MMQB 7.27.22 The Presence of Doing- What are we Seeking? What are we willing to do?
Notes
Transcript
Introduction- ME to WE
Introduction- ME to WE
Good Morning, I love this passage where we actually get to talk about incredible women in the Gospel.
5 verses and the last verse is the most intriguing
We find out Mary had a choice? What were her other choices.
She chose the one necessary thing- what is that one essential thing?
Jesus leaves us hanging as he often does because his ministry was not about giving us more knowledge, more facts but about showing us the way of faith formation.
A daily walk, a daily grind of what it means to really live a full life, a fulfilled life. Less information and more formation. Less certainty more faith through transformation.
Not a one time transaction to escape hell and await a distant heaven. But a way of living with glimpses of heaven along the way.
Years ago, I was talking to an older man in my church, and I forgot what the topic was but it was something about failing to do something he should of done and his regret.
But what he said next, I will never forget, when my doing catches up with my knowing, I will be perfect.
Why don’t we do all the things we know? It seems we are consumed with ourselves, rather than seeking something beyond ourselves- miss opportunities to connect with one another and serve one another.
Most of us know the right thing, but we don’t do it.
Why? What are we missing?
There is something about our being (who we are) that seamlessly connects with our doing (what we do).
Notice I did not say our being (my being, who am I?) to our doing (my doing, what I do).
When I was growing up, the catch phrase was about a personal relationship with Christ. For most people and myself, that meant an individual relationship, God is for me but he excludes others that don’t fit my personal relationship with God.
However, God created everything and everyone. For us to truly be in a personal relationship with God, we must be in a seamless communal relationship with all humanity. There is no disconnect but a real connection.
At times roles seemed more important than the actual relationships. Rituals and traditions were followed strictly without considering how everything related.
We seem to put more emphasis on the gifts of the Spirit (what we are doing) than the fruits of the Spirit (who we really are). The gifts are always visible. Our fruits are often invisible.
In today’s readings, we learn about hospitality and not the importance of the roles we play but the relationships. The intimacy of belonging to one another. Everybody belongs, everything is connected.
Radical Hospitality never meets a stranger but welcomes a new neighbor. Today’s readings remind us to ask the question
What are we seeking? What are we willing to do?
How do we live out our daily life in the presence of doing.
Do we live a life connected to the divine and all humanity (divine reality) or disconnected from the parts of God and humanity we don’t like or understand?
The Christian life is founded in the Jewish way of Shalom. We all know it means peace but what kind of peace? A peace that passes all of our human understanding. It allows for FLOURISHING- The Hebrew word “Shalom,” peace is communally saturated through everyone by allowing others the space to be who they already are- to flourish in their lives. A communal peace.
GOD_————=====
(Chapter 10)
The New Revised Standard Version Jesus Visits Martha and Mary
Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.
Martha was playing the right traditional role. She was doing what culture expected. She was the hostess with the mostest. She welcomed Jesus, great role of hospitality. Greeting her guests.
Also Martha wasn’t taken frozen pizza out and heating it up. She was cooking from scratch. I mean real scratch. She didn’t have the luxury to go down to the local Whole Paycheck or Granola Joes and get all her food from the Paleo Diet or Mediterranean Diet Section. Hard Work to cook and clean up afterwards (the part I hate about cooking!)
Martha was willing to do, her role was to be the hostess and provide hospitality through serving.
She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying.
Mary was in the wrong, she was in the wrong room. Women mostly were confined to the kitchen and bedroom. They were mostly uneducated and left to physical tasks. They were doers.
And Mary for whatever reason, chose a different way.
She was not only at the feet of Jesus, she was not distracted, actively listening.
She was not there because of a ritual but she was seeking a relationship.
She was not only present she was fully present. She was not worried about helping Martha. She was not distracted. Note Acts 22:3 sitting at the feet of Jesus The only other time this verse is used is with Paul being a disciple of Jesus. Mary was going against all tradition and saying I want to be your disciple.
