Brett Webb-Mitchell - "From 'Doing for' to 'Being With'" (July 19, 1998)
Loading the media player...
Transcript
Transcripts may contain inaccuracies.
- | The Gospel reading this morning | 0:06 |
is found in the Gospel according to St. Luke, | 0:09 | |
chapter 10, verses 38 through 42. | 0:13 | |
Now, as they went on their way, | 0:19 | |
he entered a certain village | 0:22 | |
where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. | 0:24 | |
She had a sister named Mary | 0:28 | |
who sat at the Lord's feet and listened | 0:30 | |
to what he was saying | 0:33 | |
but Martha was distracted by her many tasks | 0:35 | |
so she came to Jesus | 0:39 | |
and asked "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me | 0:41 | |
"to do all the work by myself? | 0:46 | |
"Tell her then to help me." | 0:49 | |
But the Lord answered her, | 0:53 | |
"Martha, Martha, you are worried | 0:54 | |
"and distracted by many things. | 0:59 | |
"There's need of only one thing, | 1:02 | |
"Mary has chosen the better part | 1:05 | |
"which will not be taken away from her." | 1:08 | |
This is the word of the Lord. | 1:12 | |
- | Thanks be to God. | 1:15 |
- | Let us pray, | 1:17 |
may the words of my mouth | 1:21 | |
and the meditation of our hearts | 1:23 | |
be acceptable unto you, oh Lord, amen. | 1:26 | |
It is the middle of summer across this country again. | 1:33 | |
We are surrounded by eye-catching images | 1:38 | |
of either the recurring splash of splashing seas | 1:41 | |
beating rhythmically against sandy shores | 1:45 | |
while children run with laughter | 1:48 | |
along a Carolina beach. | 1:50 | |
Or there's the morning in America Vision | 1:52 | |
of a couple awakening to the sun | 1:56 | |
just rising over the Great Smoky Mountains, | 1:58 | |
surrounded by birds chirping | 2:01 | |
and cool creek water gurgling nearby, | 2:04 | |
their most perfect tent. | 2:07 | |
And amid these postcard images of American bliss, | 2:10 | |
we are also well acquainted | 2:14 | |
with the constant reminders of how precarious our life is | 2:17 | |
with forest fires ravaging Florida, | 2:21 | |
otherwise known the rest of the year as the Sunshine State. | 2:24 | |
Then only a few hundred miles away, | 2:28 | |
the rains which failed to stroke Florida | 2:31 | |
are now destroying lives and property wantonly in Tennessee. | 2:34 | |
Still further west, people suffer | 2:39 | |
and die due to the scorching heat wave | 2:41 | |
which arcs from Texas to California. | 2:45 | |
In light of such crises, | 2:49 | |
it is the response of many Americans, | 2:51 | |
many Christians to reach deep down | 2:54 | |
and find out what is commonly referred to | 2:58 | |
as that can do spirit. | 3:02 | |
There is no crisis too large, | 3:05 | |
there is no catastrophe too great | 3:08 | |
that we together as a nation can't lick it. | 3:12 | |
When the going gets tough, | 3:16 | |
we say the tough get going. | 3:18 | |
And that becomes our nation's battle hymn for the summer. | 3:22 | |
For example, when in Oregon last week, | 3:26 | |
the media followed firefighter after firefighter taking off | 3:29 | |
in their planes to battle the blazing fires in Florida | 3:33 | |
and then with the ravaging floods in Tennessee, | 3:38 | |
some North Carolinians were making plans | 3:42 | |
to be of assistance in water-soaked areas | 3:44 | |
in their neighbor state. | 3:48 | |
Meanwhile truckloads of fans | 3:50 | |
are being given out freely to people | 3:52 | |
in the Dallas, Forth Worth area of Texas. | 3:55 | |
We are a people who understand ourselves | 3:58 | |
to be rescuers, who will do anything, | 4:02 | |
go anywhere to help those in need. | 4:06 | |
Doing something for others | 4:10 | |
is what we do best. | 4:13 | |
