Luke 10:38-42
July 21, 2019
There is an old English proverb that says All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. This little saying expresses the idea that if we focus our lives solely on work, then we become dull and boring. There is something else that happens when your life is consumed by work, you become distracted by and worried about things of lesser importance. Your work becomes more important than things like family and friends. Your work becomes more important than things like building solid authentic relationships with people who enter your life. And the struggle is real – at least I know it is in my life and in the lives of so many people I know. This all work and no play way of life is especially difficult for the refugees and immigrants I’ve come to know. For them, putting work above one’s relationships, especially the relationships with family and friends, is the opposite of their understanding of living your best life. Interestingly, the inability to find balance between their work and their life in the United States, may actually be the hardest part of their transition. They say things like all we get to do now is work, work, work. And when they say that I’m quick to let them know that I hear and feel their pain.
As I said before, though, this inability to find balance between work and the rest of life isn’t limited to refugees and immigrants. When success is defined by one’s productivity, work becomes disproportionately important to their life. Especially now that these make us so accessible even when we are not actually at work. You see, work has this way of making us feel important. It makes us feel needed and we all want to feel important and needed.
Unless we are intentional about not letting it overtake us, our work will define us. It will be the thing we talk about the most. Just consider for a moment how quickly we ask someone we meet for the first time what they do for a living. It truly is a bit scary how important we have made our jobs. So important that I’ve even heard people say they wanted their life to have a bigger purpose, so they decided to get a job. And without even realizing it, that job becomes their work and that work starts to consume them. Sadly, right before their very eyes those relationships that should be so important begin to suffer, but when work is your focus, you simply can’t see the suffering.
Now, I do not want you to hear me say that you should never work because that too is disastrous. And I’ve encountered my fair share of people who choose that path and trust me, it is equally as destructive on relationships. We really are at our best when everyone steps up and does some of the work. Constantly choosing no work only leaves more work for the rest of us and when we have more work, we can become bitter and even worn out. Neither of which are helpful to relationships. We all seem to understand that no one person can do all the work, yet even that understanding doesn’t stop some from letting others try.
Like all things, there should be a rhythm to life, and that rhythm should include action and that rhythm should include contemplation. That rhythm should include work and rest. The older I get the more I am convinced that achieving that rhythm is how we will live our best life. If we are unable to find that balance, we will end up distracted and worried.
****************************
For me, at least, this fear of seeing someone you love letting their work lead to a distracted and worried life seems to be what Jesus is trying to teach Martha. I don’t know about you, but each time I read this story I feel for Martha and I think I feel for her because I know her so well. In fact, there are countless times in my own life that I am Martha – tirelessly working while others are enjoying life in the other room – getting a little more upset as each minute passes and they stay in that other room knowing full well how hard I am working. I know Martha because I have been Martha and I’m sure I’ll be Martha again.
Maybe this is why I don’t hear Jesus’ words to Martha as scolding or as a rebuke like so many others have throughout the years. I think hearing his words in that way is unwarranted and unkind and I do not believe Jesus was being that way toward her. I believe Jesus was teaching Martha about balance. You see, we already know that Jesus has commanded his followers to take action and serve our neighbors and we know this because that command just so happens to be the point of the story immediately before his time with Martha. That story about the Good Samaritan we discussed last week. So, it wouldn’t make sense, at least not to me, for Jesus to scold Martha for serving her neighbor by and through her hospitality.
Instead, the voice I hear when reading Jesus’ words to Martha is deeply caring. It is deeply loving because it is coming from such a place. Oh “Martha, Martha you are worried and distracted by many things.” Why don’t you take this time to sit and just be with me? You have done so much to prepare for my being with you. In fact, even after I arrived in your home, you have continued to do work. Before too much longer I’ll be gone from your home and I’m afraid you will have missed the whole experience. I don’t want you to miss the experience Martha. Please don’t let work cause you to miss this experience. I’m here with you now. And while others in your home have realized that and have chosen to experience it, you keep working and that work is making you upset with them, but don’t be upset just because they have chosen to experience our time together. Martha, once this time is gone, we can never get it back. Please don’t let it pass us by because I think later you will regret it. . Martha it is time to stop working so that you and I both can experience each other.
