St. Luke 10:38-42
“Everybody’s got different blessings, this is mine,”1 said the unassuming, rugged looking, bearded man from Florida. In his case his blessing would reap rewards that only Chicago could think up. In addition to appearing on almost every news and radio program he was asked to toss out the first pitch of Tuesday night’s game and Wrigley and throw the switch that turned on Buckingham Fountain on Wednesday.
In case you have forgotten the man with two first names is Frank Robb and his blessing is that he is able to catch alligators. His fame came from his ability to do, in one night, what others couldn’t do in six.
In the early morning hours of Tuesday morning Mr. Robb reeled in “Chance the Snapper,” whom he found hiding out in a corner of the Humboldt Park Lagoon.
Mr. Robb’s predecessor called himself “Alligator Bob” who forever and always will have to remind people that, in his case, Bob is spelled with one “o” not two. (You’ll think about that on your way home and you’ll laugh!) The only thing he succeeded in doing was turning the park into a party destination.
People came from all over to look. They brought food and had picnics. Strolling mariachi bands entertained Chance at table-side. Even mascots from some of the Chicago sports teams showed up with cheerleaders. The alligator must have wondered what he had gotten himself into.
Thanks to Mr. Robb’s blessing the 4-foot 18-pound Alligator will live out the remainder of his days in Florida at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park which will afford him and Mr. Robb a chance to visit.
It was a feel good stories that made me feel especially good when it became obvious that Mr. Robb was a person of faith. You had to listen carefully because he didn’t hit you over the head with a “I just knew Jesus wanted me to catch that alligator!” But rather simple things he said like, “I took a deep breath and said a prayer.” before taking the mound at Wrigley. It was faith in action. He used his blessing and gave glory to God.
How unlike the unmitigated social disaster we have before us in today’s gospel where a simple invitation turns into a battle between two sets of “blessings.”
Before we get too deep into the byplay between Martha and Mary let us first consider this story’s radical beginnings.
Martha, a woman, invited Jesus, a man, to dinner and Jesus accepts. This was not to be done! Women did not extend invitations to men and men did not accept them. It was not considered socially acceptable but Jesus and Martha do it anyway.
It looks like it is going to be a great evening as both sisters are primed for spending time with Jesus. The problem is they are not on the same page on how that time will be spent.
Martha sees it as serving Jesus an unforgettable meal. She is going to impress him with her hostess and culinary skills. The table is going to be perfectly set with the very best she had. Every course is going to be excellent and the timing will be impeccable.
I love dining like this.
The minute the appetizer is finished the staff is there will the salad. At almost the very instant the salad fork is placed on the plate the entree arrives cooked to perfection and presented beautifully. Chicago Tribune food critic Phil Vettle would give the place four stars if the dessert was creative and as good as all the rest.
Martha is making this happen while Mary is not.
Have you ever thought that maybe Mary is not because Mary could not? Maybe Mary is one of those people who couldn’t boil an egg. Maybe she couldn’t tell a cup from a carload. Maybe if Mary was charged with preparing the meal, they all would have been eating Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches off of paper plates.
I must confess that at this point the story breaks down for me. It seems that this dinner party really is perfectly organized. Martha is making dinner while Mary is conversing with Jesus.
I asked some of the guys at the bible study I attended this week how it worked for them in their house. Most exchanged roles with their partners - one popping in to converse while the other did what needed to be done in the kitchen and then changing off when needed. It seemed that nobody was expected to spend all of their time in the kitchen and nobody was expected to spend all their time entertaining.
That is where things break down here.
Mary is chatting while Martha is clamoring in the kitchen. She is cooking on all burners!
Had she been paying attention Mary might have heard the commotion. She might have heard the pots banging and the dishes clattering. She may have even heard her sister refer to the guest’s family as she shouted “Jesus, Mary and Joseph.”
It seems to me that the problem comes when Mary fails to act. Her blessing is listening to Jesus. She is hanging on his every word and has his undivided attention. All she wants to do is listen to Jesus. What could be better than that?
