The Better Part

Sermon preached by the Rev. Lowell E. Grisham, Rector

St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Fayetteville, Arkansas

July 21, 2013; 9 Pentecost, Proper 11, Year C

Episcopal Revised Common Lectionary

(Luke 10:38-42)  As Jesus and his disciples went on their way, Jesus entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me." But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her."

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Let me start today by changing the lens through which you may imagine this story of Martha and Mary.  You probably are thinking of them as grown women, friends of Jesus and near his age.  Probably not.  The two were unmarried, living with their brother Lazarus, in a culture in which it was customary for women to marry as soon as they reached child-bearing age, around thirteen or fourteen.  So the best guess is that Martha and Mary were younger than that. 

And another detail.  The passage says that Mary “sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying.”  That is a phrase that was used to describe one who is under instruction as a disciple of a teacher or rabbi.  When Paul offers his credentials in the Acts of the Apostles, he says he was brought up “at the feet of Gamaliel,” a famous rabbi of the time.[i]

So this situation with Mary sitting at Jesus’ feet would have been startling to Jesus’ contemporaries.  Rabbis of that era did not take women disciples, especially a little girl who was still a child.  That might account for some of Martha’s irritation. 

But Jesus accepts Mary’s discipleship – Mary’s desire to be close to him and to learn from him.  He calls it “the better part,” and says “it will not be taken away from her.”

Mary invites us to ask of ourselves, “What is ‘the better part’ that we might claim for ourselves as disciples of Jesus?”

In some of the Church’s tradition, this passage has been interpreted to mean that Jesus particularly endorses the contemplative or monastic life as better than the active or secular life.  I disagree.  I think it is significant that this story in Luke’s gospel comes immediately after the story of the Good Samaritan that we heard last week.  That is a story that commends the active work of serving or helping others – anyone in need.  The religious-spiritual types, the priest and the Levite, don’t come off so well in that story, do they?  Instead a heretic, a Samaritan chooses the better part in that story.

It seems to me that both of these are stories of the heart.  The Samaritan’s heart is right because he was alert and responsive to the need of the stranger; he had a soft heart, a compassionate heart.  And Mary’s heart is right because she is open and inquisitive with a deep affection for Jesus, wanting to be close to him and wanting to learn from him.

We pick up clues that Martha’s heart is a bit out of rhythm.  “Distracted by her many tasks” she tried to get Jesus to tell her sister to do what Martha wanted Mary to do.  Jesus would not be triangled into Martha’s anxiety. 

I have a hunch that the story could have gone a differently had Martha approached her tasks a bit differently, with a soft and open heart.  What if Martha had prepared her meal in a peaceful spirit, focusing simply on each task as a meaningful end in itself, seeing her work as an honorable and holy act of hospitality, and a generous gift of love for her beloved guest Jesus?  The circumstances are the same, but everything is different.

I find that I go back and forth between a Martha heart and a Mary heart.  For the most part, it’s entirely a matter of my own attitude. 

Sometimes I look around me and all I see is more tasks – more to do, more to fix, more than I can possibly do in the time that I think I have.  And I get anxious and distracted.  Then I hurry up and try to do too many things too quickly, and I usually make mistakes that cause me to lose even more time.  (We’ve been talking about these things in our 10:00 Adult Forum class:  Unrealistic and maddening expectations – Be Perfect, Hurry Up, Be Strong, Please Others, Try Hard.) 

There is another way I can live my life and do my work when I let myself be.  I can look around and see that all is gift.  Life is beautiful and good, and I am so fortunate.  I can focus on the present moment and decide what is the most significant thing I can do right now, and I can give myself in singular surrender to that task, bringing my whole self and concentration to the moment, alive and thankful, without anxiety.  I can simply accept what I do as good enough, and let it be, moving on to what is next when the present task is finished.  That’s a saner, better way of being.  And I can do that.  You can too.

There’s a group I meet with monthly where we talk about our work and our responsibilities, and we help each other with strategy and insights.  Several of us have recently returned from brief vacations.  Each person who had taken some time off said they came back refreshed, relaxed and more focused, able to do better work with a broader perspective.  The fact is that during that time off, they got very little done in the way of business – no tasks were accomplished, no goals met.  But they returned more empowered and more effective.

Sunday is supposed to be Sabbath, a form of vacation.   “Mary time.”  Time to sit at Jesus’ feet and delight in his presence.  Time to listen; to be fed; to relax and enjoy; to be challenged and learn.  That’s what church is supposed to be.  A time to stop from all of the worries and distractions and to remember the better part – I am God’s beloved child. 

The church intends to communicate an essential message of Jesus that you are a beloved child of God.  Your worth is in your being.  You are loved and accepted unconditionally.  So relax.  You don’t have to earn your breath and your place on the planet. 

God loves you and there is nothing you need do to earn that love.  God loves you and there is nothing you can do to lose that love. 

Sit at Jesus feet this morning, right now, and let his loving acceptance inspire you.  Open your heart; soften your heart to him.  He offers to you “the better part” which will not be taken away.  Hear his encouragement and wisdom, his encouragement and challenge.  Think about what it means to you to know you are loved and accepted.  Relax and breathe. 

Then leave this place empowered to live in the moment, to do what is yours to do, and to receive it all as a gift.  Let Jesus’ young disciple Mary ask you, “What is ‘the better part’ that you might claim for yourself as a disciple of Jesus?”

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[i] Again I am thankful to my friend Paul McCracken and his weekly Lectionary Notes from the Jerusalem Institute for Biblical Exploration, July 16, 2013.