July 21 Sermon (Proper 11)

Let your gracious presence here, O Lord, in word and sacrament remind us that one thing only is necessary, and that in those to whom we offer hospitality, it is you whom we receive as a guest. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen. (from Peter J. Scagnelli)

Listen . . . with the ear of your heart.
The Rule of St. Benedict begins with the word “Listen.” Listening, with the ear of the heart, is the beginning of learning and wisdom, the beginning of openness to the voice of God and to each another. Listening is so key, so important that St. Benedict begins his rule with it, telling the monks to pay attention. Listening allows us to discover God in the very midst of us as we discover ourselves, the world and the good people around us.

Listen . . . with the ear of your heart.
For by listening we pay attention.

-The self-justifying Lawyer didn’t, so Jesus told him a parable of a distracted Priest & Levite who walked past a man in need, but the Samaritan who listened with his heart did, he showed mercy…

Today, Jesus and his disciples came to Martha & Mary’s home and they are welcomed. Now such hospitality in those days included a meal, water for light bathing (feet), conversation, even lodging. That’s a lot of people!

It is no wonder Martha is frantically running around and distracted by those important tasks. Mary heard Jesus talking and part of the role of host is to be part of the conversation. So she sat down along with the other disciples to take in the Word. Martha did not see what Mary was doing as helpful or right, women did not sit at the feet and listen like the other disciples. She missed what Mary was doing. Not loafing but paying attention & taking in the words of Jesus.

Listen . . . with the ear of your heart.
But before I go on, lets take a couple of minutes and I invite you at your tables to listen with your hearts, to use the reflections questions and consider Today’s Gospel story.
Martha’s duty of hospitality was not misplaced, only that she was “worried and distracted by many things.” Martha who was doing right by her acts of hospitality but so was Mary in sitting down and listening to Jesus. The problem is the worries and distractions that can overwhelm us as they did Martha. Mary saw through it all, to see the one important thing, Jesus, and to pay attention to him, which is also part of hospitality. Martha missed the importance of the guest in the busyness of it all. She got overwhelmed, she could not see the most important person right in front of her, Jesus.

Listen . . . with the ear of your heart.

These days it seems so easy to be distracted and worried when we fail to focus on the person right there before us. Tom Friedman, a columnist for the NY Times, wrote an article called the Taxi driver in which he talks about how in a one hour cab ride, he and the cab driver had done 6 things:

“the driver drove, talked on his cell phone, watched a video, where as Tom had ridden in the cab, worked on his laptop and listened to his ipod. The one thing we never did: talk to each other.”

We live in an age where we can be so distracted, so over scheduled and over programmed, with all of our gizmos and gadgets, that our inattention to each other makes us miss the importance of relationship, of our common humanity, of the one important thing right in front of us. We all are just like Martha. As one pastor has seen in his own community:

“Indeed, we are so distracted that …worship becomes a "scheduling problem," one that interferes with "the one day when we can sleep in and spend time with family." But while the rest and recreation we seek are utterly in keeping with a scriptural understanding of Sabbath, those of us who miss worship lose the opportunity to rest in God’s word, to recline at the Lord’s feasting table for the sake of spiritual refreshment.”

Each and every week, when we gather, our host is Jesus. Who in the midst of our busy lives asks us to sit down and hear his word – to taste and see that the Lord is good. To put aside all that distracts & worries us and listen to the Word and take in that good part that will not be taken away from us. For if we listen, with the ear of our heart, then we will know…

"Jesus invites all of us who are worried and distracted by many things to sit and rest in his presence, to hear his words of grace and truth, to know that we are loved and valued as children of God, to be renewed in faith and strengthened for service.” (Elisabeth Johnson)

Amen.