Sunday
07/17/22 - Sidney UMC
Sermon Title: “Martha, Martha, Martha!”
Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 52
New Testament Scripture: Colossians 1:15-28
Gospel Lesson: Luke 10:38-42
One of the television shows that I remember
watching as a kid was “The Brady Bunch”. Some of you might remember this show,
and maybe you can still watch re-run episodes on “Nick at Nite” and on other television
channels. I distinctly remember the theme song of the show with all the
characters of the show being displayed on the screen in little boxes, before
each episode began.
When the COVID-19 Pandemic hit, all of
the sudden many of us found ourselves on this online computer program called
ZOOM. Instead of driving to have all of our meetings and interactions, we were
now having meetings, and each person was in a little computer box. I remember
thinking one day during the pandemic, as I was in a ZOOM meeting, “the whole
world has turned into the Brady Bunch theme song”. This is because each person on
the screen was inside a little box.
We had so many of these meetings for so
long in fact, that when we started having some meetings in person, I discovered
that one person was about a foot taller than I thought they were. After all, all
I saw was the person’s head and shoulders.
In addition to the entrance music and
the boxes on “The Brady Bunch,” some of us might remember some of the different
characters from this show. When I saw the gospel lesson for this morning from
Luke 10:38-42 once again, I thought of “The Brady Bunch”. Why did I think of “The
Brady Bunch”? Well because, in our gospel lesson for this morning, once again,
we have the story of Mary and Martha. Mary sits at Jesus’ feet, and Martha
toils. Martha was not happy that she was doing all the work, and that Mary was
not helping. Perhaps Martha was also a little jealous of Mary in these moments.
This then triggered in my mind one of
the most famous “Brady Bunch” quotes. What quote might you ask? Well let me
give you background information. Here it is:
On November 19th, 1971, the Brady Bunch episode "Her Sister's Shadow" aired. In the episode, the character Jan complains about her sister Marcia's success (portrayed by Eve Plumb and Maureen McCormick, respectively). She says, "Well all I hear all day long at school is how great Marcia is at this or how wonderful Marcia did that, Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!" (https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/marcia-marcia-marcia).
The “Brady Bunch” character Jan is a little jealous of her
sister Marcia. Or as Jan said, “Marsha, Marsha, Marsha”. Since Martha is doing
all the work, while Mary sits at the feet of Jesus in our gospel lesson for
this morning, as a play on this famous “Brady Bunch” quote, my sermon is called,
“Martha, Martha, Martha”.
You see, what we have to try to remember, is that people in
the bible, like you and I, were real people. The people of the bible
experienced the range of emotions we do, and encountered many of the same
things we do. Some of the people of the bible had times of great joy and
triumph, and some had times or\f brokenness, famine, and sorrow. Yet God was
with them, as God is with us. In these ways though, we can relate to the people
in the bible. Maybe you are more of Martha, always toiling? Or maybe you are
Mary, who takes in the moment and does not toil or worry? Perhaps you are
little of both? Either way, maybe we can imagine Martha saying to Jesus, “Mary,
Mary, Mary! Everything is about Mary!”
In looking at our reading from Psalm 52 for this morning,
it says once again in Psalm 52:8-9:
8 But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever. 9 I will thank you forever, because of what you have done. In the presence of the faithful I will proclaim your name, for it is good (Ps. 52:8-9, NRSV).
Sometimes we, like the people in the Bible struggle. Psalm
52 was written about judging the deceitful, and at the end of Psalm 52 we are
told to love and trust God. Through the ups and downs, God is with us. Maybe we
can identify with a more idle and focused Mary, and or a toiling Martha?
All of this being said, everything that was being done in
this morning’s gospel of Luke reading was for Jesus. Mary was sitting at the
feet of Jesus and was learning, while Martha was toiling to serve Jesus some food
and drink. The whole focus however, was on Jesus.
Well, just who can we say that this Jesus was and is that
Mary and Martha were hyper focused on? In looking at our reading from Colossians
1:15-28 for this morning, it says of Jesus starting in Colossians 1:15 once
again:
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; 16 for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross (Col. 1:15-20, NRSV).