And herein often lies the problem. | 4:18 | |
To what end or for what purpose | 4:22 | |
do we do things for others? | 4:26 | |
For many, the reason they help others in need | 4:29 | |
of assistance is because they expect exactly | 4:32 | |
the same from others | 4:36 | |
when a crisis hits their own backyard. | 4:38 | |
I mean, fair is fair. | 4:41 | |
Some call it by the adage, I'll scratch your back | 4:44 | |
if you scratch mine | 4:49 | |
or others live life according to the secularized version | 4:52 | |
of one of Jesus' great commandments | 4:55 | |
which Americans now simply refer to as the golden rule. | 4:58 | |
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. | 5:03 | |
According to this Americanized golden rule, | 5:09 | |
one could interpret that the actions | 5:12 | |
of the great and Good Samaritan, | 5:14 | |
last week's lectionary reading, | 5:16 | |
from the view that he only helped that poor man lying | 5:18 | |
on the side of the road who was stripped, | 5:21 | |
beaten and left half dead | 5:24 | |
with the guarantee that the poor man, | 5:27 | |
once rehabilitated, would be ready to do the same for him. | 5:29 | |
All of life, you see, is determined | 5:35 | |
on a strictly quid pro quo basis. | 5:38 | |
So central is the golden rule in America | 5:42 | |
that it is taught in all our elementary schools | 5:45 | |
as a way of managing our children's behavior | 5:48 | |
and is a central part of a code of ethics | 5:52 | |
for many multinational corporations. | 5:54 | |
And by practicing these words, | 5:57 | |
America becomes a nation of doers for others | 6:00 | |
with a quid pro quo caveat | 6:04 | |
and we recite these words so often | 6:08 | |
that soon they take on a life of their own. | 6:10 | |
And the author of these words is soon forgotten. | 6:14 | |
Or we misappropriate them to Benjamin Franklin | 6:17 | |
or are sure that Abraham Lincoln | 6:20 | |
must have mentioned them | 6:22 | |
in the Gettysburg Address somewhere. | 6:23 | |
It is reduced to a bumper sticker | 6:27 | |
in some mall's car parking lot. | 6:29 | |
Even in the church, some members, maybe even ourselves | 6:33 | |
are also caught up in the practices | 6:38 | |
of the golden rule, cheerful rescuer, | 6:40 | |
forgetting to what end or for what purpose | 6:43 | |
we are created for and whom we are called to serve. | 6:47 | |
There are those caught up in the habit | 6:52 | |
of constantly doing for others, | 6:53 | |
who take no joy except in the activity | 6:56 | |
and change for others. | 6:59 | |
You can hear them as you sit, | 7:01 | |
constantly worrying around your head or hovering above. | 7:03 | |
Worrying if all is satisfactory. | 7:08 | |
Whenever an occasion for doing something | 7:11 | |
for others presents themselves, | 7:13 | |
they are compelled to act. | 7:14 | |
It is a habit that they cannot break. | 7:16 | |
They cannot seem to help themselves. | 7:19 | |
They are inexorably moved | 7:23 | |
like the machine of which they are a part. | 7:25 | |
To take them to task, | 7:29 | |
to sit them down, | 7:32 | |
to tell them take a load off your own feet, | 7:33 | |
just be still or even worse, | 7:36 | |
if we try to serve them, | 7:39 | |
well, that is nigh to impossible. | 7:42 | |
It is high treason | 7:45 | |
for if such a person is not busy doing for others, | 7:47 | |
she or he will no longer be in power. | 7:51 | |
Such a rescuer in Christ's body is Jesus' friend Martha. | 7:56 | |
Martha is the paradigmatic example | 8:01 | |
of one who cannot help but do for others. | 8:04 | |
In Luke 10, we are told that Jesus | 8:08 | |
and the disciples are on a journey | 8:10 | |
when they happen to stop by the home | 8:13 | |
of Martha and Mary, Jesus's friends. | 8:15 | |
