The Grace and Peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. 
I was struck this week with the first letter from Peter, who writes to us, “love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.” (1 Pe 4:7b-10 NIV).
Let’s join in a word of prayer: Loving Lord God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; we worship You. And we celebrate the gift of your Son our great teacher and Saviour who is here with us. Guide our time together this morning by your Holy Spirit that we may be inspired to show Christian hospitality as we follow your plan for our lives. Gracious heavenly Father, hear our prayer for the sake of our risen Lord, Amen.
We all know about Mary and Martha so well. Books have been written, stories recounted and movies made about these beautiful women and the challenge of having a Mary Heart in a Martha World.
This account from the Gospel of Luke falls in between two other important accounts. Last week, we encountered the Good Sameritan, which concentrates on loving our neighbour with our action.
Next week’s Gospel reading is all about worship through prayer, encountering the Lord’s prayer.
And now, between those two encounters, we join with Martha, Mary, and Jesus. Encountering the challenge of hospitality through both service and fellowship.
Charles Wesley wrote words that encourages us to combine the gifts of both Mary and Martha:
‘Faithful to my Lord’s commands
I still would choose the better part;
Serve with careful Martha’s hands
And loving Mary’s heart.’
We are encouraged at times to be spirit-led in prayerful dialogue with Jesus, and at other times to offer hospitality to one another with love in our hearts.
When confronted with the opportunity to demonstrate faith filled lives of devotion and hospitality, what will our response be?
Sometimes we will need to be active, like Martha.
Other times, we will only need to be present in the moment; like Mary, sharing some time with a friend.
There are aspects of Mary and Martha, that represent the challenge which continues in each of us. We search for the right thing to do as we allow the Holy Spirit to stretch us into the character of discipleship.
Luke investigated things thoroughly and writes to us that as Jesus and the disciples ‘went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.’
Martha displayed her devotion to Jesus with her servant’s heart when she invited Jesus to her home. He was unexpected but treasured. Jesus later would raise Lazarus from death, and even now was welcomed with reverence and joy. But Martha went one step further. She invited all of his disciples into her home as well.
As for us, in our time and place, when we hear the door chime unexpectedly, what is our reaction? When I think about this, I must admit that at times, my secret thoughts would reveal irritation at an interruption. “Is this another salesman, or a Jehovah Witness? Or might it be a welcome delivery or a treasured friend?” Such wide spectrum of feelings. And how often are we prepared to provide hospitality to even a single welcome guest?
For Martha, preparing a feast for the followers of Jesus must have been a big commitment. What about us?
Luke goes on to explain a bit more about this visit, Martha ‘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.”’
We are often called to take on significant commitments when we serve God. Sometimes with little notice. We often get called to volunteer for roles, to accept duties for the Congregation, and to join in making significant decisions. All the things that stretch us and force us to make difficult choices.
I suspect that at times we get so caught up in these commitments that we are tempted to lose sight of the great Saviour who draws us into the challenge. Sometimes, like Martha, the commitment becomes the focus, rather than the people we are showing God’s love to by our willingness to serve.
That’s what appears to have happened here to Martha. Even in her small kitchen, Jesus held the centre of attention. But she became so busy working around him preparing the feast, that she became distracted by her preparations.
When her attention was drawn back to Jesus, it appears she saw where she wanted to be. She wanted to be at the feet of Jesus, just like her sister Mary. But Martha couldn’t find a way to be there. She seems unable to combine her sense of duty with her sense of fellowship.
And so it is for us. So often, we want to be in the moment, enjoying our relationships expressed in our hospitality, but we get so caught up in the provision of that hospitality, that the situation makes us grumpy. And this brings conflict that interferes with our relationship.
Peter reminds us to ‘love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins’. By a swift prayer and a soft voice, we can overcome almost any conflict, and show genuine hospitality with gentleness and calm.
Both Martha and Mary were devoted to Jesus. When Martha complained about Mary, it was more than just seeking his attention. Seeking his approval. Seeking his empathy.
I suspect Martha was crying out for help. She was missing out on what she knew was really important. She was feeling short-changed and left behind. She was beginning to feel used and ignored.
How often do we feel used, ignored, short-changed and left behind, when we put our every effort into a commitment? Jesus calls us into joyful service. When we turn the joy of serving into burden, we risk the feelings that accompany the labour. When we turn our attention away from the presence of God in our commitments, we risk losing the joy of our service and our hospitality. When we stop seeing Jesus in those to whom we are showing hospitality, we risk losing sight of the presence of God.
When Mary sat at the feet of the great teacher and Lord, she made the choice to join with the other Disciples. Although Luke’s account isn’t clear about all the details, I am sure from another passage that there were the 12 Apostles, some of the other Disciples, and Lazarus as well, receiving Martha’s hospitality. Despite the possible disappointment of her sister, Mary demonstrated her willingness to take time out of her busy life to experience and absorb the presence of Jesus. To listen to his wisdom, to feel his presence, to acknowledge his importance over every other commitment in this life.
But, just like Martha, it appears that Mary was unable to discover a way to blend her desire to be with Jesus and her sense of duty to serve her guests.
Luke tells us of the reaction of Jesus to the complaint of Martha. ‘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.”’
Every day we make choices similar to those Mary and Martha faced. We may decide to set our time with Jesus aside for a while in an effort to get things done, as Martha did. Or we may decide to set aside some of the duties that haunt us, in order to spend precious time with Jesus, like Mary did. The challenge for each of us is to blend our life of faith and service to live fulfilled and happy lives.
A way to begin this blending is to take time to sit at Jesus’ feet each day, with the Bible in our hands. We listen to Jesus speak to us through reading Scripture – ‘this mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints’ and to each one of us.’
The message that the believers of Colossae might have lost sight of, if only for a time. That ‘God chose to make known how great … are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.’
As we continue to blend our life of faith and service, we acknowledge the importance of Jesus Christ in every act of service, and every relationship that we share in our Christian experience.
Jesus tells us ‘There is really only one thing worth being concerned about.’ And Paul writes, we ‘must continue to believe this truth and stand in it firmly.’ Never to ‘drift away from the assurance <we> receive when <we hear> the Good News.’
It is this assurance that draws us to respond to our Saviour with joyful hospitality for others, family friend and stranger, Christian and non-believer alike.
I declare with you that our Lord Jesus will give us wisdom as we face the challenge of balancing our lives between the needs of being a Martha at times, and a Mary at other times, while keeping our focus on Jesus at all times.
That each of us choose what is better, knowing that it will not be taken away from us. That we let it begin with each of us. That we invite the Holy Spirit to set our hearts and lives ablaze for Christ Jesus to the glory of God our Father.
Let us pray: Gracious Lord Jesus Christ, we long to be in your presence, hearing you speak to us in Scripture, in the intuition of the Holy Spirit, in the Sacraments. We also desire to serve you by caring for our family, friends and neighbours. Help us Lord to blend our devotion with our service to live fulfilled, happy lives. We pray this in your name, Lord Jesus. Amen.
The grace and peace of God keep our hearts and minds in the calm assurance of salvation in our living Lord, Christ Jesus. Amen.
Rev David Thompson.
Port Macquarie.