One Thing

A Reflection on Luke 10:38-42

Sunday, July 22, 2007

Pastor Dale Stiles

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Do you remember how last Sunday's gospel text - the parable of the Good Samaritan - ended?  After the Samaritan stopped and helped the suffering stranger, Jesus said to the inquisitive and persistent lawyer, "Now go, and do likewise."

Well today's gospel lesson immediately follows that parable of the Good Samaritan.  One picks up where one leaves off.  It's another well-known story about sisters Mary and Martha.  It's clear that Martha heard that story of the good Samaritan and took it to heart, because now in today's Gospel lesson, we have Jesus, out walking down the road again, with Martha, extending a gracious invitation to him.  "Come on over to our house," she says. "I'll whip up something real good to eat!" See? Martha is doing what Jesus said to do. She has gone and "done likewise".  She has received a hungry, needy stranger into her house. Then she works up a sweat in the kitchen trying to make something nice and special to serve this important guest in their home.  And this is where the story gets pretty dramatic.  She finds out that her sister Mary is lounging at his feet, listening to His fascinating stories, while she is busy doing all the work. 

"Hey," says Martha, wiping her dishpan hands on her apron, "Jesus, how about telling that lazy sister of mine to get in here and help me? 'Go, do likewise;' right, Jesus?" "Wrong, Martha," says Jesus. "Settle down and let's talk. Doing is OK. But there's much to be said for doing nothing, for listening. And Mary knows this. He was simply saying, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and anxious about so many things, when only one thing matters - and your sister, Mary has chosen that one thing - and it will not be taken from her."

You might remember the movie, "City Slickers", which starred Billy Crystal.

The movie was about three men, old friends from way back, and now approaching middle age, who spent some vacation time each year doing something daring that was always in contrast with the big city, urban lifestyle they lived most of the time. The plot of the film revolves around their decision to spend a vacation together going on a cattle drive, helping a bunch of seasoned cowboys move a herd of cattle across the big plains of the West with the hope that, in the process, they might get in touch with their more primitive selves, and find out something useful about the meaning of life.

The leader of this cattle drive was a tough old cowboy named Curly, played by actor Jack Palance, who lives up to all of our stereotypes about cowboys. He was mean and tough, and he could do anything with a rope or a whip or a knife. But in his tough and rugged way he was also very gentle and wise.

The film was a comedy, but in one very serious scene, Curly is riding alongside one of the city slickers, the character played by Billy Crystal, when their conversation turns philosophical.

Against the beautiful backdrop of an open sky and majestic mountains and clear streams, the man on vacation turns to Curly and says, "Your life makes sense to you doesn't it?" To which Curly replies, "You city folk. You worry a lot. You all come out here when you're about to turn 40. You spend fifty weeks getting knots in your rope and you think two weeks up here will untie them for you. None of you get it."  Curly pauses a minute and then he goes on, "You know what the secret to life is?"

"No, what?" says the man.  And then Curly says, "One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that, and everything else don't mean nothing."

"That's great," says his companion, "but what's the one thing?"

Curly looks at him for a minute, and says, "That's what you've got to figure out."

We love our Summers in Minnesota don't we?  Summers are our chance to untie the knots in our ropes.  We savor our Summer vacations - two weeks away - don't we?  Maybe some of you are here today after your own two weeks away.  Maybe you've had some time to get some of the knots untied in your own rope, and now you're ready, once again, to dive into the routine and rhythm of work by which we tend to schedule our life around.  Or maybe that time hasn't come yet, but you're getting closer and closer and you can't wait for the chance to focus on that one thing that matters the most in your life.  Or for you, Emily and Larry, those two things.

What do you suppose that one thing is?  What do you think is that thing or those things that mean the most to you in your life?  Curly referred to it in the movie.  But much more importantly, Jesus referred to it when He spoke to Martha in today's gospel lesson.  What do you suppose it is?

I like to think that the one thing needed is Time.

Not just more time in a day to get all our things done we need to get done, but Time for reflection; time to let go and relax; time for stopping to smell the roses; time for leaving the chores, like Mary did, to sit at the feet of Jesus.

Admittedly, we could all stand to do more of that. Certainly, with the schedules we keep, there is a danger of getting so caught up in the busyness of life that, like Martha, we miss the real meaning of life.

A man goes on vacation with his family. It's been a long year, and he is looking forward to this time away. He is ready to put away the calendar and to get beyond a telephone for a little while. But, without his noticing it, the to-do list for his vacation is as long as the to-do list back at the office. Read these novels, go to this museum, take this hike, eat at this restaurant, get these chores done at the cabin.  Until one night, early on in the two weeks away and soon enough for him to catch himself, his little four-year-old daughter says, "Daddy, will you read me my story tonight?" He stretches out on the bed next to her, and they read. And, because she's tired, he knows that before the story is even finished, he'll be able to get back to reading the latest Harry Potter book and begin planning the events of the day tomorrow.

But here is what happens instead. When the story is over, she says, "Daddy, will you just sit here until I fall asleep." And he does. And with the light out while she sings herself to sleep, he listens to her voice fade quietly away, and then to her breathing, and then to the curtain blowing quietly as a soft breeze ushers the cool night air into the room.  He has been reminded of the importance of Time.  Not the keeping of time, but the fullness of Time.  And for that, he is thankful.

We need more of that kind of time.  We need to experience the "fullness of time" more often.

"Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing."  Time.  Time to smell the roses. Time to just be as well as to do.  Time to just be as well as to do.

I say "as well as to do", because in the midst of our being, we cannot diminish the importance of Martha's busyness or activism. There is a place and time for doing, as there is for being.  There is a time to go and do. There is a time to listen and reflect. Knowing which and when is called spiritual discernment. 

What if, in the parable of the good Samaritan we heard last week, the Samaritan did nothing.  What if the good Samaritan chose to do nothing and keep walking?  The injured man would have died.  That was a time for activism, for "going and doing".  And at other times, what matters most, might be much more contemplative in nature - like doing what Mary did in this story.  I don't think it's an accident that these two stories are back to back in our Gospel.  One is a story calling for action.  Another is a story calling for reflection.  One is not better than the other. It's a question of what to do at any given moment, on any given day.  And unfortunately, Martha is painted poorly in this story because of her desire to be busy at the wrong time.  The problem was in the timing of her busyness.

Theologian Paul Tillich put it this way. "There are innumerable concerns in our lives and in human life generally," he says, "which demand attention, devotion, and passion. But they do not demand infinite attention, unconditional devotion, or ultimate passion. These concerns are important, often very important, for you and me and for the whole of humankind. But they are not ultimately important...."

Figuring out what is ultimately important and putting that first - that's what those city slickers wanted to know, and that's the challenge of the Gospel - figuring out what is ultimately important and putting that first.

Sometimes in our spiritual discernment, we feel the need to just drop everything and sit still and listen, like Mary.

At other times, in our discernment, the faithful thing to do is to get busy with something we believe to be very important, like Martha.

And if we were to ask Jesus which of these two things we need more - Mary's quiet, contemplative, reflectiveness, or Martha's busyness and ability to get things done.  How would he answer?  Well, most likely, like Curly, in his own tough and rugged, and gently and wise way, He'd probably say "Yes."  Meaning both are important.

Because again, the truth is that both doing and being have their time and place.

We were told last week to "Go, and do likewise."  But we're also told in Scripture to "Be still, and know that I am God."  Unfortunately for us, the hard part is discerning when to do and when to be.  And, in Curly's words, "That's what we've got to figure out."

Amen.