She was not playing her role but following a new way to really live!
Mary was getting our of her lane, not following her tradition but following another source.
Women don’t even get the right to vote to be full citizen until over 1900 years later. jesus could of said feminist theology doesn’t start until the 20th century go back into the kitchen no he let her stay.
Mary was giving Jesus her presence. She was all in! She was seeking something greater than herself and stepping out in faith over the certainty of her traditional role.
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.”
Noticing Martha is appealing to authority, calls Jesus Lord Rabbi, Master
She is only making this appeal because she believes in her own authority and own righteousness, and demands Jesus to tell that sister you gave me to help me! She is in the right and Mary is in the wrong.
You might think women have no authority, but in this case, Martha assumes she has some authority domestically over her sister Mary.
Martha would not ask Jesus the question in front of Mary and all the guests, breaking social protocol because she knew how Jesus would answer. Rebuking Mary!
Martha is acting out and telling Jesus how I pray to Jesus! I can easily relate to Martha. You tell that woman you gave me, my sister, to start behaving right.
That is how I pray, you tell that woman you gave me, my beloved wife Rocio, to start thinking right, that only happens only one or twice a day, I mean a year!
41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things;
Martha is appealing to authority, her own authority, Jesus replies with an appeal to our humanity.
What does Jesus say? Martha, Martha you are anxious and troubled about many things- Well, isn’t Jesus defining the human condition.
Our worrying can get out of balance, we live in fear over love. we live without hope, without faith. Martha was consumed with staying in her lane, doing what was expected of her role, her gender role. Mary needs to stay in her lane! Stay in her place.
Martha was living in and out of the right role but missing the relationship.
And Jesus is asking a better underlying question? Who made up the lanes? Who is drawing these boundaries?
Jesus was letting Martha know you are being human and I am going to teach and show you a better way to be fully human by seeking and seeing the divine in me and all humanity.
Notice Jesus is not condemning but convicting Martha, he is not condemning us either, because we can easily relate to Martha-
The New Revised Standard Version (Jesus Visits Martha and Mary)
there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”
Few things are necessary, one thing, what is the one thing, Mary has chosen the better way. What way is that?
There are so many things we think are necessary. We have to have this or we have to be this? Role playing- when we get stuck in living a life of compare and contrast with creation.
We don’t want to live in the moment- because we want to control it- be comfortable safe, secure,
but we are called to surrender, to give up control.
What is the one thing, the one need, what is present in front of you? We want to live in our past, or future. But throughout Scripture, we must engage in the present moment.
Mary had a choice, in this situation, she had to assume she would get the wrath of her sister and the embarrassment of her asking the Rabbi. She risked everything on getting our of her role and seeking a relationship beyond herself. Beyond her gender identification! I want to be a follower of Christ, a disciple. This was way off the page of her ancient times. However we know out of the 72 disciples, there were some women. Jesus is preaching and showing a new way- follow me through relationships!
She stepped out in faith. Just like Abraham. Kierkegaard, christian philosopher, faith, “is taking a risk in a direction.” taking an unnecessary risk or impulsive but you are going in a direction beyond yourself. Jesus could have been like a regular rabbi, go back in the kitchen. He could of agreed with Martha.
We live in our roles of certainty (visible gifts) not in a transforming faith (invisible fruits) of relational love.
Next question, did Martha feel like she had a choice.
Martha was so full of her self-righteousness, indignant to her sister, appearing to be doing nothing.
Martha thought she had only one choice, be the hostess with the mostess, fulfill her traditional role of physical labor, she didn’t have the time to sit around and listen.
She had many tasks and little time even if Mary was helping her.
Martha had only one way of seeing. I wonder if we think and see like Martha a lot of the time?
She does not question her role, she just tries to abide in it and she expects everyone else to do the same thing. But she was willing to do whatever, she just couldn’t see the right whatever in this moment.