That is the voice I hear, and maybe that is just wishful thinking on my part, or maybe the voice I hear is quite accurate. While it may be easy to read this story and pit Martha against Mary, it isn’t fair to either one of them. Nor, do I believe, it is fair to Jesus and his teachings because it confuses his teachings and makes them compete instead of coexist. Jesus’ command to go and do likewise, was a call to action. It was a call to do the work of serving the stranger. Serving the foreigner, but immediately on the heels of that teaching comes another teaching. One that speaks to being with the stranger. One that speaks to being with the foreigner when they are in your presence. This latter teaching is about experiencing them when they are in your presence and letting them experience you too. This latter teaching fits so perfectly with that teaching about action, about serving, but only if you first understand balance. If you don’t understand balance, then you will surely miss all these two teachings have to offer and you might just miss experiencing being in the presence of God.
******************************
All work and no play does lead to a dull life. It also will make you distracted and worried. A life defined only by work messes up the rhythm of your best life. Yet so many of us keep choosing that path. Then there are others who don’t really know how to work, or have forgotten how to work, and choosing that path is equally destructive. I believe Jesus’ teachings are pretty clear that there is a time to take action. There is a time to do the work of serving your neighbor and there is a time to experience being in relationship with your neighbor. The rhythm of the life we were all created to live is a rhythm that incorporates both – not one or the other. Yes, there is a time to work and yes there is a time to rest and experience being in the presence of God. And just like Martha, when the time comes to rest and experience God I need to hear Jesus say, “Jason, Jason, you are worried and distracted about many things…” I need to hear him say that because I know if I don’t I will miss the experience and I can assure you, I don’t ever want to miss being in the presence of God.
[PRAYER]
Amen!
July 21, 2019
There is an old English proverb that says All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. This little saying expresses the idea that if we focus our lives solely on work, then we become dull and boring. There is something else that happens when your life is consumed by work, you become distracted by and worried about things of lesser importance. Your work becomes more important than things like family and friends. Your work becomes more important than things like building solid authentic relationships with people who enter your life. And the struggle is real – at least I know it is in my life and in the lives of so many people I know. This all work and no play way of life is especially difficult for the refugees and immigrants I’ve come to know. For them, putting work above one’s relationships, especially the relationships with family and friends, is the opposite of their understanding of living your best life. Interestingly, the inability to find balance between their work and their life in the United States, may actually be the hardest part of their transition. They say things like all we get to do now is work, work, work. And when they say that I’m quick to let them know that I hear and feel their pain.
As I said before, though, this inability to find balance between work and the rest of life isn’t limited to refugees and immigrants. When success is defined by one’s productivity, work becomes disproportionately important to their life. Especially now that these make us so accessible even when we are not actually at work. You see, work has this way of making us feel important. It makes us feel needed and we all want to feel important and needed.
Unless we are intentional about not letting it overtake us, our work will define us. It will be the thing we talk about the most. Just consider for a moment how quickly we ask someone we meet for the first time what they do for a living. It truly is a bit scary how important we have made our jobs. So important that I’ve even heard people say they wanted their life to have a bigger purpose, so they decided to get a job. And without even realizing it, that job becomes their work and that work starts to consume them. Sadly, right before their very eyes those relationships that should be so important begin to suffer, but when work is your focus, you simply can’t see the suffering.
Now, I do not want you to hear me say that you should never work because that too is disastrous. And I’ve encountered my fair share of people who choose that path and trust me, it is equally as destructive on relationships. We really are at our best when everyone steps up and does some of the work. Constantly choosing no work only leaves more work for the rest of us and when we have more work, we can become bitter and even worn out. Neither of which are helpful to relationships. We all seem to understand that no one person can do all the work, yet even that understanding doesn’t stop some from letting others try.
