Lord of the Streets, Houston
July 20, 2025
Proper 11, C
Amos 8:1-12
Colossians 1:15-28
Psalm 15
Luke 10:38-42
‘Hey Jesus,’ Martha said, ‘I have a bunch of housework to do. Won’t you please come over and sit around while I do my chores? My sister will probably pay attention to you, and honestly, that really gonna piss me off.’
That’s usually how we read this story, isn’t it, and it’s really weird. Why would you invite someone into your home just to ignore them? Also, the message that those who sit at Jesus’ feet and listen are better than those who have to do work is not a message Jesus taught. Jesus was consistently for those who had to work and couldn’t spend all day in the temple. After all, if everyone sat around reading the Bible and praying all day long, who would do things like grow food, work at grocery stores, operate power plants. We give thanks for those who work while others rest.
So, as we often read the story of Martha and Mary, it’s kinda weird. Thanks to my wife, however, I was introduced to a different reading of this story which came from Mary Stromer Hanson*. She points out that we tend to read some things into the text that aren’t really there. For one thing, Martha welcomed Jesus, but not into her home. That was an addition, and the most ancient texts don’t have those words.
So, Martha welcomed Jesus. Mary, we are told sat at Jesus’ feet, meaning she was one of his disciples who learned from him. It doesn’t actually say she was there in this story. We’re told she also sat at Jesus’ feet, meaning Martha did too. Martha and Mary were both Jesus’ disciples.
Finally, we’re told that Martha was distracted by her many tasks, which we assume means housework, but the Greek actually says “ministry”. Martha was distracted by her ministry in her hometown, and she was asking Jesus to send her sister back to help her.
Jesus is telling her, then, that she has a good ministry and that her sister, Mary, also has a good ministry elsewhere. You don’t need her here, Jesus was saying. What you need is to draw near to God as you do your ministry. Look at all you are doing; it’s great ministry, but you are becoming distracted from the one who is with you. Don’t forget to join with me as you serve others. You can become so consumed in that work that it becomes a burden. Join again with God, let God’s love fill you, then your service will be a blessing both to others and to you.
Prayer and service work hand in hand. As Pope Francis said, “You pray for the hungry. Then you feed them. This is how prayer works.” At the same time, feeding the hungry can be your prayer for the hungry. Prayer and ministry of service are all tied up together as one.
We draw near to God by listening to God. Draw near to God by acting with love towards others.
Hear this, you that trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land…Surely I will never forget any of [your] deeds. I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation…The time is surely coming, says the Lord GOD, when I will send a famine on the land; not a famine of bread, or a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD. (Amos 8:1-12)
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| In "ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN", Kal-El is a champion of the working class and working poor. His symbol that of the working class on Krypton. |
Because of how they treated people, they could not draw near to God, no matter how hard they tried. God would not hear their prayers, nor would God let his Word be heard among them.
Sitting at the Lord’s feet, being Jesus’ disciple, demands action. Drawing near to Jesus for our prayers to be heard demands following Jesus’ teaching and abiding in his love, living out his love for others. Living out Jesus’ love for others is sitting at Jesus’ feet. Following Jesus’ teaching is drawing near to Jesus in prayer.
At the same time, living out Jesus’ love for others requires us to return to Jesus for prayer and learning. That sounds contradictory. Prayer is service. Service is prayer, and we have to do both intentionally.
Without drawing near to God for times of rest, we can become overcome by the work, the ministry, the suffering of others. That’s what was happening with Martha. She was getting overcome by the enormity of the work of ministry, the enormity of the work of loving others. She was getting overcome by seeing suffering all around her, and so she wanted Mary to come back home and do the work with her.
What Martha actually needed, however, to take a break from her work, and spend some time sitting at Jesus’ feet, learning again, resting in Jesus’ presence, and drawing near to God in prayer. That means some of the work wouldn’t get done. That’s ok. There’s always more work to do, always more love to give, always more suffering to soothe, and God commanded us to rest, to take time to draw near to God.
When we don’t take that time to rest, then we can’t hear God anymore, and we often start following the ways of the Adversary. When we’re overcome by the suffering of the world, we often become angry and hateful toward those who are causing the suffering. When we don’t rest in God, we turn against our enemies, rather than for those we seek to serve, and even our service can bring the darkness of the Adversary, rather than the light of the Holy Spirit.
When we’re overcome by the Adversary, we can’t hear God’s word. We need rest to offer to God all of our hatred and all of our anger. We need rest to offer to God all of our righteous fury at those who pay poverty wages while enriching themselves. We offer all of that to God so that God may heal our hearts and we may live out the light of God’s love once again.
So, when we hear the story of Marth and Mary, and we’re told we need to be more of a Mary than a Martha, that we need to pray and stop doing so much work, that’s not really what the story tells us. We need both. Prayer without service can lead to selfish faith, not caring about those around us, like we saw in Amos. Service without prayer can lead to being overcome by the enormity of suffering in the world. We need Martha and Mary, prayer and service. True discipleship means we pray for people and we love and serve people, walking with Jesus all along the way.
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