This story of Martha, Mary and Jesus has probably been responsible for more cranky women than any other story in the Bible. It’s a good story. It catches our attention. It stirs something inside us. It does these things because it’s such a human story. We can picture ourselves right in the middle of this little drama. We can picture ourselves as all the players, because most of us have been there. We’ve been the person who is doing her best and feeling wronged. We’ve been the person who is simply sitting and watching the conversation—wondering what’s going to happen next and trying to stay out of the line of fire. We’ve perhaps even been the person listening to the grievance and pointing out that there just might be a different take on the situation.
I’ve heard a lot of interpretations of this story over the years. Most of them focus on one line: “Mary has chosen the better part.” There’s been an implication that Martha’s service was somehow less important than Mary’s, less worthy. And that’s where the crankiness comes in. I heard one woman sum up the issue rather neatly: “Mary’s chosen the better part, huh? Well, I’ll bet he was singing a different song when he was ready for the better part of his supper!”
We all have days when we’re as busy as Martha—busy running from one task to another—busy trying to fit the work that needs to be done into days that don’t seem quite long enough. Days when we’re so busy and so tired that prayer time may be only snippets of petition and thanksgiving scattered through the day. I had a couple of those days this week—days when I didn’t even take time to look at this scripture. When I came back to it, two phrases jumped out at me.
The first was: “Martha was distracted.” Martha was distracted—diverted from doing the very thing that she perhaps longed to do. When we’re distracted, our attention is pulled away from the thing we’re most concerned about. When we’re distracted, we lose touch with our goal. Martha was distracted from the presence of the one she most wanted to honor and care for.
The second phase that caught my attention in this story was “one thing is needful”. For years I’ve assumed that this phrase referred to Mary’s sitting at Jesus’ feet. I’ve always thought that Jesus was saying that Martha needed only to sit and listen to him. But this week I heard the phrase in its context in the story. Perhaps Jesus was talking about supper—not the whole of Martha’s life. Perhaps he was telling her that there was no need for the banquet she had planned, that one simple dish would have met the physical need of the company and allowed her to spend time with him. Perhaps he was telling her that her plan didn’t emerge from his call to her but from her own desire to do something spectacular for him.
Martha had a plan. She had decided what she wanted to do to show her love for Jesus, and she was sticking to it. Most of us also tend to have a plan, and sometimes those plans get in the way of what we start out to do. Have you ever given a party and realized during the cleaning up that you’ve only spent a few minutes with your guests? Have you ever looked longingly at the couch on Christmas afternoon and just wanted the day to be over? If you’ve had one of these experiences, you know the frustration that happens when the reality doesn’t quite live up to the vision, when following through on the plan gets more difficult by the minute.
Martha could have just continued to work in the kitchen—getting angrier and angrier at Mary and feeling more and more put upon. But she finally voices her concern and gets an answer in response. Perhaps not the answer she wants—certainly not the answer she expects. But she gets an answer that reframes the situation in which she finds herself. Once again, in this tiny gospel story, Jesus redefines a life situation. Jesus asks Martha to be the good disciple, not the perfect hostess.
So, what is this gospel’s message for us today? Is it telling us that the only way to be a good disciple is to spend all our time closed away in prayer? Is Jesus telling us and Martha that acts of service are less important than contemplation? I don’t think so. This gospel simply tells us to give our first attention to the Holy—to set our focus on God—on the living Christ first. And everything else follows.
Sr. Joan Chittister, in her book on the Benedictine way of life, says that people are frequently amazed at the amount of time Benedictines set aside for prayer. “You’re so busy,” they say. “You have so much work to get done. How do you find time to pray?” Sr. Joan responds that they pray so much because they are so busy. Their prayer reminds them why they are so busy—and it helps them discern which one thing is needful. When we put God first and set aside time for prayer and meditation, our lives bear fruit in service that is meaningful and true to the vocation we each were created to fulfill. A consistent pattern of listening prayer and study of the scriptures provides both the foundation for our ministries and the pattern for our call. As Christians, we are each called to service in the name of Christ. As children of God, we can rely on the guidance of the Holy Spirit in prayer, in scripture and in the words of the community around us.
Seeking the presence of the Holy before we jump in the middle of whatever it is in front of us helps us avoid the distraction Martha experienced—and avoids those V-8 moments (slaps forehead)—those moments when we realize that we could have prayed—that everything would have been better if we had stopped to be in prayer before launching into the next task on the list.
I know that the next couple of weeks will be intensely busy, and I suspect that may be the case for many of us. I will be going on my half-Sabbatical on the 6th, and I will want to leave everything in absolutely perfect order for Pastor Kate and everyone else. Pastor Kate’s ordination is on the 4th, and I know that we both want it to be absolutely perfect. I know that the temptation to rely on our own sense of direction will be strong, as will be the temptation to skimp on prayer. I also know that, like Martha, I am easily distracted from the good by my own vision of perfection. I will be tempted to try to do it all, to be all things to all people. I will be tempted to have a plan. And I will be tempted not to make time for prayer.
But these next two weeks I’m going to pay attention to the words of this gospel. I will work hard, and I will probably be cranky from time to time, but I am going to spend the first time in my day paying attention to God. And I know that will make a difference. I know that beginning my day with prayer will help me stay connected to God’s will rather than my own. I know that beginning my day with prayer will give me guidance. I know that beginning my day with prayer will set the pattern of listening which will encourage me to listen to others. I know that beginning my day with prayer will bring my days into focus, and I also know that I will be tempted not to get up a few minutes earlier each morning.
And so I stand here in God’s presence and yours, praying for the discipline to fulfill my pledge of prayer, knowing that God will meet me in every moment and will help me get out of that bed. And as I stand here, I extend an invitation to you. If you do not currently have a discipline of daily prayer and study—and I know how that sometimes comes and goes in our lives—I invite you to join me in beginning the day with prayer. I invite you to make a commitment to seeking God first—just for two weeks.
If we make the time, I guarantee God will be there.
Thanks be to God.