Martha welcomes them into the home | 8:20 | |
and instantly she begins to prepare a meal | 8:21 | |
while Mary simply and quietly sits at Jesus' feet | 8:24 | |
and listens to all that he is saying. | 8:29 | |
What things Martha was doing we don't know | 8:32 | |
except that she was so engaged | 8:36 | |
in so many tasks, she didn't hear a living word | 8:37 | |
of what the word of God was saying | 8:40 | |
who was sitting in her very living room. | 8:43 | |
She was too distracted to be with Jesus. | 8:45 | |
We can almost envision the self-involved actions | 8:51 | |
of Martha as she is busy trying to serve Jesus, | 8:55 | |
practicing her own kind and brand of hospitality. | 8:58 | |
Doing something for Jesus | 9:02 | |
yet never asking Jesus what Jesus needs, | 9:04 | |
what Jesus wants or what Jesus would like. | 9:07 | |
She assumes that she knows best | 9:10 | |
what Jesus would like. | 9:14 | |
Well, based upon these unchecked assumptions, | 9:16 | |
Martha works feverishly in the other room. | 9:19 | |
She's left feeding the hoard of other disciples, | 9:21 | |
she's banging pots and pans | 9:24 | |
as loud as she possibly can | 9:26 | |
yet never asking Jesus what would Jesus need? | 9:28 | |
She's increasingly more disappointed, | 9:32 | |
disturbed and aggravated with Jesus and Mary | 9:34 | |
by every living second | 9:39 | |
because Jesus is not there shouting out, | 9:40 | |
"Thank you, Martha." | 9:43 | |
And Mary, she's in the other room | 9:45 | |
and she doesn't ask, "May I help?" | 9:47 | |
Well, of course, Martha hasn't asked for any help | 9:50 | |
because she is too busy rescuing the day for others | 9:52 | |
so that in the end, they will think | 9:56 | |
she hopes that Martha is the best host in the Earth. | 9:58 | |
That Martha somehow will win the Miss Congeniality prize | 10:01 | |
among the children of God. | 10:07 | |
Martha is hoping that someday in your kitchen, | 10:09 | |
you will have the household martyr in your closet. | 10:12 | |
That Martha someday will be a beloved saint | 10:17 | |
for every kitchen even before there are canonized saints | 10:19 | |
in the church. | 10:23 | |
Near burnout, when Martha's self-sacrificial patience | 10:25 | |
runs its due course, | 10:29 | |
she explodes all over Jesus and Mary. | 10:31 | |
"Lord, do you not care that my sister | 10:35 | |
"has left me to do all the work by myself? | 10:38 | |
"Tell her, Jesus, tell her to come into the kitchen | 10:41 | |
"and help me." | 10:44 | |
Talk about your sibling rivalry | 10:45 | |
and appealing to parental authorities. | 10:48 | |
Martha doesn't even talk directly to Mary | 10:51 | |
but tries to get Jesus to do her bidding. | 10:54 | |
Well, conniving Martha then waits | 10:58 | |
in hope of payback time. | 11:00 | |
She assumes that her arrogant attitude | 11:02 | |
will bring forth the quid pro quo she's been so waiting for | 11:04 | |
and so carefully manipulated. | 11:08 | |
She eagerly waits now | 11:10 | |
for Jesus to reprove, if not scold and berate Mary. | 11:12 | |
"Perhaps," she thinks, "Mary will become an example | 11:16 | |
"of how not to be a follower of Jesus." | 11:19 | |
Surprisingly, Martha's distraction | 11:24 | |
is gently reproved by Jesus | 11:27 | |
while instead Mary's attention is clearly approved. | 11:30 | |
"Martha, Martha, you are worried | 11:35 | |
"and distracted by many things. | 11:40 | |
"There is need of only one thing. | 11:43 | |
"Mary has chosen the better part | 11:46 | |
"which will not be taken away from her," says Jesus. | 11:49 | |
What was Mary doing which was so threatening to Martha? | 11:55 | |
Mary simply practiced the gesture | 11:59 | |
of being with Jesus. | 12:02 | |
