Who Is It For?
Elaine Poproski Download: Audio
Sunday Reflection
Read Doreen Raymer’s reflection on this sermon called, “Why Do We Do It?” on the Sunday Reflections’ blog.
Notes About the Sermon Audio
At the end of the sermon, Pastor Elaine invited people to reflect on a song by Audrey Assad called “Lament”. You can find the song on Youtube.
Sunday Scripture Reading: Luke 10:38-42 (NRSV)
38 Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. Read more…
Looking to Sunday: Preparing to Hear from God
by Elaine Poproski
On Sunday we’ll be reading another familiar story. It’s the story of Mary and Martha – the one where Martha gets into trouble for being busy serving and Mary is applauded for listening to Jesus. That’s the way the story goes, isn’t it? I seem to always hear this story as a caution for (if not downright conviction of) those women and men who are always doing, doing, doing at the expense of quiet time and learning.
It seems to me that Martha gets a bad rap. I mean, she was busy feeding Jesus and His disciples. If she hadn’t done so, wouldn’t these men have gone hungry? Wasn’t it her responsibility as the host to feed her guests? And quite frankly, perhaps if Mary had bothered to help, the task would have been completed more quickly and Martha could also have sat and listened. Is it fair that Martha’s the one who gets into trouble?
I also can’t help but read this story in light of the one we heard last week about the Good Samaritan. In that story, it’s the man who did something who was applauded. And the lesson of that story? Go and do likewise. Clearly, Jesus’ message there was that the doing was the better thing. So what’s going on here that He now says the not doing is the better thing?
The questions this story about Mary and Martha and Jesus raises are an excellent example of how important it is that we never interpret a single piece of Scripture in isolation from the rest of Scripture. Truth is found in the totality – in the wholeness – of God’s self-revelation. If we pick and choose bits and pieces from here and there, we’re going to miss God’s truth; our growth as disciples will be stunted. We’ll be in danger of demonizing all the Martha’s out there and sanctifying all the Mary’s, only to find ourselves in a world of trouble when there are no clean dishes to eat off, the garbage has piled up all around us, and we’re sneezing like crazy because of the film of dust on everything.
So, as you prepare for Sunday, I invite you to read through all of Luke 9 and 10. What are some themes or threads you notice that run throughout? How does this week’s story connect to that of the disciples’ first foray out on their own at the beginning of chapter 9? Are there clues in the stories that follow that suggest how we might understand Jesus’ rebuke of Martha?