Jesus says to Martha, in our gospel lesson, "You are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. " And we might respond, "Oh, Lord, if only that could be true!"

     For most of us, life is lived in a tension between the two--between the responsibilities and yes, the worries and distractions of Martha, and the yearning, the deep desire to sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to his teaching. I've had many people tell me, "I'm really a Martha--I'm the one who's getting things ready, organizing and preparing and planning, doing the work that has to get done." The fact is, I've never really had anyone come up and say to me, "Pastor, I'm more Mary--I spend my time sitting at the feet of Jesus." I suppose you might find a monk, or a nun--some cloistered individual who truly has chosen the better part, and is able to commit to listening to Jesus at all times. A lot of pastors enter the ministry thinking that's what ordained ministry is really all about--sitting at the feet of Jesus, sitting in the church day after day in prayer, reading the Bible. No wonder so many new pastors are leaving the ministry after one or two years! If you come into the ministry thinking you're going to be Mary, you'll soon be frustrated to find out, even being a pastor, is more about being Martha. There's a so-called red-neck comedian who goes by the name, "Larry, the Cable Guy", who's motto, I guess as a cable guy, is simply, "Git-r-done"! That's what being a pastor is all about--sometimes, there's not much time for reflection, for meditation, for sitting in the study and pondering great thoughts--most often, you just have to "git-r-done". And my experience is, that's the way most of us live. Oh, most of us yearn, with all our being, to have time to sit at the feet of Jesus, to read, and study, and listen to the Word of God. Most of us have this deep desire to commit ourselves to the one needful thing--what Jesus describes as "the better part", of life, and existence. And yet, there's the responsibilities! There are things to be done! Whether it's the increasing pile of tasks at work, or the need to be always looking for a job, or the busy schedule of keeping up with the kids, or the ever-present housework that needs attending to--whether it's yardwork, or schoolwork, or paperwork--few of us feel we have time, to sit at the feet of Jesus; few of us feel we have time to do a daily devotion, or read a verse of scripture or two, or participate in a weekly study--heck, few of us feel we have time to come to church every Sunday! Many folks feel lucky if they can squeeze it in once or twice a month! So, we continually live in this tension between being Martha, but wanting to be Mary. And the catch is, that, in and of itself, can become just another stress-inducing responsibility. We hear this gospel text read in church, and I'm sure, many of us leave church feeling guilty--feeling like we better add this to our list of responsibilities for the week--"to do: Must find time to be more like Mary: schedule time to sit at the feet of Jesus." And that's natural. That's how we work, in life. We've become so good at being Martha, we accept that as our natural calling--everything we do, we do with that "git-r-done" mindset. Need more time with the Lord? Better git-r-done...schedule that in, got a few minutes on Wednesday for the Lord, which is good, cause I've gotta work on Sunday morning. But--that's not what the Lord is saying, in our gospel lesson. He's not asking to be one of the appointments on our planner; he doesn't desire to be one of the tasks on our "to-do" list. He's really not suggesting that we try really hard to squeeze him in this week. Rather, Jesus is, in the life and experience of Martha and Mary, showing us a mirror image of ourselves, and our lives--challenging us to look honestly at ourselves, considering where we see ourselves, and where we might like to see ourselves. Certainly, in this experience with Martha and Mary, Jesus isn't suggesting that what Martha does, is unimportant or un-necessary. To the contrary, Martha is hosting the Lord of Life, the author of salvation! None other than Jesus, the Christ, and his apostles are at her door, and in her house--the rules of ancient middle-eastern hospitality dictate that certain customs must be followed, to show her guests respect and honor and welcome. Martha's responsibilities, like ours, are not frivolous, or meaningless--Jesus is not suggesting that we throw up our hands and become worthless, lazy good-for-nothings. What Jesus is asking, is that we--at times--take stock of our lives, and our activities--and consider whether we are giving ourselves, to that which we consider most important--most valuable--most necessary, in life. Jesus is asking that we look in the mirror, that is the experience of Martha and Mary, and ask ourselves, whether we are being distracted and worried over many things in life--whether we are being drawn away from, the one thing which is needful--the better part of life, which is our relationship with Jesus Christ--whom St. Paul proclaims as the image of the invisible God, in the flesh--Him in whom all things in heaven and earth were created--He himself in whom all things in the universe, and in the world, and in our lives, are held together. If we feel, sometimes, like our lives are coming apart at the seams, it may very well be because we are focusing on the many things, and not the one thing that is needful. St. Paul tells us that Jesus is to be the head of the body, head of the Church; He is to be the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything! This doesn't mean that we can't have other things, other responsibilities, other commitments in life--it does mean Christ Jesus is to have first place, in our lives. That in all things, we are first, to sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to his teaching--and then, we may go on with our Martha-ly tasks. And Jesus doesn't give us this as a burden--he doesn't give us this as yet another responsibility to cram into our schedule...Jesus gives this to us --to set us free! Jesus aimed to free Martha from her worries and distractions with many things--so that she might be free to put Him at the center of her life. So that she might be free to give Him first place in everything--that everything else in her life might flow from that center.

     And I hear you asking, pleading, "But how does one do that? How does one re-orient life, so that Jesus is at the center--so that Jesus has first place in our lives--so that our lives are focused, truly, on the one needful thing?"

     As hard as it is to hear this--I believe that when we loose a beloved son, or friend, or family member to an untimely death--God gives us a gift...the reminder of our own mortality...a reminder of the shortness of life. I wouldn't presume to explain, or to understand, how God is at work--in a situation like the passing of a loved one who dies too soon--a young man like Lane Hollis, for example, who passed from this life just a few weeks ago. Does God cause it, and determine the exact time and situation--or does God allow it, or has God just created our world to work in such a way that these things happen? Thank God that our ways are not his ways--that his ways are greater than we could ever think or imagine or understand. But this, I do know. God always works for good--God always is working to bring good out of bad, to bring positive, out of negative, to bring life, from death. And when there is an sudden, unexpected, shocking death--first, we are able to just survive, to get through it--but as time passes, God lifts that experience up to us, again, as a mirror, to encourage us to look at our own lives. God encourages us to ask, "If I were to die tomorrow, what changes would I make today? Is my life filled with worries and distractions, or is it filled with joy and contentment and peace because my life is focused on the one, needful thing? Do my responsibilities and tasks allow me to sit at the feet of Jesus, listening to Him, or do they keep me from Him, keeping me focused on worldly thoughts and activities? The good news is, any one of us may lie down tonight, and not awake in the morning. It is good news, that our days are numbered, and none of us lives forever in this life. But that means I may die tonight or tomorrow. And it is that reality, that is a gift from God, that can move me, to make a positive change, today. It is that reality, that is a gift from God, that can transform my life today--giving me the power, and the courage, and the strength, to let go of my worries and distractions, and to grab hold of Jesus, today--to grab hold of the one needful thing--that is, sitting at the feet of Jesus, listening to Him, allowing Him first place, in everything. John Cassian, early church theologian of the fourth and fifth century said, "To cling always to God and to the things of God--this must be our major effort, this must be the road that the heart follows unswervingly." May God grant it to be so, in our lives--in my life, and your life.

     In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.