Readings: Psalm 52, Luke 10:38-42
Let us pray: Holy God, may your word for us be truly heard
and may we hear challenge, new beginnings and assurance of your love and
grace. In Jesus name Amen.
Are we a listening
people?
At a meeting last
week we were asked to carry out this exercise – get into pairs and one of you
speak for seven minutes (some of us have less trouble with that than others)
and the other was to listen – not to respond in any way, no nodding, no
encouraging smile, no facial response and certainly no verbal
interruptions. It was a challenge and
virtually impossible to not respond even in the most positive way. But the point was to get us to think about
listening well so that we may hear God’s voice both in our hearts and in the
encounters with those around us.
In the words of
Tom Gordon:[1]
To listen and not
to speak.
To hear, and not
to interrupt.
To pay attention,
and need to respond.
To take note, and
not write anything down.
To concentrate,
and not miss what is important.
To be silent, and
not cut a story short.
To accept, and not
try to clarify.
To wait, and not
be tired of waiting.
To be still, and
not expect anything else to matter.
O God, how hard it
is,
And yet, how
important……
How important
indeed – the silence that is needed for the words to have meaning and the
meaning to enter our heart.
In the Gospel
story today Jesus said: ‘Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be
taken away from her.’
This story of the
two sisters is, we could say, about the different approaches to how we honour
God and serve Jesus best. For this was the dilemma at the heart of the tale of
Mary and Martha and it will, I expect, speak to us in different ways. There will be those who completely get where
Martha is coming from, frustrated at all the work still to do, wanting to sit
down and listen but wanting to be the best of hosts. And how it rankles when someone else doesn’t
have the same priorities, leaves the dishes on the bench for later and chooses
to be part of the company instead. Out
comes the words, somewhat pointed, sharp, a wee bit whiney. “Lord do you not care that my sister has left
me to do all the work – tell her to come and help!’
For Martha was the
host, the doer, the person of action – a very important role and not taken
lightly in those times: there was a hankering to be still and listen but not
until the work was done.
And then there was
Mary – according to Martha the taker, the selfish one – Mary was a listener, a
student, one who saw the importance of hearing the teachings of Jesus and was
willing to forgo what was expected of her – because she had decided where she
needed to be – and it wasn’t helping her sister. That will be just so right for
some of us, the ones who don’t want to get waylaid by the metaphorical
housekeeping when there is something so much better to do.
For Mary has
chosen the better part says Jesus.
Important though the doing is, we all need to take time to be the Mary
of the story, putting the teachings of Jesus before the carrying out of the
tasks that honour him; knowing why it is that we do and for what purpose has
the edge on the doing.
You see I think
that David was on to this – that he knew that it was only by anchoring himself
in God, listening to the voice of God, being guided by God in his life choices
that he would avoid the self serving piety and deceitful living of Doeg. We
know David didn’t get it right all the time but he had some kind of moral
compass (unlike Doeg) – whom he freely acknowledged was God. He likens that sense of being able to anchor
in God as being like an olive tree - not easily displaced when we are rooted in
God, with God’s light nourishing us and God’s water sustaining us. David safely puts his trust in God, turns his
ear to God and so can walk in God’s way.
Mary has chosen
the better part which will not be taken away from her.
Let us dig down a
bit deeper into this.
First of all let
us not forget Martha. Jesus was not responding with his comments to the busy
Martha but rather to the worried and distracted Martha. He speaks as to a dear
friend (Martha, Martha) who is fussing over bits that don’t need worrying about
and missing out on something important. Jesus did not say that this stopping
and listening was all that we should do – but rather that this is essential to
our doing. And for sure there would have
been other times when Mary’s lack of action would have been inappropriate and
criticism of her sitting around justified, and Martha would have been the lynch
pin and seen as such. It is safe to say
that there will forever be a struggle between word and deed, the speaker and
the doer, the contemplative and the activist for that is the nature of who we
are as human beings. The important
thing is that we need to be alert to the situation that we are in and respond
accordingly, and to never assume either posture to the point of preoccupation
or ideology. Activism without
contemplation ends in aimless doing and sometimes dangerous conclusions. Thought alone, however, can also be dangerous
– for where we theologically debate and discuss and study without life
experience and the learning that comes from serving, then we are equally able
to delude ourselves as to the purpose of God for us.
