Many of us, myself included, seem compulsively busy
"doing things," all day long. Sometimes we never take the time
to think deeply about our lives, our relationships with others and our possible
future.
Therefore, 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 have a crew of people setting up coffee. Downstairs
and upstairs there are folks watching and instructing our children so that the
parents can have some moments of silence and peace. So, right in the
middle of our 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 action here in our physical world, 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 the feet of Jesus, 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 Education Team, hoping to encourage some personal spiritual growth
this year at CPC.
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