Pentecost 8

Pentecost 8 (Luke 10:38-42)
You are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing.

Worry and distraction erode faith.

Jesus had chosen to visit Martha and Mary. Martha received Jesus into her home them promptly ignored him. She turned to the hustle and bustle of work. In that flurry of activity she felt frustration and anger that her sister, Mary, wasn’t helping her. She missed the point of Jesus’ visit.

Jesus was visiting Martha and Mary to get to know them. He was not interested in being entertained. He was not interested in a formal dinner. He came to visit.
Mary understood this. She perceived the gift Jesus was offering. She responded to that gift and sat in Jesus’ presence. She gave Jesus her time and attention. She listened to him.

Martha avoided Jesus. She with held her time and attention from Jesus and directed it to business. She was worried and distracted. In that worry she chose fear over faith.

Perhaps she was fearful that Jesus would think less of her if the house was not perfectly spotless. Perhaps she was fearful that Jesus would judge her if the meal she prepared was not perfectly cooked, perfectly, presented, and perfectly served. Perhaps she was fearful that she lacked something that she should have, something more, something different, something perfectly suited to honor and to impress her guest.

The fear came from her own interior demand to make everything perfect. Her faith in Jesus eroded as her demand to be in control of the situation shifted her attention from Jesus to her own self will.

Martha was also distracted. Distractions are usually self created. Distractions come when there is a higher priority we seek to evade.
The priority may be a homework paper due the next day. The distraction may be the sudden realization that you need to completely reorganize all of your comic books and baseball cards.

The priority may be getting to work on time. The distraction may be the sudden realization that you couldn’t possibly leave the house until the beds are made, the laundry is folded and the furniture is rearranged.

The priority may be to receive an honored guest who offers his friendship. The distraction may be the feeling that you really aren’t interested in the friendship as much as you are impressing an important person who could very easily become the next King.

Fear creates the worry. Worry creates the distraction. Distraction substantiates the fear. The fear is that unless I am perfect I am worthless. The fear results in anger.

Martha complained to Jesus that her sister should abandon him and help her. Martha wanted Mary to turn her back on Jesus so together they could create the perfect meal for Jesus.

Sadly, the worry and the distraction are the clues that Martha missed her moment of grace. She acted as though the moment was all about her. Since the moment was all about her she had to assert her will and make everything perfect.

Jesus very gently, and I believe with a compassionate humor, responds to Martha’s complaint by showing her the folly of her choice. Martha- you’ve chosen to make my visit into an occasion for worry and distraction. Mary has chosen to make my visit into a moment of grace. Mary has made the better choice.

In her worry and her distraction Martha is not present to Jesus. He is right there in her house. But for Martha, he might just as well be on the other side of the world. He might just as well not exist at all. She experiences only her own demands, fears, distractions and anger even as Jesus is offering her the most amazing gift possible- the gift of reunification with God, friendship with God.

That is what Mary chose. At that moment- that was the priority. Jesus commends Mary’s choice. He comments that Mary’s choice is not only the better choice but it is also the choice with eternal value. Mary’s choice will never be taken away from her.

Martha’s choice not only fails to satisfy but immediately falls apart. Her demand for perfection is unattainable. Her desire to impose her will is fruitless. She needs to stop. Reflect. Repent. Change her sense of priority. She needs to turn to Jesus and receive the gift of his friendship.

There is a time and a place for housework, cooking and serving. There is a time and a place for doing. There is also a time and a place for being. The being comes as we receive the gift Jesus offers us. The gift is himself.

Jesus is the incarnation of the co-eternal Son of God. Friendship with Jesus begins in a moment of grace. Jesus seeks us out amid the worries and distractions of the world. He finds where we are caught in our self created frustration, fear and anger. He offers himself to us in a moment of grace. But, he never imposes himself on us. The choice is ours.

Distractions come from within the soul. The dist5raction are not in the outer world. The distraction are in our personal interior world. We choose to create distractions to avoid our moment of grace.

Anything can become a distraction. It may be frivolous or it may have some importance. We choose doing over being in an effort to create the illusion we are in control. Distractions are always a means to avoid our moment of grace.
The moment of grace is that moment in time when God reveals to us that life is not about our will. Life is not about us.

The moment of grace is that moment when God reveals to us we are not perfect and by our own efforts we can never be perfect. In fact, the more we focus on our own demand for perfection the greater the anxiety we experience.

The moment of grace is that moment when God reveals to us we are lost and broken and he has come to us to find us and to heal us.

That is what Jesus does. That is who Jesus is. Jesus saves us from sin and death by saving us from ourselves- our own self will, fear and pride. As we open to the moment of grace Jesus offers that moment sets us free from fear into a new life of faith.

Even in the physical presence of Jesus Christ, Martha continued to assert her self will to control the moment. Mary released her will into the moment. Martha experienced anxiety, fear and anger. Mary experienced the real presence of God in Jesus Christ. The real presence of God in Jesus Christ is eternal love.

The Holy Spirit inspired St. Luke to record this event in the life of Martha and Mart to reveal to all future generations the nature of real choice. Real Choice opens the mind, the heart and the will to the eternal love of the real presence of Jesus Christ.

The message of Christ is the reality of a new life and a new way of living. That new life comes from the personal relationship God offers us and all people. It is the personal relationship that recreates the moment. It is the personal relationship that offers the promise of a life of transformation.

As with all relationships, our relationship with Jesus Christ requires time and attention. As with the most important relationships in our life, our relationship with Jesus Christ can only be as meaningful as it becomes our priority.

Martha devoted her time and attention to becoming the perfect hostess who would produce the perfect dinner for a guest she largely ignored. Her sister Mary chose to devote her time and attention to listening to Jesus and speaking with him.
Which was the better choice? Which is the better choice for us? Jesus himself answers this question as he speaks to Martha, and as he speaks to us today: You are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing.
That one thing is the new life and the new way of living in a personal relationship with the co-eternal Son of God, Jesus Christ.