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 can't deal with
it when it involves sitting still.
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 youngest 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, 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 programs which aid and support others. These efforts
remind us that the Spirit is alive and God's work is getting done.
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 hearing
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 life here on
earth and the interior life of the spirit. Some tension between acting
and being."
What I can overlook in the Mary and Martha story, what I can
get distracted by, just like Martha did, is my own impatience and defensiveness.
When I hear that story, I immediately want to defend being busy. 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 doing 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 all of us, who wins the
wrestling match? Only you know
the answer 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 be 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 winter at CPC.
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