Luke 10:38-42 It’s All In the Timing (Hyde) – Bible study

Sermon Luke 10:38-42 It’s All In the Timing

By Dr. Randy L. Hyde

If you had your druthers, who would you rather live with – Mary or Martha?

Consider the options…If you lived with Martha, the house would always be spotless and therewould be three square meals on your table every day. Sounds pretty good,doesn’t it?

Well, maybe you better think again. You’d have to put up with her constantfretting about this or that. And don’t you dare leave your towels andunderwear on the floor! You would get a chewing-out that would make yourears burn! “Get your feet off the furniture!” “Don’t even think aboutleaving your shoes in the den. You know where they belong.”

No sirree, Martha runs a tight ship, and in Martha’s house you better toethe line. She isn’t going to put up with any of your foolishness. Not for aminute.

Then, there’s Mary. If you lived with Mary, you would eat off paperplates… if you got that much. You know what a PB&J is? That’s short forpeanut butter and jelly. With Mary, that’s a gourmet meal. And before yousit down, be sure to wipe the dust off the chair because it’s at least aninch thick. Pray you’ve got enough money for Merry Maids because this Maryisn’t going to lift a finger to keep things tidy or make sure you’rewell-fed. She’s got things to do and they don’t include a lot of doing. Knowwhat I mean?

So let’s ask again. If you had your druthers, who would you rather livewith – Mary or Martha?

It appears, from Luke’s story we read a few moments ago, that Jesus hascast his vote. He’ll go with Mary. She “has chosen the better part,” Jesussays. Or, as Eugene Peterson puts it in his paraphrase The Message, using anobvious pun, “Mary has chosen… the main course.” Jesus isn’t too big oneating lavish meals anyway. If you set a big dinner in front of him, he’dprobably start looking around for a hungry person to give it to. And forsomeone who admittedly doesn’t even have a place to lay his head, a littledust isn’t going to matter, now is it? No, it seems that Jesus takes Mary’sside of this argument.

Have you ever wondered why? John, in his gospel, gives us a clue. There,you’ll find another story about the sisters in the eleventh chapter. In John‘s narrative, their brother Lazarus, who isn’t mentioned in Luke, isintroduced to us.

Lazarus has died, and Jesus has gotten there too late to do anything aboutit. Or so they think. Martha is the first one to run out and greet Jesuswhen he does finally show up. And in typical fashion, she chews him outpretty good. “If you’d been here my brother wouldn’t have died.” She knowsthey got word to Jesus of their brother’s illness in plenty of time for himto come and heal him. She’s upset over a lot of things, which happenssometimes when a person is in grief. Now, given the opportunity, she takesit out on her friend. Martha is not one to hold back on her opinions orfeelings, is she?

What does Jesus do? He responds gently, but also forcefully. He gives her atheology lesson about life and death and resurrection. Martha’s response,interestingly enough, shows that she hasn’t spent all her time in thekitchen.

“Your brother will rise again,” Jesus tells her.

“I know,” Martha says. “I know that he will rise again in the resurrectionon the last day.”Hmmm. That’s actually pretty savvy for a woman in the first century. Womenknew their place, and it wasn’t generally where the rabbis gathered toteach. Martha has picked up some good “Bible learnin’” somewhere. Still,Jesus continues to teach her, and in so doing reminds her of who he is. “Iam the resurrection and the life,” Martha. “Those who believe in me, eventhough they die, yet shall they live, and whoever lives and believes in meshall never die.”

The words are hardly out of his mouth when Mary comes running up. And youknow what she does? She gets a little mouthy with Jesus too. Runs in thefamily, doesn’t it? In fact, Mary says the same thing to Jesus that hersister had said just a few moments before. “If you’d been here my brotherwouldn’t have died.” If we didn’t know any better, we’d think they hadrehearsed their lines. Actually, I think they probably had said it to eachother over and over while waiting for Jesus to show up. “If Jesus were hereour brother wouldn’t have died.” “If Jesus were here…”

So Jesus goes over it again with Mary. “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, yet shall they live, andwhoever lives and believes in me shall never die.” No, wait a minute. Jesusdoesn’t say this with Mary, does he? What does he do? He weeps. I can justsee him take Mary’s hand, and as they make their way silently to the tombwhere Lazarus has been buried, without a word passing between them, thetears stream down his face.

Maybe with Martha, Jesus isn’t too sure how much she knows about life anddeath and resurrection. After all, she spends so much time in the kitchen,it’s hard to know how much Martha has learned over the years about suchthings. But Mary… well, Jesus knows she knows. You can’t get anything byMary.

I had a young friend like that in a previous church. We had two morningworship services. She would sing in the choir for the 8:30 service, go toSunday School, help with extended care for the children at 11:00, and whenher duties were completed she’d slip back into the balcony and listen to mepreach the same sermon yet again. In a phone conversation years later – Imean years later – she reeled off to me sermon titles and things I’d said inthe pulpit that I didn’t even remember. Couldn’t get a thing by her.

That’s Mary. Jesus doesn’t have to tell her he is the resurrection and thelife. She knows.

Or, could it be that Jesus has a special fondness for Mary that he doesn’thave for Martha? Is it hard for you to believe that Jesus simply likes Marybetter, that he has feelings for her he doesn’t have for her sister?

