Every church has the practical folks like Martha who show their devotion to God in pretty tangible ways. And every church has the more spiritually-minded, mystical folks like Mary who devote themselves to Jesus’ teachings. In our society, like Jesus’ day, we tend to prize the pragmatists, the workers, the doers, and sometimes smile sort of indulgently at the spiritual, studious sorts of disciples who merely like to bask in the presence of God. That may be a little less brutal in an academic community, where the life of the mind is valued more, but in general, more of us are with Martha, kvetching that Mary isn’t “doing” anything. So we, too, sometimes need to chill and simply “be” in the moment and “be” in the presence of God. It is enough to just “enjoy” God. Jesus likes to “hang out” with his friends. With us. Even if we are not bustling around in the kitchen.
Somewhere in this parable we have to cut each other some slack, understanding that has put different wiring in us, and that Jesus likes both sorts of friends around him. And, sometimes, we have to cut ourselves some slack that we Marthas are not like Mary and we Marys have a hard time being Marthas, but that’s fine with God. Jesus loves the whole world, Marys and Marthas!
Just remember that the bag full of the candy “M&Ms” have not just two colors, but a whole bunch of them, just like a church. We have a whole spectrum of variations and variegations to enjoy. Sure, sometimes it can be a bit crazy or crazy-making to have so many siblings in the family of faith, but that rich and wild assortment is actually part of the fun, too. And that’s when we have to remember that even with all the colors of our outsides, on the inside we are the same: we are all beloved children of God, even when we squabble like children.
I think that is why Jesus has such affection for his two friends, the sisters he loves like they were also his sisters. And, if we are all children of God, then we are, in fact, related to each other. Sometimes we bicker with each other, but just like the to women with different ways of relating to Jesus, but in the end we are bound by those family ties of love. We can love each other because our big brother Jesus loves us first.
Join your sisters… and brothers… this Sunday as we worship together in Jesus’ presence!
In Christ,
David
Texts for Sunday
From the Gospel Luke 10:38-42
Oh David, this is so right on. Trying to decide which of the M's I am, I finally realized in a little of each. That's why I like the bag of "M&Ms" -- we all need each other, and we can relate to both ways.
ReplyDeleteKaren Hays