In fact this
Gospel reading is about knowing when we need to be Martha and when Mary. Discerning when we are being too much of one
and not enough of the other. But
remembering that we first need to listen before we do.
Another thought
here. We are to listen so that we not just comprehend the teachings of Jesus
and live them out but also so that we can find the words to communicate God’s
word to others – how sad that we have come to think that only those with
‘qualifications’ should interpret and share the word. How sad that we think that theology is
something written in books and debated at the highest academic level. Certainly it is that, but is also you and me
continually sitting at the feet of Jesus seeking to know his way.
Here is a thought
too. Does Jesus remind us of the meaning
of the word hospitality in this passage?
That we can sometimes as a church get distracted by the many projects
and programmes and activities that we feel are needed and forget to recognise
that the source of all hospitality is Jesus and that deeds without the word are
meaningless. Whereas if we stop to
listen to the words of Jesus, the promptings of the Spirit then those deed will
flow out of a conviction and a hope rather than a timetable.
I also wonder how
much the cultural expectation of the role of the women of the time informs this
story. Not only was Mary disrupting
Martha’s expectations, there would have been some raised eyebrows that a woman
would choose to a) avoid her role and b) sit down with the men. There is a sense in which Mary was doing her
bit for the right of women to be part of the listening and learning and
discerning. So you go Mary! Right behind you there.
And finally, back
to what we were talking about at the beginning: it is not just about engaging
in conversation with God and each other as we seek to know Jesus Christ – it is
about listening to what is being said.
And that takes some trust and some effort on our part. It is easy just
to let the words flow over us as a well known and beloved scripture, it is also
easy to get overwhelmed with words, to find it easy to distrust the use of
words, but if we are able to listen closely, with discernment, we will hear
what is actually being said sometimes despite the words.
So let us make
sure that we stop and listen to God, let us hear the teachings of Jesus, and
wait on the guidance of the Spirit in a ways that allows us to be the best,
most deeply rooted, well nourished and fruitful olive trees in all the world
here in Opoho Amen.
Margaret Garland
Prayers of Thanksgiving and Intercession 17
July 2016
Let us Pray
We thank you Lord for plenty and sometimes
even luxury
We thank you Lord for warmth and shelter
and home
We thank you Lord for health and wellbeing
We thank you Lord for happiness, for joy,
for content
We thank you Lord for security, for
courage, and for belonging
We thank you Lord for freedom and a place
in our community
We are blessed to be here, in this time, in
this place, among these people
We pray for men, women and children who are
hungry and poor
We pray for people who are cold and exposed
We pray for those who are sick, exhausted,
mentally ill, disabled
We pray for men, women and children who are
sad, depressed, or grieving
We pray for those who are at a loss,
afraid, or anchorless
We pray for people who are imprisoned,
alone, hopeless
With our prayers, we place them in the palm
of your hand
It is time to stop telling hungry people
that they should work harder, instead let us bake bread
It is time to stop telling cold people to
find somewhere else, instead let us knit blankets
It is time to stop telling sick people to
get better, instead let us bring medicine
It is time to stop telling sad people to
cheer up, instead let us sing to them
It is time to stop telling scared people to
be brave, instead let us wrap our arms around them
It is time to stop telling captive people
to have hope, instead let us release them
We have been granted so much, Lord, let us
stop judging and start giving of your plenty, in sympathetic generosity and
knowing in our hearts that all people are your people
And we sing…The Lord’s Prayer
Abby Smith
