As they went on their way Jesus entered a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. Oops! Excuse me for a minute this hymn books are not straight. There! That’s better! Okay as I was saying “As they went on their way Jesus…” Oh wait! These offering plates are not laying flat like they should.”  Okay where were we? “As they went on their way Jesus entered a certain village…” Arghggh! Does that cross look off centre to any of you? “As they went on their way Jesus entered a certain village where a woman named Martha….”  “This church is not looking very balanced today. There’s more people on the left side than there is on the right.” Could I get you to move over there?”

 [spoken by another]  Barbara, Barbara, you are worried and distracted by many things. You’re losing sight of what really matters. Stop fussing and trying to be perfect. We're here to sit at the feet of Jesus and that’s all that matters right now. 

[Barbara read the text].  Luke 10:38-42 Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She 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 him 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." 

     This text is quite gender biased so here’s the same story from a man’s point of view. Jesus came with the disciples to Martin and Harry's garage to get ready for a road trip.  Martin was working on the minivan getting it ready while Harry was over in one of the chairs gathered around the coffee pot listening to Jesus.  Martin came over wiping his greasy hands on a rag, asking Jesus to tell Harry to go put on his coveralls and get to work on the van with him.  Jesus says, "Martin, Martin, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Harry has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from him." 

          Before I say anything further I want to say two things about this text. First of all it is not about Jesus casting judgment upon those who work hard. There’s nothing wrong with working hard. We all have work to do and sometimes the most important thing in this moment is just to do it. Teachers need to put lesson plans together before class. The bills need to be paid on time. Meals need to be prepared at reasonable times of the day. The hay needs to be baled when it’s ripe. The crop needs to be off the field like right now. The garden needs attention before the weeds choke the tomatoes, and the lawn needs mowing before it rains. I’m also thinking about all the work that had to happen before we could sit here at Jesus’ feet this morning. ______came to the church on Thursday to practice the two new songs just before she had to go to work. _____came early to make sure things were all in order. I worked on the order of service on Tuesday. _____worked on the announcements and the bulletin, emailed it to the people who needed it. Then ____printed off enough bulletins for all of us to have one. Someone here asked __________ to read scripture, __________to light the candle, ______________to take up the offering, _____________to count the offering and organize it, ________ to read the Minute for Mission today.  I met _____and ____on their bikes on Thursday at the church in Emerson and _____told me that he is often the one who rings the bells and gets all the sinners (that’s why I’m here) to church on time. _____made sure I had everything I needed in the office. I saw _____mowing the grass yesterday at St Andrews. The choir have had to practice the music for today. Someone phoned me this week to tell me about _____and _____being ill, and we hold them in our prayers. _____and _____and I have sent 7 or 8 emails each back and forth and spoke on the phone this week about the service. And who knows how many times various groups have met in the past so that we have a good worship service, the Outreach, the Ministry & Personnel. A whole lot of work had to happen in order for us to sit here at Jesus’ feet. Today’s text is not about Jesus being against busy work. The second thing to say about the text is that it is in the gospel of Luke and it is always good to remember when we read Luke that Luke likes to put things in order. In the beginning of Luke it says, I decided to write an orderly account for you. Luke places the Mary & Martha story immediately following the Good Samaritan Story for a good reason. They go together. In the Good Samaritan story Jesus tells a lawyer to get busy and help his neighbors. In the Mary and Martha story Jesus tells Martha to listen to Jesus. BOTH stories are parts of the great commandment, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." [Luke 10:27]. It’s too bad the lectionary separates these two stories into two separate weeks because they are really one story. Let’s pull these two stories together. Let’s get the Good Samaritan story real close to the Mary and Martha story. Let’s move Go and do more with stop and listen to Jesus. Go and do with be mindful of Jesus. Go—listen. Go—listen. Go—mindfully. Go—with God.  Putting the two stories together the message is, Go and care for others but listen to Jesus. Jesus tells Martha, there is need of only one thing, and that is to know that God goes with you always. What if our task, our ONE and only task is to never lose sight that God goes with us? There is need of only one thing. Go—with God, in nice easy moments and in frantic moments filled with worry.

In my first few weeks in seminary, it was November and one of the courses I was taking was called Spiritual Formation. We would break up into small groups of 7 or 8 people and sit in a circle and talk about how the spiritual practices we were given as homework—imagine praying as homework!!— went that week. So on this day in November the first student shared something to the effect that she had gone on a nature walk and took in all the beautiful sights and sounds of Vancouver in November. The next student described his experience of being in the rain that week and seeing the rain differently for the first time. And so on. Then it was my turn and I was sweating by this time because I had been way too busy that week to practice any sort of spiritual anything. It was nearing the end of term and I had 3 big final papers due. I was a little afraid to say anything but I did. I asked them, “When did you get time to do all that? I’ve got all these papers to finish with deadlines.” Then my professor Lynne said, bless her heart…”Isn’t all of our work prayer? Isn’t it all what we offer to God always? Our daily lives and the work we do is offered as our prayer to God.” After I heard that whenever I found myself overwhelmingly busy I would light a candle and say a prayer thanking God for this busy and holy time. And as I worked I would glance over to that candle and be reminded that God was with me working right alongside me. So, friends, when you find yourself up to your eyeballs in soapsuds, or up to your shoulders in weeds, or on your last straw with annoying students take in a big breath and know that God is with you—even there, affirming your work.

On Wednesday at the reception of _____ memorial service at Green Ridge I went into the kitchen sort of to find out who was working there. One of the workers in the kitchen said this, “Working in the kitchen is what we do best.” And I saw that God was working right alongside them as they used their gifts of cooking, serving, and hospitality to bring comfort to those who grieve.

Stephen was my preaching professor in the three or so years I was at seminary in Vancouver. His mother died a few years ago. In her last days when she was very sick her husband, who was the pastor of a church a short distance down the road preached on this text one Sunday, leaving his wife in good care. I don’t know if it was his anger over his wife’s serious condition or what but when he preached he gave Martha the what not, up one side of her and down the other. ‘How dare she go and busy herself with such trivial things as making lunch, things that didn’t matter, when Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. How dare she do that!” Well, after church. Stephen’s father drove home. And there on the doorstep was a casserole. And taped to that casserole was a note that said, “From Martha!”

Go with God when you are frantic with worry about others, about your children. Go with God when you’ve been picking weeds for 4 hours straight. Go with God when you have cooked the umpteenth turkey dinner. Go with God when you find yourself thinking you have to do all the work yourself. Go with God, because God goes with you—ALWAYS!