Community Church Sermons

Year C

July 21, 2013

Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

Good vs. Better

Luke 10:38-42

Rev. Rhonda A. Blevins

Associate Pastor

Ouch!

That little conversation between Jesus and Martha must have been more uncomfortable than a reporter standing outside Kate Middleton’s hospital.

I certainly would not want to be Martha in that moment. But let’s give ole’ Martha the benefit of the doubt for a moment. This story has given Martha a bad rap across the centuries, but think about it. First of all, this story took place before the advent of cell phones and text messages—it appears Jesus gave no advance warning to Martha that he and his friends would be stopping by for dinner. But when they arrive, Martha gets to work. No lean cuisine tonight. Jesus is here! It’s filet mignon tonight, baby!

So Martha gets busy making the preparations—playing the good hostess—trying to make sure that everyone is comfortable and well fed.

Now, let’s stop there for just a moment. Some people are naturally gifted at hospitality, right? I’d like to think I’m one of those people, but to be perfectly honest, few things stress me out more than hosting a party.

A couple of years ago I decided I’d throw a big graduation party for my husband. He had gone back to school at the age of 40, and he graduated Magna Cum Laude while raising our young son and working part-time. His graduation was an important occasion—it was kind of a big deal—so I really wanted to celebrate that. I wanted to celebrate him. I wanted him to feel special and loved at the end of his long, tenacious journey.

So together we decided we’d have about 30 good friends over and we’d do dessert and coffee and have some live music. Simple enough, right? Not so much. The closer the party date came the more stressed out I got. And the more stressed out I got, the more irritated I became with my husband. And the more irritated I became with my husband, the snippier my words—the quicker my accusations. It’s a wonder our marriage survived the party I threw him to show how much I loved him! We made it through the party and our friends seemed to have a good time—and we learned a valuable lesson. Some people are quite gifted at hospitality. Maybe I’m not one of them.

Back to our friend, Martha. She found herself hosting a party she hadn’t planned. And the more stressed out Martha got, the more irritated she became with her sister. And the more irritated she became with her sister, the snippier her words—the quicker her accusations. . .until finally she’d had enough:

“Gentleman, excuse me for just a moment. Jesus, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? I’m just sayin.”

So that’s Martha’s two cents. But let’s stop here and see if we can get into the mind of Martha’s sister, Mary. What in the world would prompt Mary to sit with the men and listen to Jesus when every cultural instinct would have her in the kitchen with Martha. Was she lazy? Inconsiderate? Was she so enamored with Jesus that duty and responsibility flew out the window the moment he walked in? Or perhaps, as the likely little sister of Martha, maybe she just couldn’t do anything right in Martha’s eyes—so her response was to not do anything at all. We don’t know, and Mary never speaks in this passage.

The only other person who speaks in this passage is Jesus. Now, Jesus is on the hot seat just as much as Mary. “Lord, do you not care?” Martha stands accusing. Apparently in Martha’s eyes, Jesus was a co-conspirator in the crime being committed right there in her living room. And to the accusation he offers a rebuttal: “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 better part? What did he mean by “the better part?”

· What Martha was doing, in and of itself, was GOOD.

· What Mary was doing, in that moment, was BETTER.

And there’s the rub. Most of us spend our lives doing good things. We lead good lives. We make good choices. We do good things.

But sometimes, these good things—these good choices consume us. We become worried and distracted. We become preoccupied. We get locked into our good thinking and we become ideologues. And before we know it. . .all of the good stuff in our lives drowns out the better that lies just beneath the surface.

The bestselling 2001 leadership book entitled Good to Great begins with these words: “Good is the enemy of great.” The author explains: “Good is the enemy of great. And that is one of the key reasons why we have so little that becomes great. We don’t have great schools, principally because we have good schools. We don’t have great government, principally because we have good government. Few people attain great lives, in large part because it is just so easy to settle for a good life.”

Ouch!

I’m beginning to think Martha and I have a lot in common.

What Martha did that day in Bethany was good—but there was a better way.

Before we go any further, let’s pause and think about what this story doesn’t say. It doesn’t say that sitting down and listening is ALWAYS the better way. But in that moment, it was. For those of us Type A personalities often take this passage the wrong way—we sometimes take this passage to mean that the active, get-er-done personality is less preferable than the still, contemplative life. That’s not what this passage is saying at all.

I do believe this passage calls out the detrimental nature of worry and preoccupation with things that have little eternal value. So what if the dinner isn’t “just so?” Who cares if the cheesecake is homemade or straight from the frozen section at Sam’s? I can tell you one thing—Jesus certainly doesn’t care. To Jesus, relationship trumps perfection any day.

Mary chose relationship. Mary chose the better part.

Why do we settle for a “good” life when a better life is just around the bend? Our choices from day-to-day typically aren’t between good and bad. I wouldn’t even say that our choices from day-to-day are even between right and wrong. For the most part, our choices are between good and better. And have you ever thought about how many choices you make every day? Some choices are so ingrained and habitual we don’t even recognize them as choices anymore. Shall I brush my teeth this morning or not? Will I drink coffee this morning or tea? Should I be nice or mean today? Today will I watch Fox News or MSNBC? Some choices are so ingrained and habitual we don’t even recognize them as choices anymore.

The truth is, we make hundreds—thousands of choices each day. Most of us don’t spend a lot of time reflecting on the choices we make on a daily basis. But this harsh teaching from Jesus to Martha is all about choices. Choosing what is good versus choosing what is better. What good choice in your life is waiting to become a better choice?

How do we get to the better life that awaits us all? The pathways are innumerable, but I want to highlight one pathway this morning. Several of you participated in the gratitude project I led last fall called “40 Days of Thanks.” It was my doctoral project—a simple project, really. The invitation was to write down three things you felt thankful for over a 40-day period. I tested participants for levels of well-being at the beginning and at the end of the project. I was so thrilled by your support and participation—nearly 200 of you participated at some level!

And you know what I discovered from this research? Like others who have performed similar studies in the past, I found that a significant majority of you increased in your sense of well-being across the 40 day span—simply from writing down three thankful thoughts per day. Positive emotions increased; negative emotions decreased. Your satisfaction with your own life grew. The funny thing was, you didn’t recognize it. In the focus group discussions following the project, very few of you indicated you felt any change in your sense of well-being. But that’s not what the data showed. The only thing most of you acknowledged was that you noticed your awareness of good things increasing. By doing this simple task—writing down three thankful thoughts per day—you made your good life even better.

This illustrates an important point. It doesn’t take drastic changes in our lives to move them along the continuum from good to better. Who would have thought a simple gratitude journal could enhance your life?

I wonder—what choice—what routine needs your serious reflection? For me right now—I need to reflect on how I spend my mornings. I’m actually a morning person, and I think I could use my mornings more productively. I’m going to think about that this week. Ask me next Sunday if I’ve made a different choice or two to grow in the continuum from good to better. Your challenge for this week is similar. Take stock of your routine or part of your routine. Are there small changes you can make so that Jesus can say of you, “He chose the better part/She chose the better part?”

Choices. They’re not just for kids or young adults. We make thousands of choices each and every day. Each thought, each movement, each word—they’re all choices.

Mary chose the better part. I really want to choose the better part too. How about you?