The popular saying that will not die- It is what it is, but the life in seeking something beyond yourself
in the Divine, in Christ, in the Spirit, it is what it isn’t.
We are co-creators in Christ, real living goes beyond role playing. Divine Love is demanding, it requires something from us. Radical hospitality requires seeing the world as an opportunity to meet new neighbors.
Jesus was sharing with Martha a new way of seeing to convert Martha to a new way of doing.
Martha Martha, Mary is giving me my presence. This is the way to a fulfilled life, to give everyone your presence.
We are perpetually seeking and doing seamlessly. It is our way of life in the divine, in Christ, with one another.
What is necessary? What is optional? We have a choice to live in the present moment? Or do we just want to role play? live in what we want to be, or who we were, not living in the who we are?
Our life and our relationships are not static but are dynamic and always evolving.
We do not know the reaction of Martha, but I would like us to imagine the rest of the story.
Maybe she didn’t cook anything for Jesus and Mary or maybe she did with some extra spicy.
Or maybe Martha stormed off and Jesus played it off we are spiritually fasting tonight!
Or maybe Mary went back in the kitchen to prepare her and Jesus something.
Remember I said Jesus was not condemning but convicting (inspiring her to rethink, change, and have a conversion experience) Jesus is always redirecting us in our being.
This last scenario seems to fit the best:
My favorite Conclusion of Martha and Mary- Martha keeps cooking, cooks a fabulous meal, and right before she serves it Mary comes back in the kitchen to help her. And Jesus invites both of them to sit and share a meal together with the disciples. You both belong here with us. Thank you for cooking such a fabulous feast.
Maybe, just maybe Martha caught a glimpse of heaven that Mary experienced.
At the end of the meal, Mary goes back in and tells Martha-
Mary- Martha, Martha go sit at the feet of Jesus and I will do all the cleaning. I will clean up everything, you go and sit at the rabbi’s feet.
Because he told some incredible stories, he just wasn’t telling us what not to do, but how to really live,
In fact, he treated me like a human being, because I realized I am a human being,
He treated as one of the disciples like I belonged, he loved me for me, he was giving me the space to be who I already am and that is what radical hospitality really is.
Martha go and experience it for yourself.
That is a witness, that is evangelism in the 1st century. That is an example of a seamless being and doing.
Mary’s being led to a different kind of doing. Martha’s doing her traditional role and redirecting her conviction by Jesus- led her to a deeper relationship of being.
My patron Saint is Alphonsus Rodriguez. At 23, he ran a family textile business Who lost his wife, daughter, and mother within 3 years. Business was bad and he sold his business and moved in with his sister. He learned the discipline of prayer and meditation. He was willing to do but he learned the presence of just being.
Years later at 40, he lost his son and longed to be a Jesuit priest. His age and lack of education kept him from being admitted twice. He finally was accept as a lay Jesuit brother and was a doorkeeper for 45 years at a Jesuit college in Majorca.
His hospitality was a seamless Martha and Mary- Every time he went to the door, he went expecting to see and encounter the Risen Christ in a different way.
He Welcomed all humanity outside the door of this hotel as the incarnate Christ.
His welcoming presence and smile while carrying out his simple tasks of opening the door, greeting, and carrying guest’s bags led many seekers who were outside the door to develop lifelong relationships with him.
Jesuit priests were moved by this man’s holiness, humility, and prayfulness and he would influence many in their own walk. Including Saint Peter Claver, a Jesuit seminarian.
Although he had a rather mundane life (looking at it from the outside), the Jesuit Gerard Manley Hopkins made him the subject of a poem:
“Those years and years by of world without event,
That in Majorca Alfonso watched the door.”
What are we waiting for? Who are we watching out for? What are we really seeking?
Martha, Martha Mary Mary- Give me my presence, give everyone my presence.
The presence of doing. What are you seeking? What are you willing to do?