Mary simply practiced a ministry of being with, | 12:05 | |
with her mind, soul and body, | 12:09 | |
Mary was listening to and hearing every word | 12:11 | |
that Jesus said, watching every wink of an eye, | 12:14 | |
sensing the slightest move of a finger, | 12:18 | |
hand or arm in a comforting pose. | 12:21 | |
In such rapt attention, Mary became one with Jesus. | 12:25 | |
Mary seemed to intuit the magnificent guest before her | 12:30 | |
which Paul later describes in his letter | 12:34 | |
to the Colossians, | 12:36 | |
Mary knew that she was in the company | 12:38 | |
of the invisible God, | 12:40 | |
the firstborn of all creation, | 12:42 | |
the one in whom all things in heaven and on Earth | 12:45 | |
were created, things visible and invisible, | 12:49 | |
whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers, | 12:52 | |
all things were created through him and for him. | 12:56 | |
Playing counterpart to Mary's busyness | 13:00 | |
of trying to do for others for the sake of merely doing, | 13:03 | |
Mary is first and foremost being with Jesus. | 13:07 | |
Becoming part of the firstborn of creation. | 13:11 | |
From there, she will go out to live | 13:15 | |
and act in the world, | 13:17 | |
assisting others out of the deep knowing | 13:19 | |
of who she is. | 13:22 | |
A disciple of Jesus Christ. | 13:25 | |
As Christians, we need to understand | 13:29 | |
that Jesus isn't saying that it is fine | 13:31 | |
if some are going to be like Mary | 13:34 | |
and the others are going to be like Martha. | 13:36 | |
Jesus isn't saying that the world | 13:39 | |
is equally divided between type A | 13:41 | |
and type B personality characteristics. | 13:44 | |
Nor is Jesus saying that Mary and Martha | 13:48 | |
are two extreme points on a single spectrum. | 13:50 | |
What Jesus is saying is even more disturbing | 13:54 | |
and more profound for us Christians. | 13:57 | |
We are to be like the good soil from the parable | 13:59 | |
of the sower and the seed. | 14:02 | |
We are to practice the gesture of first hearing the word | 14:05 | |
of God, holding it fast within our hearts | 14:09 | |
in an honest and good heart | 14:13 | |
for with patient endurance | 14:16 | |
we are told it will bear much fruit. | 14:17 | |
Or listen to what Jesus said to his followers | 14:21 | |
after being told that his mother | 14:23 | |
and brothers are wanting to see him | 14:25 | |
and are standing outside the crowd as he is preaching. | 14:27 | |
Jesus says this, | 14:31 | |
"My mother and my brother are those | 14:33 | |
"who hear the word of God and then do it." | 14:35 | |
Jesus, God's word instructs us | 14:40 | |
to first be with him, | 14:43 | |
listening and hearing him, | 14:46 | |
receiving him into our lives | 14:48 | |
and then to go out into the world | 14:50 | |
as a member of the body of Christ to serve others. | 14:53 | |
Jesus' message is radical for us Christians today living | 14:58 | |
in the frenetic American puttering machine | 15:01 | |
in which doing, producing, performing, | 15:04 | |
getting results, making changes for the sake | 15:08 | |
of making a change | 15:10 | |
is alone the measure of our worth. | 15:11 | |
Yet such making action without right direction leads us | 15:15 | |
to be more like Martha | 15:18 | |
who couldn't hear the word of God | 15:20 | |
for she was too busy for the sake of being busy. | 15:22 | |
She was busy doing things for others | 15:26 | |
before hearing why she is serving others | 15:28 | |
or in whose name she is serving | 15:31 | |
or what the other person really needs. | 15:33 | |
Sadly for many of us, | 15:38 | |
myself included, who like to see change | 15:40 | |
and make things happen | 15:43 | |
for the sake of happening, | 15:45 | |