According to our reading from Colossians
1:15-28, once again, the Apostle Paul says that Jesus was God in the flesh on
earth. The Apostle Paul says that in and through Christ, who was fully God and
Fully human, all came into being. This Jesus is above all rulers, all thrones,
all dominions, and he and only he is the sovereign head of the church. This
Jesus, this messiah, even reconciled all of humanity to God through the blood
of his cross. Jesus, the savior of the world, the Lord over all creation, the king
of kings, came among us, offered us new hope, new life, love, mercy, grace, and
died for us all. The love and the grace of this Jesus is offered to us all, right
here, and right now. We can accept Jesus and this grace for ourselves, and
begin to walk with him into light, life, and love. In addition to this my friends,
we do not need to do this alone. We get to do this together as brothers and
sisters, in our shared community of faith. We walk, stumble, we fall, we rise, and
we run to glory together.
Continuing on in looking at our
reading from Colossians 1, we hear that we have been change by Christ, and that
we can be changed by Christ. We hear that we are to remain in Christ, and keep
living and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul tells us that he
rejoices in his earthly suffering, for Christ, and for the church. Paul then
closes this reading from Colossians 1, once again, saying in 1:26-28:
26 the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 It is he whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ (Col. 1:26-28, NRSV).
Friends,
sometimes our lives are good, sometimes they are so-so, and sometimes they
might be downright awful. In addition to himself though, do you know what gift
Jesus gave us all? This gift that Jesus gave us all is the church, each other.
We are called to be here for each other. We are called to be our brothers’ and sisters’
keeper. We have people in this church that are doing great. We have people in
this church that are doing so-so. We have people in this church that are
mourning, hurting, fighting cancer, have health problems, etc. Friends, we are
not alone, for he is with us, and we are with each other. Even though we walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, it is true that God is with us. Isn’t
also nice to know however, that we can walk through dark valleys with our
brothers and sisters. We are not alone. We are loved, and we are together.
I do not just need Jesus; I need Jesus’ people. We all have
different gifts and different graces, different talents, and different
perspectives. I do not just need Jesus, even though he is all we need, but I
need all of you. I need the community of faith, and I hope that you need all of
us too. We are a family and we walk to glory together. Whether we are Jan or
Marcia Brady, or Mary or Martha, we are all called to pursue Christ together.
With this said, let me briefly go over our gospel of Luke
10:38-42 lesson for this morning. Starting in Luke 10:38 it says once again:
38 Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. 40 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.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; 42 there is need of only one thing.l Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her” (Lk. 10:38-42, NRSV).
This morning similar to Jan Brady
talking about Marcia, Jesus says, “Martha, Martha”. We are all different, sometimes
we are laser focused on Jesus, and sometimes we are toiling and do not realize
that he is right in front of us. Sometimes as a pastor, we benefit from leaders
and members of our church telling us what they think we need. “Pastor Paul, you
could use a vacation, you look tired”. Now I could wait for God to reveal this
to me, but isn’t so nice to family of faith that builds us up, cares for us,
walks with us, and also holds us accountable?
On my own I can and do have in Christ,
but I am much better with all of you. By my nature, I am a “Martha, Martha,
Martha!” Toiling is not always a bad thing, but sometimes I need to take a week
off to realize that the Jesus I love, that I serve, and that I proclaim is
right in front of me! Sometimes I get so busy being a pastor, so busy doing the
work of the church that I forget to sit at the feet of the king of kings and
the Lord of Lords. For without him, I am nothing. Sometimes it is people like
Sarah Pressler who some days is my pastor, and on my best days I get to say
that I am her pastor.
We are all walking towards Christ, we
are all becoming more like Christ, but isn’t so much nicer to do it together. I
am proud to serve a church that loves all people, and that wants all people to
pursue Christ together. What the entry requirements for this church you might
ask? Well, they are really high. Here they are: you are breathing and you are
human. Hopefully you are clothed to! We all need Jesus, but when we look at our
world today don’t, we also need each other? Don’t we need good brothers and
sisters in Christ that will walk with us? I know that I do. If have not taken enough
time to hear God tell me to slow down, then maybe when Sarah Pressler looks at
me and says, “Martha, Martha, Martha!” then, maybe I will realize that Christ speaks
to us, and through us. Within the community of faith, we can hear from God, and
others can hear God and give us a good word.
So, whether we are Mary, or Martha, or
something in between, we all need Jesus, and we all need each other. Lest we
miss the call from God telling us “Martha, Martha, Martha” you are doing it again!
Amen.
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