Two Sisters

No two sisters have ever garnered more pulpit time than Mary and Martha.  Jesus's visit to their home and their different responses to Him have been the source of many a sermon.   It is a text which lends itself to preaching.  The contrasts are compelling.  Martha is the do'er; Mary is the be'er.  Martha represents the activist and Mary points to the contemplative.  It is real to life story with one sister complaining about the other.     

As we get into the story, it begins to unfold as a story about being present in the present moment.  Mary seems to model the right approach.  The present moment was all about Jesus being in her home.  Martha, on the other hand, seems to live outside the present moment as she scurries about doing all the things necessary for whatever hosting task that are ahead.    And, before it is all over, she becomes resentful of Mary being able to do something she longs to do, but finds herself either unable or unwilling to do.     

Most preachers are quick to point to Martha's failure, but there may be more projection taking place in those sermons than could be admitted.  Staying in whatever is unfolding in the present is never an easy task for those of us who cannot divorce ourselves from what might need to be done in response to what is happening in the present moment.   It gives reason to wonder if God gives us our present moment to experience, or as something to prompt us to what might be regarded as an appropriate and socially acceptable response?