I confess that sitting still, especially for long periods,
does not come naturally for me. Often, I find church meetings to be
painful. We spend all that time in discussion and sitting still. I
have nothing against the spiritual side of things. I just find it hard
dealing with it when sitting still is involved.
Which is why I really struggled with the story Jesus tells
of Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38 - 42). It is all about Jesus praising
someone for sitting still, a woman named Mary, who sat quietly in the divine,
spiritual presence of Jesus. Meanwhile, her sister Martha was running
around the house, getting food on the table for all the Disciples. The
pressure was on ---- this was Jesus they were entertaining! Martha
scrambled and made it happen; because, well, somebody has to!
In order for some people to sit around being still and
having deep thoughts, I am sure there is always another group of people running
around behind the scenes making it all possible, making sure the space is
ready, the food is cooking, the music is prepared, and the atmosphere is just
right for the other folks to have this deep spiritual connection in the moment.
Take our church, for example. We sit in our pews,
having time to pray, to listen to Scripture being read, and to connect with the
divine in our beautiful, holy Sanctuary. But in the Fellowship Room, or
in the auditorium, we've got a crew of people setting up coffee.
Downstairs and upstairs there are folks watching and instructing our children
so that the parents can take this moment of silence and peace. So, right
in the middle of a worshiping spiritual community, it takes a lot of busy
people behind the scenes to create a space for other folks to sit still.
When did sitting still get equated with spiritual
depth? Perhaps back in your earliest memories of sitting in an
uncomfortable church pew, getting bribed with Life Savers and gum, while your
mother said over and over again with urgency, "Just sit still!"
The truth is, many great religious heroes were people of
action, engaged in the world, doers of the Word and not just hearers. At
CPC, many of our members are regular participants in activities like
hands-on-mission projects and other continuing outside-the-church programs
which aid and support others.
So, on behalf of all the under-appreciated,
"hyperactive" people of the world, let's put away for good that old
simplistic interpretation of the Mary and Martha story that goes like this: Martha
was more interested in doing housework than listening to Jesus.
Of course! Martha was interested in what Jesus was
saying. After all, she had invited him to her house. This
was a big deal for her! Is it fair to say that Martha undoubtedly was
following Jesus' conversation, keeping track of it, as she went around doing
this thing and that. Martha was not shallow ---- she was a multi-tasker.
And Martha may have found Mary more than a little annoying, sitting there at
Jesus' feet, listening as if the world depended on her concentration on every
little thing he was saying.
Rev. Lillian Daniel says in her book "When
'Spiritual But Not Religious' Is Not Enough," "Every
spiritual tradition has some tension between action and meditation. Some
tension exists between doing God's will and listening for God's
will. There is some tension between daily life here on earth and the
interior life of the spirit. Some tension between acting and being."
What I sometimes forget in the Mary and Martha story, what I
get distracted by, just like Martha did, is my own impatience and
defensiveness. When I hear that story, I immediately want to defend being
engaged in the world. And when I do that, I imply that these two states
are polar opposites with no relationship to each other, when actually, that is
just not true.
"Acting" and "being" are not opposites,
but partners. Mary and Martha are not two different people, one getting
it right and one getting it wrong. Mary and Martha are two halves of the
human spirit, two parts that compliment each other.
Mary and Martha aren't fighting "out there".
They are fighting in here, inside each one of us.
When I ask someone how they are, I often get the answer,
"Busy, I am busy." But couldn't we have lives that are rich and
full, but also occasionally still and strong? Still
and strong. It's an option.
Mary, in her stillness, wasn't being passive. She was
being strong. By sitting at Jesus' feet, she was actually standing up to
the men in the room (including the Disciples) who thought that as a woman she
had no place there. In seeming to do nothing, she was actually doing
something really important. In sitting still to listen to Jesus, she was
actually saying, "I matter, I count, I am somebody." She was
still but she was strong.
If Mary and Martha live inside each of us, who wins the
wrestling match? Only you know the answer for yourself to that question.
Nobody can answer it for you. In order to even ask the question, we need
to slow down and be still, like we can in church or wherever we can be like
Mary and get quiet in a holy place. But, remember, the holy places
wouldn't be there if we didn't actively engage, like Martha, and do the hard
work. Do we have to choose? Can't we embrace both? Rich and
full. Still and strong.
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These thoughts are brought to you by CPC's Adult
Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage some personal spiritual growth
this year at CPC.
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