July 17, 2022 Discipleship 5 St. Andrew Church Rev. Anne McAnelly
First Lesson: John 11:1-16, 17-27
11 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. 3 So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” 4 But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This illness does not lead to death; rather, it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” 5 Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, 6 after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.
7 Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” 8 The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?” 9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble because they see the light of this world. 10 But those who walk at night stumble because the light is not in them.” 11 After saying this, he told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.” 12 The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.” 13 Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. 14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. 15 For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16 Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
17 When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.”
Second Lesson: Luke 10:38-42
38 Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him. 39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at Jesus’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 but few things are needed—indeed only one. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”
Last week we heard about the Good Samaritan and loving God and neighbor. This week we hear of Lazarus, Mary and Martha who were disciples and friends of Jesus. Let us listen to God’s word as it comes to us from Luke 10:38 as we learn that discipleship is personal. READ
My name is Martha. I live in the village of Bethany with my sister Mary and my brother Lazarus. I wound say we are close family. Growing up the three of us would play together. Of course we could only play after our chores were done. Lazarus tended the flock, while Mary and I helped mother with the cooking and the cleaning. I enjoyed tending the fire and sweeping the floor. My mother always used to say, “Martha you are Mom’s little helper.” Yet it wasn’t until my brother became seriously ill that I realized how close we really were. He was ill for a few days when he was burning up with a fever and started shaking all over. My sister and I were worried that he might die, so we sent word to Jesus about his illness. You see Jesus knew Lazarus and was fond of our brother, so we thought he would come and heal him before it was too late.
For whatever reason Jesus did not come straight away and my brother died. We buried him in a tomb that same day. That day was one of the saddest days of my life. Mary and I rent our clothes mourning his death. Four days later while we were sitting shiv’ah, Jesus came. I left my sister and our consolers and went out to meet Jesus. I knew that God would give Jesus whatever he asked of him, so I felt compelled to talk with him. You know what he told me?
Jesus turned and said to me, “Martha, I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in my will never die.” I heard the words, they still ring in my mind, and I even saw Jesus with my own eyes, but I didn’t really understand what he meant. I knew Jesus could heal people, but this resurrection and life talk did not make sense.
When Jesus asked me if I believed what he said, I told him the one thing I knew to be true. “Lord,” I said, “I believe you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.”
After we talked for a while, Jesus asked to see my sister, so I went to get her. They spoke for a while and then we all went to my brother’s tomb. When Jesus said to roll away the stone, I was shocked! The smell would have been something awful. So, I reminded Jesus that it had been four days of desert heat since my brother had died. Jesus turned to me with that knowing look on his face and said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God.” I thought to myself, “What does the glory of God have to do with this stench?” But before I realized, Jesus had commanded my brother in a loud voice: “Lazarus come out!” I remember leaning on Mary, at the first glimpse of him. Seeing him all bond in strips of cloth, I was overwhelmed with joy, doubt, and amazement. (Jn. 11:1-44).
At that moment when I saw my brother, alive and walking out of his tomb, I knew in my mind what I already knew in my heart to be true: Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God!
I must admit, I didn’t always think Jesus was the Son of God. I remember the first time I met Jesus, like it was yesterday. My brother came home and announced he had invited a man home for dinner. That was fine. You see, I am the one in our household who does all the cooking, cleaning, mending and washing. I organize and run our home, so when there is an extra mouth to feed the responsibility rests with on my shoulders to shop, prepare, and tend to the many tasks that a guest creates. If I could count on my sister Mary to help, the burden would not be so great. But from a very young age, Mary was not much for household duties. And understandably with a lazy sister, there are times when the pressures of juggling the demands of shopping, cooking, and cleaning can leave one’s nerves on edge. Especially when you discover the man coming to dinner is Jesus!
Imagine Jesus as a guest at your home, and perhaps you will understand why I was so anxious to make sure everything was perfect. Oh, I will admit my temper got the best of me and I probably spoke too harshly. But imagine what it’s like to be saddled unexpectedly with twelve extra mouths to feed! Of course, any woman worth her weight in salt can prepare a meal for four. And four was all I was expecting: Jesus, my brother, my sister, and myself. But my brother failed to mention that wherever the Galilean stranger went, his twelve disciples were sure to follow.
