Pasadena Presbyterian Church
Sermon Text
Sunday, July 29, 2007

"Missing the Moment"

Preached by the Rev. Ruth Santana-Grace
Executive Presbyter, San Gabriel Presbytery

Scripture: Luke 10:38-42

  Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.  She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying.  But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself?  Tell her then to help me.”  But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing.  Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”  

Perhaps you recognize this story.  You block out three hours of your day without any distractions.  You plan to catch up on some volunteer work; reading, fundraising, pay the bills, write a report.  If you don’t get it done, you don’t know when you can fit it in.  You have your cup of coffee or tea beside you and are ready to go. AND THEN - The phone rings.  Your friend starts talking about how he’s feeling about his mother’s illness.  You can feel the tension in your body.  A part of you wants to say, Can I call you back – I’m in the middle of something?  Another part of you reluctantly wonders if you should pause and listen.  What do you do? Which will you choose?

This is precisely the kind of tension and conflict that we experience in this morning’s text.  Martha has had it!  She and Mary made impeccable preparations to make Jesus and the disciples feel welcomed.  Finally - Jesus is there and as Martha meticulously tries to keep it all together, she notices that her darling sister is nowhere to be found.  Well, not exactly nowhere.  She’s sitting at Jesus’ feet listening to him.  Martha is furious.  She’s thinking -  Don’t you think I would like to sit there?  He’s my friend too.  It must be nice to be you.  And then the famous whining moment – Hello Jesus – sorry to interrupt this little moment – but do you not care that Mary here has bailed and left me to do it all alone?  Didn’t you teach us to share one another’s burdens?

I don’t know about you – but I have been Martha more times than I care to admit.  I have been the consummate planner and organizer.  Hence, I have not always been comfortable with the dynamics of this text – especially given Jesus’ response – “Martha – you are worried and distracted by many things….but at this moment -  Mary has the better part.”  How am I to understand it?  As my son would say – “Is Jesus dissing me as well as Martha?”  What is his point?  Clearly the tension between the moment “to do” as embodied by Martha and the moment “to listen” as embodied by Mary – continues to be a point of tension for many of us, especially those who are overachievers, or are committed to the many activities in school, work, church and community, and more. 

The truth is that given our hyper-anxious, achievement-driven culture, it is far easier to believe that we are only accomplishing something when we are physically moving and going.  This cultural drive of busyness and distraction can easily consume our psyche.  Consider a popular advertisement for Dominos Pizza.  They guarantee delivery in 30 minutes.  Dominos’ Pizza became a leading company not because they sold pizza but because they sold delivery.  We are always looking for ways to accomplish what we do faster.  Then we wear our busyness, speed, multi-tasking, our meetings, our to-do lists - as a badge of courage and accomplishment.  Kierkegaard says “that the  press of busyness is like a charm.  Its power swells …”   Busyness and hurrying is a kind of aphrodisiac – a drug that keeps us moving at warp speeds.  But at what price?

What is at risk when we are primarily focused on the to-do list?  What was at risk for Martha?  What are we in danger of compromising?  One of my favorite songs by Harry Chapin says it well – The Cat’s in the Cradle.  “My son turned ten just the other day.  He said thanks for the ball – dad, come on let’s play.  Can you teach me to throw – I said not today; I’ve got a lot to do – he said that’s okay.  And as he walked away, his smile never dimmed.  He said, I’m gonna be like him yeah; you know, I am gonna be like him.” 

“I’ve got a lot to do” – words we say all to often.  Friends, we will always have a lot to do and contrary to the voice of the boy in this song, it is not okay.  It’s not okay because when we hind behind “I’ve got a lot to do,” we compromise the relationships we’re entrusted with.  In the name of “doing” careers, making money, ministry or achieving anything else; in the name of busyness, in the spirit of hurrying through the multiple tasks on our to-do lists, we endanger the greatest gifts we’ve been given - relationships with our neighbor, with ourselves, with one another and with God.   Philosopher Carl Jung said “Hurrying is not of the devil.  Hurrying is the devil.” 

But it doesn’t stop there – as the song also indicates.  Once the father’s life slowed down; he has achieved his career, got his money, he wants to spend time with his adult son.  Listen to the son’s reply – “I’d love to do dad if I could find the time.  You see my new job’s a hassle and the kids have the flu, but it’s sure nice talking with you.”  The son repeated the patterns of his father.  Patterns of busyness and hurrying are contagious and they are passed down from one generation to the next.