it is often easier for us to identify with Martha | 15:46 | |
who almost missed Jesus | 15:51 | |
even though he was in her home | 15:52 | |
than to identify and be like Mary. | 15:55 | |
Those who constantly teach me to be more like Mary | 15:59 | |
are those whom the world calls disabled. | 16:02 | |
For example, when living in a large community, | 16:06 | |
a Christian community for adults | 16:09 | |
with developmental disabilities, | 16:11 | |
I almost won the record for losing the most number | 16:14 | |
of community members | 16:17 | |
when simply out on a walk. | 16:18 | |
I would be in almost a trance thinking | 16:20 | |
about my agenda, what I wanted to get done | 16:23 | |
before the day was over | 16:26 | |
and I would either walk too fast | 16:29 | |
for the member with a disability | 16:31 | |
or walk away from them totally | 16:33 | |
without remembering who I was walking with. | 16:35 | |
Suddenly, I would hear from the back, | 16:39 | |
"Brett, slow down! | 16:42 | |
"You're walking too fast." | 16:44 | |
Or I would realize how silent it had suddenly become | 16:46 | |
only to turn around and see | 16:51 | |
that I had left the community behind a block or two | 16:52 | |
or they had taken a turn somewhere | 16:56 | |
and I didn't know where the heck they were. | 16:57 | |
Today, our first and leading task | 17:00 | |
is to be with Jesus. | 17:05 | |
The one who alone remembers for us who we are. | 17:08 | |
It is Christ's spirit, | 17:13 | |
present in the lives of others | 17:15 | |
who gather us together in his name | 17:17 | |
and because this is true, we are to be like Mary. | 17:21 | |
Remember, Mary was not passively limp | 17:25 | |
but was fully concentrating with every inch | 17:28 | |
and bone and sinew of her body, | 17:31 | |
listening and drawing in | 17:33 | |
and drinking in Jesus. | 17:35 | |
And what makes it even more fascinating | 17:37 | |
for us to be like Mary is that we too | 17:39 | |
are to intentionally focus on Jesus's presence, | 17:41 | |
now present in the lives of others, | 17:45 | |
allowing no one and nothing else | 17:48 | |
to distract us from him who is the head | 17:50 | |
of the body. | 17:53 | |
In the lives of other people, | 17:55 | |
especially in the lives of those who are suffering, | 17:57 | |
we must be capable to recognize the suffering, | 18:00 | |
the living Christ | 18:04 | |
for we are all dependent upon the loving presence of Jesus | 18:06 | |
who suffered and died for the salvation of the world. | 18:11 | |
Being with Jesus who is in our sisters' | 18:16 | |
and brothers' lives, holding fast to the word | 18:20 | |
of God with an honest and good heart | 18:23 | |
is a practiced gesture | 18:26 | |
yet once we practice this gesture | 18:28 | |
of being present with others in Christ, | 18:30 | |
now knowing to what end we are to serve others | 18:33 | |
in the name of the risen Christ, | 18:37 | |
we may now go out into the world | 18:40 | |
and we go into the world with the strength | 18:42 | |
of God's spirit, giving ourselves for others, | 18:45 | |
not in our name | 18:48 | |
but in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. | 18:50 | |
So it is in the name of Jesus we Christians | 18:54 | |
may join others in fighting | 18:56 | |
the destructive fires in Florida. | 18:58 | |
It is in the name of Jesus that we will care | 19:00 | |
for those who are living in flood-ravaged areas of Tennessee | 19:03 | |
and it is in the name of Jesus | 19:06 | |
that we will serve those | 19:08 | |
who are in dire need of fans in the Texas area. | 19:10 | |
This morning before we go out to do for others, | 19:15 | |
we begin this morning by coming | 19:19 | |
to this mysterious banquet feast, | 19:21 | |
with the good company of the saints, | 19:25 | |
