Sermon for Year C, Proper 11: "Mary and Martha, Mattie and Rose"

Preached on Sunday, July 18th, 2010 at Christ & Saint Stephen's Church. Lectionary readings this sermon is based on can by found by clicking here.

Like many young couples with small children, my parents conducted what are often very delicate intra-family negotiations regarding holidays. Where would we go and what would we do on which holidays? The end result in my family was that we spent Christmas Eve with my mother’s side of the family. And on Thanksgiving, we joined my father’s side of the family on my grandfather’s farm in Mississippi.

As you can imagine, giving thanks for all that God has blessed us with was an especially numinous experience on a farm where the hay was in, and the cotton had been picked and baled, and the brown stubble of dying cornstalks in the fields and the groaning shelves of home-canned preserves gave ample evidence of God’s bounty.

My dad was one of 9 children, six boys and three girls. I have more than 25 first cousins on that side of the family. There was always a big crowd for Thanksgiving, and since a meal is the focus of that holiday, that meant a very big meal indeed.

The meal was the purview of the women of the family: my grandmother and the nine women who were my dad’s sisters and sisters-in-law. Our cousin Ora Mae and a few others might be among their number as well. Phone calls were exchanged as November wore on. Who would make the turkeys? Did we want a ham as well? Who would make the dressing? Who would bring the sweet potatoes and the other side dishes? My mom usually baked a pecan pie or two – they were her specialty. And my brother and I were given strict instructions not to mess up those pies – not to tump them over -- as they rode between us on the back seat during the two hour drive from Memphis to my grandfather’s farm.

With so many folks in attendance – as many as 50 if everyone made it that year – the Thanksgiving meal was daunting. But the Collins women seemed to pull it off without a hitch every year. There was always plenty to eat – and enough left over to take some turkey and dressing home afterwards. I can remember times when the kitchen would be filled with the voices of those dozen women talking, coordinating the warming up of casseroles, and the slicing of the turkey, and the pouring of dozens of glasses of sweet tea.

And, of course, after everyone had eaten comes the equally daunting task of cleaning up and washing the dishes. As the women regrouped in the kitchen to get the clean-up started -- you’d hear their voices raised in cackles and snorts of laughter as the ‘carrying on’ (as we call it down South) got a little out of hand. The Collins women seemed to have as much fun cleaning up as they did putting on the big Thanksgiving meal. They were a good humored group of women and there was real affection between them. They seemed to really enjoy this annual undertaking -- or at least they enjoyed each other enough to make this yearly duty a pleasure as well.

I remember one Thanksgiving when my Aunt Rosemary didn’t join her sisters-in-law right away when they retreated to the kitchen to clean up. She remained behind in the den with the menfolk who were telling stories and ‘carrying on’ themselves over their depleted TV trays. But after just a few minutes of sloughing off her duties, Aunt Rosemary said, “I’ve got to get in there and help those women clean up or they won’t let me come back next year!” I remember my Aunt Mattie saying, “Stay in there, Rose, and talk! We’ve got this under control!” But of course, Aunt Rosemary did no such thing. Off she went to take her place at the sink or with the dry towel – to take her place alongside the other women that she loved and valued, and with whom she could be sure of a good time.

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Our gospel story this morning from Luke – the story of Mary and Martha of Bethany – has been interpreted in many ways. Mary has been seen as an exemplar of the contemplative life, and Martha as a manifestation of the active life. Mary, the human being, receives Jesus’ approbation over and against Martha, the “human doing.”

The Protestant reformers in the 16th century saw this story as Scriptural license for their attacks on works righteousness and as an endorsement of their tenant of justification by faith alone.

Feminist critics have seen this passage in Scripture as a challenge to traditional gender roles. Mary sits at Jesus’ feet, in the position of the student-disciple, attentive to the Rabbi’s words. Thus, Mary takes on what is traditionally a man’s role, that of disciple, and this clearly meets with Jesus’ approval.