I ended up having to figure out how to make a fowl only large enough to feed six, stretch to feed sixteen. Not to mention the fact that more cucumbers, beans, lentils, onions, leeks and garlic had to be chopped. As I scurried from pot to pot, from broth to bread, worrying whether there was enough water and who would go down to the well to fetch more, I found myself growing increasingly annoyed with my younger sister, Mary, for leaving me to worry and serve alone. There was so much to do, so many to do it for and so little time to do it! As usual, Mary was engrossed in the conversations with the men. She had even forgotten to offer our travel-weary guests the opportunity to wash their hands and feet after a day’s journey. So, who do you think did it? I did, of course. As I took the basin of water out, I overheard the disciples talking about a Samaritan. I was really surprised to hear that Jesus had just told them, to be like a Samaritan, because being like a Samaritan is the last thing I would do. But from what I gathered from their conversation, two Mosaic laws concerning loving God and loving your neighbor were at the heart of this discussion. I had to tend to my pots, so I missed the end of their story. But when I went back to preparing the meal, the Shema, the heart of the Jewish law, kept going through my head. “Hear O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might” (Dt. 6:4).
From my cooking area I could see into the front room where everyone was gathered. The twelve sat in a corner with my brother, Lazarus, talking among themselves. While Mary and Jesus were sitting off by themselves. Mary sat at Jesus’ feet, gazing intently up into his face, looking as though her life depended on his every word. He sat before her speaking with conviction as though his own life depended on getting out what he held inside. The two of them, Jesus and my sister, were only a few feet away from me, but they felt as if they were miles away from my broth and my lentils.
Yet when I think of Mary engaging Jesus in conversation, I am reminded that Mary has always had the gift of listening and making people feel at ease. She has such a caring manner. She lends them her ears and her heart; she gives them her undivided attention and sympathy. It is a rare gift of compassion I’ve never understood.
I, on the other hand, look perpetually distracted. I suppose that only way I know how to express my love and concern is by cleaning and fussing. By tending to those around me, my actions say what my words never could. Mary, by contrast, is quiet, sensitive, and at times given to unusual outbursts of affection. Take for example, the time she stunned everyone by anointing Jesus’ feet with expensive oil and then wiping his feet with her hair. Only a slave does such a thing! I was shocked! Yet admittedly, her sensitivity and humility touched even my heart.
Humility…do you suppose that is what I lack? I serve, but without humility. My sister is humble, though she forgets to offer you water.
That afternoon when Jesus was a guest in our home changed my life. And like most worthwhile change, it came about as the result of pain. I had been so anxious that everything go smoothly, anxious that our guests enjoy the meal that I’d been preparing, anxious that Jesus be impressed with all that I’d done for him, that I resented the way Mary was consuming his attention with so little effort on her part. It was as if everything I stood for was being held up for public ridicule. Before I knew it, my irritation with my sister got the best of me. “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me!” (Luke 10:40).
Silence fell over the room. The disciples looked up from their conversations. My brother Lazarus gazed at me in horror. Jesus had only to look up at me with those eyes that seemed to bore right into my private thoughts, and I felt my anger melt to shame.
“Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things. There is need for only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken from her” (Luke 10:41-42).
His words hurt and the look of disappointment on his face said it all. Of course, Jesus appreciated the effort that went into coordinating a meal and the added burden of preparing for unexpected guests. He understood my frustration. It was not my housework that Jesus took exception to; it was my attitude. There is a difference between serving out of duty and ministering out of love.
After I realized Jesus appreciated my service, I started thinking about this better part which Mary chose. Looking back now years later and understanding who Jesus is, I think Mary may have always had the better part. She sat at the master’s feet seeing, touching, hearing and living in the presence of the Lord. She attended to him. She heard his words. Later Mary even wept with Jesus over our brother’s death (John 12:1-8). She knew the comfort of Jesus tears. As Mary’s final expression of loving Jesus which was just before he was crucified, she anointed his feet with oil and them gently wiped them with her hair. With her entire being, Mary loved the Lord.
I gave Jesus my better part. The part I chose to give. I served how I best could, by doing for him, as I did for those around me. I gave Jesus my service; cooking, cleaning, and preparing. But I neglected giving him my life; waiting to see and hear how Jesus could use me. I proclaimed him as the Son of God, but I never gave him my joys, my worries, my heart, mind and soul. I don’t know if I will ever completely give up worrying, and being distracted by many things, but I do know the better part of me is all of me, and that is what my risen Lord deserves.
Portions of this came from Just a Sister Away by Renita Weems.
