1 July 21, 2013 Pastor Dena Williams Denver, CO 9th Sunday after Pentecost The Holy Gospel according

to the Community of St. Luke in the 10th Chapter Glory to you, O Lord Now as Jesus and all his followers went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. Martha had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me." But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her." The Gospel of the Lord Praise to you, O Christ

Seek Ye First My daughter, Wendy and I went to the craft store not long ago.

2 I chose craft items for a story for the Sunday School children. We went to the register to check out. Now, many of you know Wendy, and one thing you know about her is that she is not bashful! She is friendly and chatty and very interested in getting to know other people. She is, as a matter of fact, the only extrovert in our family. John, and Walker, and I, and even Jordan are more reserved, friendly, but not usually as outgoing as Wendy. I placed my items on the counter, checking to make certain I had enough of every kind of beads and laces for the children. I busied myself with my wallet and credit card and purchases. I half listened as Wendy does what Wendy does. She was in conversation with the check out person. I missed most of the conversation. I heard Wendy say something about the Bible story for the children and that her mom is a pastor. But, I was focused on other things, distracted by other things. Then I heard the check out lady say, Yes, Im in the middle of radiation treatments for breast cancer. I looked at the woman, really looked at her, and there it was, the telltale sign of radiation treatment, the red and irritated skin revealed by her v-neck sweater. Wendy and I expressed our concern. I asked her if she had a church family. She said she was a member at a church in the suburbs. I asked if there was a pastor for her to talk with there. Its a very large church and she said she thought there was someone on the staff who visited the sick and hospitalized. I gave her my card, our congregations card, and let her know that if she needed to talk with me she was welcome to call. We told her we would pray for her,

3 that our congregation would pray for her. Dena, Dena, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Wendy has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her." Martha invites Jesus to come to her house for dinner. He comes to the home she shares with Mary. Martha flies around the house, checks on food, the seating arrangements, the wine, the lamps, quiets the neighbors barking dog, sweeps the porch, steps aside to brush her hair and arrange her clothes. Mary sits with Jesus. She asks how hes doing on this journey to Jerusalem. What are his hopes, dreams, fears? Jesus talks with her. Asks how shes doing on this journey through life. He teases--any prospects for marriage among the neighbor boys? Hows her brother Lazarus? Is his work going well? Will he join us for dinner this evening? He talks with her about his journey so far the followers, the healing, the teaching. He begins to describe for her his hopes for the Kingdom of God. Just as theyre getting to the good part, Martha bursts into the room. "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me." "Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things;

4 there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her." Its practically Unamerican, isnt it? Theres work to be done and people sit around talking! Lukes Jesus reminds us that, yes, there is work to be done, work to build the Kingdom of God. There is work to be done, but other things come first. How we care for one another comes first. Jesus does not scold Martha for working; he scolds her for worrying. He scolds her for being distracted by unimportant things See there, Jesus says, The dog quit barking. The lamps give plenty of light. Youre a good cook, Martha, Im sure the food will be fine. The house is clean and, besides, no one brought their white glove to check for dust. Do not worry. Sit with us and lets talk about how youre doing. I want to hear about your family and I want to tell you about my journey to Jerusalem. I want to talk with you about the Kingdom of God. In the Kingdom, there is always time to care for one another. There may be business to take care of, work to do, but nothing is more important than our loving relationships with one another, relationships that reflect Gods love for us. It doesnt come easily to those of us who are Marthas by nature. When I go to a meeting, for example, I want to follow the agenda, take care of the business,

5 and do so in an efficient manner. When I meet with other pastors, for example, theres a sort of perfunctory attempt to care for one another. Were pastors, after all, we feel obligated to take time to care for others. But not too much time! Its right there on the agenda we each get three minutes to fill one another in on whats happening in our lives. So, six pastors, thats eighteen minutes, and now, no matter whose parent is ill, or whose congregation is in crisis, or whose dog died, we move on to business!

There is something to learn here from other cultures. When I meet, for example, with my pastor friends who are Latino, it becomes clear that no business will be accomplished until we tend to one another. Not only that, but the conversation moves back and forth, between business and concerns, between decisions and prayers, back and forth from work to listening and sharing our hopes, our dreams, our joys, our sorrows. Im learning to enjoy and appreciate the pace. Im growing in loving relationship with my Latino pastor friends. Its not always easy I make a mental list, a sort of agenda, of all the things we need to work on,

6 the business we need to accomplish. I cant help it! Its what Marthas do! I check things off and mentally review my list throughout the meeting. I am more patient, though, with the process. Im learning that building the Kingdom is less about tasks, and more about love and concern for one another. When the meeting is over, and, yes, it takes more time than I plan, it sometimes even makes me late or puts me behind in my schedule, but when the meeting is over the work of the Kingdom is accomplished, and I find myself in closer, more loving relationship with others and with God. The Kingdom of God, Gods love, comes among us. I hear Jesus say, Good people and pastor, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Seek the kingdom of God, choose the better part, which will not be taken away from you." Amen