That interpretation fits well with other female disciples that Luke has introduced us to earlier in his gospel Luke tells us that women were among those travelling with Jesus and the Twelve “throughout the cities and villages proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God.” (Luke 8:1-3) Luke names three of these women -- Mary Magdalene, Susanna and Joanna -- and tells us that they weren’t just fellow sojourners, but they were also funders of this evangelistic undertaking, paying the band’s travel expenses out of their own pockets.

Perhaps after the encounter in our gospel reading today, Mary joined them on the road, traveling with Mary Magdalene, Susanna, Joanna and the others to proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God alongside Jesus himself. And if, in fact, Mary joined Jesus on the road, I imagine there might have come a time or two when she missed her somewhat cantankerous sister Martha. And I imagine Mary might have on occasion looked back with longing to the home and hearth she’d tended with her sister. Perhaps a sisterly bond between Mary and Susanna and Joanna had sprung up as they travelled -- and Mary didn’t miss home and hearth at all. Or maybe along the road Mary remembered less contentious times in the kitchen with Martha and missed the camaraderie and companionship they shared there.

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You’ll recall in last week’s gospel, a lawyer asks Jesus, “Lord, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Lk 10:25). The answer is that you should love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind; and that you should love your neighbor as yourself. (Lk 10: 27-28) Last week, the Good Samaritan was given as the prime example of one who loves his neighbor. And just a few verses later, in our gospel for today, Mary is shown as a prime example of one who loves God. These two exemplify loving our God and our neighbor and they are the perfect illustration of an earlier passage from Luke’s gospel. In chapter 8, Jesus speaks of those who hear the word of God and do it (8:21). Certainly in Mary and the Samaritan, we see perfect paradigms of hearing God’s word and doing it.

Mary and the Samaritan may be high on Jesus’ list, but not so with everyone else. As we’ve seen, Martha is clearly miffed at her sister Mary. And we can imagine, that after years of animosity between Samaritan and Jew in ancient Palestine, if the Good Samaritan went home and told of his good deed, it’s likely that his fellow Samaritans would have been just as disapproving of him as Martha is of Mary.

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Following God’s call can lead us to do things that are outside the norm, beyond our experience, outside our comfort zone, maybe outside our society’s comfort zone, maybe outside the comfort zone of our fellow Anglicans. God’s call can lead us to do things that others consider transgressive, even disloyal. Not only are we called into new places, perhaps into new roles, but sometimes we must leave behind people and places we know and are familiar with. Sometimes we’re asked to lay aside attitudes and prejudices that help us feel safe and secure and superior to others.

Sometimes I think that the best way to know if what you are doing is in fact what God would have you do, is to take stock of your level of discomfort. Does it feel a little scary? Is it going to be a challenge? Are you having to put aside some well worn behaviors and some facile opinions? Is what you’re undertaking a little anxiety provoking?

I had a friend years ago who acted as a sponsor to those who were newly sober in Alcoholics Anonymous. It was his job to field questions and offer guidance and support to newcomers in AA. He had one sponsee who would often call him feeling overwrought by the challenges of sober life. My friend would try to talk his sponsee down a bit and tell him, “It’s OK. Don’t worry. Nothing’s wrong, you’re just feeling uncomfortable being sober in your surroundings, in your day to day life. But no one ever died from uncomfortability. Just hang in there.” After hearing these wise words more than a few times, his sponsee replied, “Well, I guess if I could just get comfortable with being uncomfortable, I’d have this whole sobriety thing licked!” And of course, he was exactly right.

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If we are to hear the word of God and do it, we’re going to be challenged, we going to feel uncomfortable from time to time. And as I probably don’t have to tell you, we’ll encounter a Martha or two along the way -- someone to take us to task for daring to color outside the lines. But don’t let the Marthas stop you, and don’t let a little uncomfortability stop you either. Hear God’s word, and do it. And get comfortable with feeling uncomfortable from time to time. It won’t kill you – far from it. In fact, it just might be your pathway to eternal life. Amen+

© The Rev. Mark R. Collins