gathering again around this bread and cup, | 19:27 | |
prepared for all of us, | 19:31 | |
for all generations of Christians | 19:33 | |
who desire to be with Jesus. | 19:35 | |
We are here not because of what we've done, | 19:40 | |
instead we are here because of what Jesus did, | 19:45 | |
is doing, and will always do for us | 19:50 | |
and one day with us. | 19:54 | |
Jesus, who is our Emmanuel, God with us, | 19:57 | |
promises to be with us always | 20:02 | |
in the power of God's word | 20:05 | |
and Holy Spirit. | 20:07 | |
And so before we leave this place | 20:10 | |
to serve others in the name of Jesus Christ, | 20:13 | |
let us first come and like Mary, | 20:17 | |
be with Jesus in this meal. | 20:22 | |
In the name of the Father, the Son | 20:26 | |
and the Holy Ghost. | 20:29 | |
Amen. | 20:31 | |
- | The Lord be with you. | 20:50 |
- | And also with you. | 20:52 |
- | Let us pray. | 20:54 |
Oh God, our creator and maker of all, | 21:00 | |
we come before you making known | 21:04 | |
to you our petitions of prayer. | 21:07 | |
Be present in this hour | 21:10 | |
to hear us, comfort us | 21:13 | |
and to stir us to new faithfulness | 21:16 | |
in order that we remember ourselves | 21:19 | |
as your servants called to be with others. | 21:22 | |
Hear us as we pray. | 21:27 | |
Lord, in your mercy. | 21:30 | |
- | Hear our prayer. | 21:32 |
- | Lord Christ, we hear your message through scripture | 21:35 |
and the preached word calling us | 21:41 | |
to sit at your feet and simply be with you. | 21:44 | |
We long for the blessing of such peacefulness. | 21:50 | |
Yet we confess that too often we are persuaded | 21:53 | |
by the world to do all things but sit quietly | 21:58 | |
in your presence. | 22:01 | |
How easily we trust in our own inventions | 22:04 | |
and in institutional knowledge | 22:08 | |
which hold hostage our souls. | 22:11 | |
While we are born for labor, | 22:15 | |
we know not when to cease. | 22:17 | |
Teach us, Lord Christ, | 22:21 | |
in order that we would know when to lay down our pretenses | 22:24 | |
and false pride and take a seat at your feet. | 22:28 | |
Lord, in your mercy. | 22:34 | |
- | Hear our prayer. | 22:37 |
- | We thank you for your willingness never | 22:40 |
to leave our side, even unto death. | 22:42 | |
Your faithfulness in whose presence we are humbled. | 22:46 | |
We thank you for sending servants into your world | 22:51 | |
to teach us by grace and example. | 22:54 | |
And for people who love us and pray for us | 22:59 | |
and for our well-being. | 23:02 | |
Lord, in your mercy. | 23:05 | |
- | Hear our prayer. | 23:07 |
- | There are many, oh God | 23:10 |
for whom there thought of a new day brings little relief, | 23:12 | |
those for whom the challenges | 23:18 | |
of living seem too tall and difficult. | 23:19 | |
To the bodies, minds and souls | 23:25 | |
of these unfortunate ones, | 23:28 | |
bring your healing power. | 23:30 | |
Lord, in your mercy. | 23:34 | |
- | Hear our prayer. | 23:37 |
- | We ask you, oh God, to remember your church | 23:39 |
and all who work for peace | 23:43 | |
in these troubling times. | 23:47 | |
Fashion in us the desire to work | 23:49 | |
and build according to your will. | 23:52 | |
May we bring forth a new faithfulness | 23:56 | |
as the fruit of Christ's suffering death on the cross. | 23:59 | |
Lord, in your mercy. | 24:04 | |
- | Hear our prayer. | 24:06 |
- | On this day when we participate | 24:10 |
in the banquet set before us, | 24:12 | |
may we eat and drink with the knowledge | 24:14 | |
that though we are not worthy to receive you, | 24:17 | |
that by your grace, we are welcomed and expected | 24:20 | |
and that your abiding love never fails. | 24:26 |