Like all things, there should be a rhythm to life, and that rhythm should include action and that rhythm should include contemplation. That rhythm should include work and rest. The older I get the more I am convinced that achieving that rhythm is how we will live our best life. If we are unable to find that balance, we will end up distracted and worried.
****************************
For me, at least, this fear of seeing someone you love letting their work lead to a distracted and worried life seems to be what Jesus is trying to teach Martha. I don’t know about you, but each time I read this story I feel for Martha and I think I feel for her because I know her so well. In fact, there are countless times in my own life that I am Martha – tirelessly working while others are enjoying life in the other room – getting a little more upset as each minute passes and they stay in that other room knowing full well how hard I am working. I know Martha because I have been Martha and I’m sure I’ll be Martha again.
Maybe this is why I don’t hear Jesus’ words to Martha as scolding or as a rebuke like so many others have throughout the years. I think hearing his words in that way is unwarranted and unkind and I do not believe Jesus was being that way toward her. I believe Jesus was teaching Martha about balance. You see, we already know that Jesus has commanded his followers to take action and serve our neighbors and we know this because that command just so happens to be the point of the story immediately before his time with Martha. That story about the Good Samaritan we discussed last week. So, it wouldn’t make sense, at least not to me, for Jesus to scold Martha for serving her neighbor by and through her hospitality.
Instead, the voice I hear when reading Jesus’ words to Martha is deeply caring. It is deeply loving because it is coming from such a place. Oh “Martha, Martha you are worried and distracted by many things.” Why don’t you take this time to sit and just be with me? You have done so much to prepare for my being with you. In fact, even after I arrived in your home, you have continued to do work. Before too much longer I’ll be gone from your home and I’m afraid you will have missed the whole experience. I don’t want you to miss the experience Martha. Please don’t let work cause you to miss this experience. I’m here with you now. And while others in your home have realized that and have chosen to experience it, you keep working and that work is making you upset with them, but don’t be upset just because they have chosen to experience our time together. Martha, once this time is gone, we can never get it back. Please don’t let it pass us by because I think later you will regret it. . Martha it is time to stop working so that you and I both can experience each other.
That is the voice I hear, and maybe that is just wishful thinking on my part, or maybe the voice I hear is quite accurate. While it may be easy to read this story and pit Martha against Mary, it isn’t fair to either one of them. Nor, do I believe, it is fair to Jesus and his teachings because it confuses his teachings and makes them compete instead of coexist. Jesus’ command to go and do likewise, was a call to action. It was a call to do the work of serving the stranger. Serving the foreigner, but immediately on the heels of that teaching comes another teaching. One that speaks to being with the stranger. One that speaks to being with the foreigner when they are in your presence. This latter teaching is about experiencing them when they are in your presence and letting them experience you too. This latter teaching fits so perfectly with that teaching about action, about serving, but only if you first understand balance. If you don’t understand balance, then you will surely miss all these two teachings have to offer and you might just miss experiencing being in the presence of God.
******************************
All work and no play does lead to a dull life. It also will make you distracted and worried. A life defined only by work messes up the rhythm of your best life. Yet so many of us keep choosing that path. Then there are others who don’t really know how to work, or have forgotten how to work, and choosing that path is equally destructive. I believe Jesus’ teachings are pretty clear that there is a time to take action. There is a time to do the work of serving your neighbor and there is a time to experience being in relationship with your neighbor. The rhythm of the life we were all created to live is a rhythm that incorporates both – not one or the other. Yes, there is a time to work and yes there is a time to rest and experience being in the presence of God. And just like Martha, when the time comes to rest and experience God I need to hear Jesus say, “Jason, Jason, you are worried and distracted about many things…” I need to hear him say that because I know if I don’t I will miss the experience and I can assure you, I don’t ever want to miss being in the presence of God.
[PRAYER]
Amen!
