Finding More Mary Moments

View from cliffs of Monhegan Island in Maine

Rev. Molly F. James, PhD

DFMS Noonday Prayer

Feast of Mary and Martha

July 29, 2020

May God’s Word be spoken. May God’s Word be heard. May that point us to the living Word who is Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

It is not possible for me to read this Gospel lesson and not think of my college roommate, Michelle. Truly you could just swap out Mary and Martha in this lesson for Michelle and Molly. I had always been the kid who had to do her homework before playing. I often worked ahead, starting a paper weeks before it was due. Michelle, on the other hand, could wake up early the morning a paper was due and crank out a brilliant piece of writing. I marveled at this ability. 

Multiple years of living together and decades of friendship have meant that both of us do a bit more of both. Michelle has become a successful lawyer and does a lot more advance work and planning. I have discovered that as a grown up it is not possible to complete your “to do” list first or do everything in advance. I have even written a sermon on the day I preached it! 

But the lessons that Michelle taught me are far more significant and powerful than just about when we do our work or how we manage our time. The important thing wasn’t about planning vs. procrastinating. It was about priorities. Michelle reminded me of that all important truth (which I have the tendency to forget when I get focused like Martha on all the tasks in front of me) that time and relationships are far more valuable and meaningful than achievements.  

The Holy Spirit has a way of showing up and providing the lessons when I need them, as long as I am paying attention, of course! I feel like I needed this Mary and Martha reminder this week especially. Perhaps it is that I am just back from vacation trying to hold on to that sense of peace and serenity I found sitting on the cliffs of Monhegan Island in Maine staring out at the vast expanse of ocean and sky. It is so easy to just dive right back into all the things, all the tasks. Particularly in the midst of a pandemic when tasks are so wonderfully useful for keeping the stress and anxiety of this time at a relative distance. If I just focus on my “to do” list - on sending more emails and writing more documents, making more phone calls, I can forget for a few minutes about all the headlines of rising infection rates and rising death tolls, I can stop thinking about all the what ifs for our work life, for our families, for our children - what are the next weeks and months going to look like? 

Now of course there is value in accomplishing tasks. There is a certain joy and creativity that comes with losing ourselves in a piece of writing or a project. And it is good to have things to keep our anxiety at bay. Of course, we all have jobs to do. We have important and meaningful work, which requires us to complete tasks. I am not dismissing our tasks or our work at all. 

I am just taking a cautionary tale from our Gospel (mostly because I need it today), and I hope it is a helpful reminder for you as well. There are dangers if we live on the Martha end of the spectrum, if we pour ourselves into work, something that is especially easy to do when we are all working from home. Our work is always right there. It requires a particular kind of self-discipline (and the blessing of compassionate and smart supervisors) to leave something “at the office” when “the office” is only a few feet from where we make dinner, play cards, read for fun, watch tv or do our morning exercise routine. It is all right there. We have to choose to be Mary. 

It takes work on our part. But my friends that “work” is so completely worth it. That is what we need to remember today. Jesus tells Mary that she has chosen “the better part.” Indeed. We need that part. We need those times where we sit, we pause, we reflect, we learn. We need to put aside the tasks and the busyness from time to time. We need time that feeds our souls and fills our hearts. 

It is becoming increasingly clear that we are going to be in this mode of living and working for the long haul, and so we need to sustain ourselves. We cannot rely on grit or willpower or the rewards of achievements. We need the kind of inner strength and fortitude that comes with having reoriented ourselves to God. 

That is the gift of today’s Gospel, that is the gift of having friends like Michelle in our lives. It is the gift of being reminded that being present to each other, that pausing to reflect, to learn, to listen is a balm to our soul in troubled times. 

Sitting at the feet of Jesus likely looks a little different to each of us, depending on our circumstances or our spiritual journeys. And also what time of day or day of the week it is. Whatever that might look like in your context today and this week, I hope you will carry Mary and Martha with you as you go about your life. I hope you will honor your Martha moments for the good and meaningful work you accomplish. I hope that you will also be sure there are plenty of Mary moments (at least one a day) where you find a way to sit at Jesus’ feet and receive the gift of his grace that is so abundantly offered to us. Amen.