church, and to his community. He sacrifices himself so diligently.”
This is not so much an appraisal of any of you who are busy, but rather an indictment of our culture. According to Presbyterian writer and pastor Eugene Peterson, the word busy is the symptom not of commitment but of betrayal.[1] In a book for pastors and church leaders who are some of the busiest people in the word, Peterson is tough on us when he says, “Being busy is not devotion but defection.” The adjective busy set as a modifier to Christian should sound to our ears like adulterous to characterize a wife or embezzling to describe a banker. I, along with a few of you and others we know, are busy for two reasons.
We are busy because we are vain. We want to appear to be important and significant. So, what better way than to be busy? The long hours, the crowded schedule, the heavy demands on our time are proof to ourselves and all who notice that we are important.
Peterson doesn’t stop there. He throws a “one-two” jab to knock us off our feet when he says, “We are also busy because we are lazy. We let others decide for us what we will do instead of resolutely deciding for ourselves.” People ask us, “Can you do such and such?” and without thinking we say, “Yes.” This happens at work, at home, at church, and other places and we don’t even think about it. We mark it on our calendars or record it in our Blackberry even if we have no interest in the undertaking. It would take effort to refuse, and besides, the refusal might be interpreted as a betrayal or a calloused disregard for people in need.
So, busy people, how can we, who espouse to love ourselves and our God, crowd our week with so much activity and still hope to have any semblance of order, of self-worth, or of holiness. How can we expect to know ourselves, much less Jesus when we are imprisoned by our schedules?
When do we get to be Christian? When do we get still enough to hear the still small voice of God? I have a suggestion and it comes from the Ten Commandments. And it has to do with keeping the Sabbath. Rabbi Abraham Heschel reminds us that the first biblical use of the word holy was in the story of Creation when God blessed the seventh day and made it holy. Holy is a word meaning set apart or designed for a special purpose and represents the mystery and majesty of God. No other object than Sabbath time in the Bible’s Creation story is endowed with the quality of holiness. Keeping Sabbath time is keeping touch with the holy in us, around and between us.
Keeping Sabbath means that we take time each week to do nothing, to let God be God and run the affairs of the world, to just be – to be with ourselves, to be with family and friends, to be in prayer, to be with God – in church, in nature, in poetry, prose, music and silence. Keeping Sabbath and being faithful to Jesus means that we take time to weigh the blessings and the trials of life and we bring them to God for blessing. Our problems on Friday are tempered by Sabbath-keeping on Sunday and by Monday they’re not even problems. After a day of quiet and prayer and play and maybe even a nap, we discover that some of our problems may be blessings in disguise. I intend to preach another time on Sabbath keeping and share with you my belief that if all Christians practiced keeping holy the Sabbath, we could save the planet which is in peril due to our addiction to fossil fuels and the busyness associated with their consumption.
Keeping Sabbath and spending time with God is nothing new. Just 50 years ago it was the norm, even for poor people who you would think would want to work to try to get ahead in life. Take for example a figure from history. Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th President of the United States, was born in Texas during 1890. He was brought up in Abilene, Kansas. He was the third of seven sons. His family was extremely poor and they lost their family farm in Kansas before Dwight was a teenager.
Later in life, Eisenhower fondly remembered those early days and the life lessons learned. He specifically recalled a family night, an evening of Sabbath-keeping, where they were playing cards. The former president, told about a time when he was a boy and the family was playing a game called Flinch. He said, “Mother was the dealer, and she dealt me a very bad hand and I began to complain. Mother said, ‘Boys, put down your cards. I want to say something, particularly to Dwight. You are in a game, in your home with your mother and brothers who love you. But out in the world you will be dealt bad hands without love. Here is some advice for you boys. Take those bad hands without complaining and play them out. Ask God to help you, and you will win the important game called life.”
The president added, “I’ve tried to follow that wise advice always.” He took time to ask God for help with the big questions he faced as a general and as the president of our country. He took time and asked God for help with personal issues and family life, too. By most accounts, he had a pretty blessed life and was accomplished in most endeavors. We, who live so frenetically, would do well to slow down, and to regularly go to God for help like Ike did throughout his life. We would do well to choose to spend time with Jesus like Mary did in our lesson for today. Busyness is a habit that takes time to break, so we need to start by praying about it.
And so, I pray for each of you, that you may find meaning in the fullness of your life, but that you don’t pack it so full that it becomes so busy that you squeeze God out. I pray that we all grow to know the countless blessings that come from Sabbath, from spending quiet time, play time, and prayer time with family, knowing that Jesus our brother is hoping to have some time with you, too. If and when you take that time, I guarantee that you will find grace upon grace in the day and in your life. You will find perspective. You will find peace. You will find love. You may even find yourself who you’ve been running from so hard. Amen.
[1] Eugene Peterson in The Contemplative Pastor (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1989) pg, 17 ff.