Do you want to know where I got this idea? From the imminent biblicist andtheologian in our family – my wife Janet. That’s what she thinks! Shebelieves Jesus had a love for Mary that is greater than his affection forMartha. So if you disagree, take it up with Janet, not me!

If that is true, it’s pretty odd. After all, Jesus makes it clear that heprefers people who back up their talk with action… who walk the walk anddon’t just talk the talk.

“Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim thekingdom of God.”

“I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to my family.” “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdomof God.”

Yet, Mary has chosen “the better part,” the “main course,” which is to sitat Jesus’ feet and listen to what he has to say.

How do you feel about that? My guess is that you have a little bit ofsympathy for Martha and think she gets something of a raw deal in thisstory. That’s the way Giuseppe Belli looked at it. In his 19th-centurysonnet “Martha and Magdalene,” he has Martha coming back at Jesus. Noticehow there’s always somebody who wants to rewrite scripture? When Jesus saysMary’s choice is the more important of the two, Martha responds, “So saysyou, but I know better. Listen, if I sat around on my salvation the way shedoes, who’d keep this house together?”1

By golly, that’s a good question. If everybody acted like Mary, nothingwould get done! And we thought Jesus liked to get things done. After all, hehas just confronted the lawyer with the parable of the Good Samaritan. Thelawyer is skilled in Scripture, but has trouble hearing – really hearing –the word of God. So Jesus offers him an example – the Samaritan. Now, wefind Martha, who is so busy serving she does not hear the word. So, Jesusoffers her an example – her lazy sister! “To the man, Jesus said to go anddo; to the woman, Jesus said to sit down, listen, and learn.”2 Strange, isn’t it?

Fred Craddock warns us not to make a cartoon out of this story. And he isright. In fact, I’ve come pretty close to doing that already, haven’t I? Ifwe’re not careful, we’ll get a picture of Martha who always sits at thedinner table sideways, ready to leap into action every time somebody needssomething from the stove.3 And Mary will be so lazy she doesn’t even stoopover to tie her shoes. “If we censure Martha too harshly, she may abandonserving altogether, and if we commend Mary too profusely, she may sit thereforever.”4

It all comes down to timing. There is a time to get up and go and do. Thatis why, every Sunday morning when worship is about to be completed, Iencourage you to take what we have talked about and put it into action. Itdoesn’t do any good for us to learn what God’s word says to us if we’regoing to sit around on it all week and not do anything about it. But, thereis also the time to sit and listen and reflect on what God is trying to sayto us. After all, it also doesn’t do any good for us to go off half-cockedwithout knowing what to do. Being a good disciple of Jesus is knowing whatto do and when to do it. I t’s all in the timing, you see. It’s all in thetiming.

Let’s put it this way… Jesus is paying a visit. He’s coming to yourhouse. We’re not talking about Bethany, a small village a couple of milesoutside of Jerusalem, and it’s not the first century. So this is not a storymany miles and many moons away. Imagine it, if you will. Jesus is paying avisit to your house today. In fact, he’s coming over right after church. Howdo you prepare for Jesus?

Near the end of Matthew’s gospel, Jesus talks about those who pass the testof hospitality. He says, “I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirstyand you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me, in prison andyou visited me.”If I didn’t know any better, I’d say it sounds to me like he’s looking fora few good Marthas. But not Martha Stewart! Jesus will take leftovers. Justwhip up something that takes a couple of minutes. When he comes, he doesn’twant you to spend all your time in the kitchen laboring over a stove. Hewants you to spend time in the living room with him. He would prefer thatyou behave like Mary.

And by the way, he’ll probably bring a few of his friends with him. Infact, that might have been the cause of Martha’s consternation. It’s notthat she’s always a fuss-budget, but if Jesus is accompanied by all hisdisciples, they have a houseful. That’s why Martha blows a gasket. She’s gotall these people in her house and no one is lifting a finger to help,especially her sister. It’s her house too, you know. You’d have reacted thesame way. Come on, admit it. You would have. There’s a bit of Martha in allof us.

And these strangers in your house, who have come because Jesus is there…they won’t be like you, and not like anyone you’ve ever invited before. Theywon’t smell very good or be well-dressed. Straight off the street, that’swhat they are. Some might even grovel at Jesus’ feet and stain your carpetwith dubious-smelling foreign substances.5

How are you going to react to all this? That’s what Luke is asking withthis story. How do you take Jesus and his traveling troupe of unsavorycharacters?

Or, perhaps Luke is asking, how is Jesus going to take you? Does he care ifthe floors are spotless or the table is laden with goodies? Evidently not. He would much prefer that you take the time to sit at his feet… andlisten. When Jesus comes calling, he simply wants you to listen. There willbe plenty of time later to go and do. After all, it’s all in the timing.

Lord, help us with our timing… to know when to do the right thing as faras you and your kingdom is concerned. Find us faithful in serving you,whether it’s by listening or by doing. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Notes

1Quoted from Divine Inspiration: The Life of Jesus in World Poetry byStephanie Frey in “Living with Martha,” The Christian Century, July 13,2004, p. 16.

2Fred Craddock, Interpretation: Luke, (Louisville, Kentucky: John KnoxPress, 1990), pp. 151-152

3Frey, Ibid.

4Craddock, Ibid., p. 152

5Joy Jordan-Lake, “Jesus Makes Me Nervous,” quoted in Pulpit Resource,Vol. 32, No. 3: Year C, July-September, 2004, p. 15.

Copyright 2004 Randy L. Hyde. Used by permission.