The following messages for the Season following Pentecost (or Ordinary Time) are presented by Rev. Danny Hines. Danny is the senior pastor at the Winchester Church of the Nazarene in Winchester, Indiana.

Luke 10:38-42
This text seems to provoke people choosing sides. Do I side with Martha or do I side with Mary? For those who are fans of the “busy-body, I can-do-it-all, but if you see I need help, I better not have to ask types” are all about Martha. Martha takes on her domestic role with great vigor and vitality. She is a list-maker with a “to-do list.” She knows what she wants and is driven to accomplish her goals. When Jesus, the anointed One, is invited into her home he, just like the man who was robbed and left for dead, is a neighbor in need and she is prepared to “go and do likewise.” Her love for Jesus comes out of her doing. Out of doing she loves, but this kind of love could have limitations or consequences. Many of us, especially women, identify with Martha and her highlighted, domestic role.

Mary, on the other hand, seems to be the one who simply neglects her doing, her traditional domestic role, to simply hang on Jesus’ every word. Her understanding of “go and do likewise” is to love God “with heart and mind” by sitting at the feet of Jesus. Many of us identify with Mary because we are passionately in love with Jesus and we are fans of Mary’s response to Jesus. We see her response as the better response. Jesus becomes the one thrust into the scene to resolve the conflict between these two characters; forced into a dialogue with Martha. Martha believes a great injustice has occurred; she enlists the help and wisdom of Jesus to resolve this conflict. Martha believes that Mary should not simply be reclining at the feet of Jesus, but helping with the work of hospitality. Jesus, in a very loving way, calms Martha’s anger and judgment toward Mary by reminding her of what is truly important—that which is truly necessary. The one thing we all need is to choose what is best. Sometimes we need to be reminded of what is really necessary to bring us back to normalcy where distractions and joy are not stolen, but restored with love and peace.

When listening to the text it can be helpful to ask:

• What images or word pictures are being formed in my hearing? (Distractions, Worry, Anger/Judgment, Stolen Joy)
• Is there conflict? (Martha toward Mary)
• Is there resolution? (Resolution is left to the reader to decide)
• What does the text ask of me? What does the text ask me to do?

The basic issue many of us face within the Church is that our doing can undo God’s doing within us. We can become so engrossed in church work--shepherding, leading, teaching, ministering to needs, dealing with conflicts, managing unique groups of people--that we forget the most important thing. We must understand this love relationship that Jesus calls all of us to. In our doing we can become distracted, angry with others, and allow our joy to be stolen. Instead of experiencing joy in our doing; we are looking for others to join our cause. “God, we need more laborers.” Yet, Jesus reminds us that the laborers who are running on empty will experience poor performance. Oswald Chambers writes, “The aim of the spiritual saint is ‘that I may know Him.’” Do I know Him where I am today? If not, I am failing Him. I am here not to realize myself, but to know Jesus. In Christian work the initiative is too often the realization that something has to be done and I must do it. That is never the attitude of the spiritual saint, his aim is to secure the realization of Jesus Christ in every set of circumstances he is in.”¹

As a pastor, this is the principle that needs constant evaluation. Is my doing undoing what God is doing in me? Am I spending time before God loving Him, hanging on his every Word? Am I concerned about putting love above my own issues of worry, anger, stolen joy, frustration? We can experience burnout; without correction and a gentle reminder, we can find ourselves in a place we never thought we would be. Most of us understand this and desire to be in love with God and His Church, but people can rub us the wrong way. We can become frustrated with how the games are played. We can feel that no one is doing what “they should be doing.” We go to God, just like Martha, and complain about what these people are not doing. We think God should do something about it.

God’s Answer
God cares about our feelings and our needs. Just as in Martha’s case he lets her express her feelings, her concerns, even her anger, and then gently reminds her of what is the greater good, the better way to love, to worship, to regain our focus. Many times we become focused on the minor issues and we miss the big deal. This happens in relationships when we fight over petty issues rather than focusing on the real issues. God wants us to love him and love others, to go and do likewise. However, when we are focusing on the issues that are causing us frustration and anger, we are no longer in a love relationship, but throwing the accusing finger and looking to God and back us up. Many times, when we wait upon the Lord to answer our grievance, He reminds us of the better way to respond, “to be gracious, having our words tempered with salt” (Col. 4:6). Many times in God’s answer we are called to respond differently than we had to this point.

Our Response
We respond to God’s answer with either: 1) I am the one who needs to change and refocus my priorities, or 2) I shall not be moved. Too many times in the Church we have individuals who respond with the second answer. They are more concerned about holding on to their position, to allow their doing to keep them bitter and angry. When we respond to God with choice number one, we begin to find peace and realignment of where we should be living and having our being. We all need to refocus our priorities, feelings, frustrations. When we begin to again respond in love we can determine what we need to stop doing and what we need to start doing. We all need this gentle reminder: Even Doing Good Things Can Cause Us to Lose Sight of Our Mission: to Love.

Preaching the Text
In preaching this passage in a series entitled, Luke Like Jazz. My attempt is to also allow the audience to engage in a narrative reading/hearing of the text. In allowing the nuances of the conflict that Luke already utilizes in the Gospel, we can see Jesus as the jazz artist who weaves wonderful improv into the message. He answers questions on the spot and deals with people’s problems as the story allows. He does not miss a beat. The drummer’s antics cannot throw him off his game. He plays with mastery and weaves ideas from previous sections (pieces) into the new sections allowing the richness of the text to ring out.

In preaching this passage, I chose to make an emphasis on Mary’s breaking with the traditional role of domestic housekeeper. Instead, she chooses the non-traditional role of disciple. In her culture, the role of disciple seemed to be limited to men, but Jesus wants to break down the negative walls of tradition and allow people to thrive regardless of their gender or their role. Jesus wants Martha to do the same—discipleship should come before all else. Discipleship and love ring out throughout this passage with the overtones of “go and do likewise.”

Lectionary readings for Proper 10
Year “C”
Amos 7:7-17
Psalm 82
Colossians 1:1-14
Luke 10:25-37