Fred Craddock warns us not to make a cartoon out of this story. And he is right. In fact, I’ve come pretty close to doing that already, haven’t I?
“If we’re not careful, we’ll get a picture of Martha who always sits at the dinner table sideways, ready to leap into action every time somebody needs something from the stove. And Mary will be so lazy she doesn’t even stoop over to tie her shoes.”2 Says Dr. Craddock: “If we censure Martha too harshly, she may abandon serving altogether, and if we commend Mary too harshly, she may abandon serving altogether, and if we commend Mary too profusely, she may sit there forever.”3
If we narrow this exchange down too much and make it only a binary choice of either serving or listening to Jesus we are offering a false choice.
The balanced life contains both.
Martha’s part is not the bad part she is just busy doing things to show Jesus a warm welcome. And Mary welcomes Jesus by listening to him.
My guess is that few of us are either Mary or Martha. Most of us are a combination of the two having some Martha traits and Mary traits within us and Jesus blesses both because we need both.
We all know people who are so caught up in their work or their play that they don’t have time to relax and enjoy their families or their friends. Spending time with them can make a person nervous because they are always checking their watches or looking around to see if something is happening elsewhere. They are unable to settle down and center down.
Taking time for any kind of centering prayer is unheard of and the Quaker Idea of an “Inner Light” - the belief God speaks to everyone, but in order to hear his voice, one must learn to be still and actively listen for it - is rebelled against.
I had two such persons in my last congregation.
One who simply could not keep still during worship but was always walking around in the back balcony choir loft or always engaged in speaking with a neighbor.
Another would complain about what was termed the excessively long periods of silence before the congregation prayed. “Can’t we just get on with things?” was the complaint.
Then there were people who just wanted to come to church and listen to Jesus. They didn’t want to serve on a committee. They didn’t want to do any work they just saw church as a place for worship where they would faithfully come to hear the word of God.
Many of those folks I knew had stressful jobs or lives and them just needed a quiet place to go and commune with their creator.
The secret of a balanced life is to realize that everybody has different blessings and then to find out what yours is. It is to, with God’s help, find the good portion in your life and even if that “good portion” is catching alligators to label it a blessing.
We gather here in worship. We listen for God’s Word. We sing. We pray. We make our offerings. We show compassion to each other. We do our very best to inhale God’s grace as deeply as we can so we can exhale it once we leave this place.4
Following Jesus can be a demanding task which is why we need to take time to just be with him. Sometimes following Jesus, serving Jesus, takes a great deal of hard work.
And sometimes following Jesus means simply being with him and hanging on his every word.
I don’t think that Jesus accepted the invitation to Martha’s house just to talk with Mary. I think that after he calmed Martha’s anxiety about making everything perfect and assured her that it was already perfect, he took her by the hand and invited her to sit down too. I think that, after the dustup settled they all sat together and had a fine meal with good conversation because Jesus loved and blessed them both.
And so too by his desire to spend time with us at work or at prayer, in this place or in our kitchens, whenever we use our “different blessings” for the glory of God Jesus blesses us.
Go! Be a blessing to someone and by so doing you’ll find yourself being blessed by God.
Thanks for listening.
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1. Alehandro Serado and Javonte Anderson, "It's a Wrap for 'Snapper'," The Chicago Tribune, July 17, 2019, Morning ed., sec. 1., p. 11.
2. Randy L. Hyde, "Sermon, Luke 10:38-42, It's All in the Timing," Sermon Writer, July 08, 2019, , accessed July 20, 2019, https://www.sermonwriter.com/sermons/new-testament-luke-1038-42-its-all-in-the-timing-hyde/.
3. Fred Craddock, Interpretation: Luke, (Louisville, Kentucky: John Knox Press, 1990), pp. 151-152.
4. Shannon Kershner, "What Is the Church Doing" (sermon, Morning Worship, The Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago, Illinois, July 17, 2016), accessed July 20, 2019, http://www.fourthchurch.org/sermons/2016/071716.html.
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