When what we are doing becomes more important than spending time with our God and those people whom God has entrusted us with - we need to pause and take a hard look at ourselves.  That’s what Jesus is reminding us about this.  Martha was so busy doing “chores” that she missed out on listening to the voice of God.  We all know that there are things to do – we can’t get away from that.  And Jesus never said that what Martha is doing is unimportant or bad.  We are instead reminded about a hierarchy of values - that listening to God; listening to others takes precedence over the temptation of busyness.  Because it is in the midst of these relationships, that we will get the spiritual nourishment we need to make sense out of what we are doing – so that we can “keep on keeping on.”  That’s why Mary has chosen the better part.  She recognized that listening to Jesus was a moment to not be missed.  She recognized that the better part at that moment was the relationship with her lord.  And as Jesus said, moments like that can never be taken away from us.   

Let me share a moment where I came dangerously close to choosing “the doing” over “the listening.”  It was early December. The receptionist said there was a non-member on the telephone who wanted to get married in 2 weeks.  I reluctantly agreed to take the call. The voice on the other side shared how they already scheduled a justice of the peace, but since she was pregnant, she and her fiancé thought it would be good to begin their life at a church and our church was beautiful.  I’m thinking – how naïve.  We can barely accommodate our members.  However something made me pause.  I said - stop by my house and let’s talk.  A part of me is saying “Ruth - what are you thinking?”  I have so much to do.  It’s Advent.  There are services to coordinate and  presents to buy and wrap. 

Well they stopped by – there was something precious about this couple.  Derek and Kristen were both 24 years old.  I was moved by them.  I learned they had not invited their families – I suggested they do so.  I asked them to do post-marital counseling and they agreed.  A cynical part of me was again thinking – no way would they follow through on this.  By now you can figure out that I did officiate at their wedding – and their family all showed up.  But honestly, I then wondered if I would ever see them again.  Guess what?  They faithfully did the pre-marital; two months later they were in my new members class and six months after that, I baptized their beautiful little girl.  I am deeply aware of how close I was to blowing them off in the name of procedures, to-do lists, in the name of advent.  I almost missed this moment in the name of ministry. I am deeply thankful that I paused long enough to listen to their story and to embrace God’s prompting on my heart.  And the truth is – I got all my advent stuff done anyway – ministry in the church and at home.  I was blessed to have chosen the better part.

So how is it that you and I learn to develop a balance that will allow us to listen for those moments that seem to interrupt our routines, but in reality, will bless our lives?  What can the Marthas in us do that might allow us to joyfully join Mary and bask in the presence of our God and our relationships with others.  It is clear that we need both dimensions in order to have spiritually and emotionally healthy lives. 

Jesus provides the primary model for our lives.  He understood the importance of stopping the hurrying and the busyness.  He always took the time to withdraw from the crowds.  He took the time to separate from the energy of the throngs or the rushing around him.  He took the time to be with his disciples and friends.  He spent time fasting in the desert.  He took the time to pray.  This ability to pause and slow down is a powerful discipline to develop.  When we intentionally slow down and reflect; we make space for God.  We are more able to evaluate the speed in our lives and make decisions that value our relationships as well as our tasks – decisions that will embrace the better parts of our lives.

Let me close with some fun exercises that John Ortberg listed in one of his leadership articles.  Ortberg refers to hurrying as a disordered hearts.  In response to busyness, he introduces the concept of “slowing.”  “Slowing” are concrete exercises that help us develop a counter busyness tendency:  Some are:  1. eat your food slowly; 2.  At the grocery store, get on the longest line and then let one person in front of you.  3. Reread a book.  4. Take an hour to be with God weekly.  And as you practice these deliberate slow downs, keep reminding yourself that you trust God to enable you to accomplish all you need to get done.” 

In other words, intentionally develop patterns that encourage you to pause and slow down, so that you can hear God’s voice saying “be still and know that I am God."  The cost of busyness and hurrying is indeed high. 

Listen for the closing words of the song again.  I’ve long since retired; my son’s moved away.  I called him up just the other day.  I said I’d like to see you if you don’t mind.  He said I’d love to dad if I could find the time. You see my new job’s a hassle and the kids have the flu – but it’s sure nice talking to you dad.  It’s been sure nice talking to you.  And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me, he’d grown up just like me.  My son was just like me.”

Friends, busyness kills the heart of our relationships.  Stop, pause and listen for the words of Jesus - embrace the better part.  It can never be taken away from you.