Who Is Telling the Stories?

Luke 10:38-42

 

        One of my favorite quotes by Francis of Assisi is, “Preach the gospel at all times, if necessary, use words.”  That is so much easier said than done.  We are a culture in love with words.  Turn on the TV and there is more advertising than programming. Music on the radio has been replaced with sports talk, political talk, entertainment talk and sometimes people just talking for the sake of talking. Motivational speeches have become a big time business.  Sometimes words are just used to occupy air that could be filled with blessed silence. We talk about the weather, we talk about our neighbors, we talk about our “favorite teams”, but more often than not, we just talk about nothing at all. With all the exaggeration, boasting, and deception linked to speech, it has become really hard to take someone for their word. And yet the concept of Word is the center piece of our faith.

        The prologue of John begins, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God.”  How holy is a “word” today?  We understand that a word can be a powerful force, a convincing force, a manipulative force, a selfish force, but can it be holy? Do we believe that one holy interaction with God’s truth has the power to change our lives?  That is the question before us as we grapple with these five verses in the gospel of Luke.

It is a simple story.  Jesus was on the way to visit his two dear friends, Mary and Martha.  One woman represents the folks in this world who believe cleanliness is next to godliness, especially if the Son of God happens to be popping in for an evening meal.  If Jesus was coming by for a visit would you want an unclean rug to detract from his presence?  Of course not. You would put out the best linens to grace the table, the best wine to occupy the cup, the finest breads to appeal to his palate.  You would want everything to be perfect for the one who models perfection. And, you would want everyone on board, sweeping, dusting, setting the table, checking the food, doing all those things that makes a house hospitable to the one who visits.

Certainly four hands would have been better than two but two was all Martha had.  Once Jesus arrived, Mary ignored the pot roast, forgot to pour the wine, and discarded the cheese and crackers.  She slipped off her apron, sat at the feet of Jesus and all she did was listen.  Martha was beside herself.  What could be more important than those final preparations that make a good meal?   Perhaps only the mysterious power that comes from a word that lifts us to heights we never imagined possible.

Mary wasn’t lazy, Mary wasn’t shirking her duties, Mary simply was spellbound by the Word.  How often are we captured by something spoken?

The American Adventure has been blessed with great orators.  My list certainly might be different from yours but I recall three speeches, nearly from memory, that highlight everything that is breathtaking about America. 

Let’s begin with March 23^rd, 1775, inside St. John’s Church in Richmond Virginia.  “Gentlemen may cry peace, peace, but there is no peace.  The war is already begun.  Is life so dear, or peace so sweet as to purchase it at the price of chains and slavery?  Forbid it Almighty God!  I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death.”

Certainly you recall November 19, 1863, at a newly constructed cemetery outside of Gettysburg Pennsylvania. “It is for us the living to be dedicated to the unfinished work which they who fought here have so nobly advanced.  We are to be dedicated to the great task before us and resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.”

And what about the words spoken August 28, 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. “Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.  Even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.  I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed, ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal’.”

Patrick Henry, Abraham Lincoln, and Martin Luther King each knew the power of the word and how to make their words eternal.  Could you imagine being in Richmond, or Gettysburg, or Washington DC just before one of these men took the stage and say to a friend, “Guest might be dropping by after the ceremony. I should run home and make sure the house is straight.”

When something of this magnitude happens you drop everything scheduled, you press forward and strain to hear every word, not just hoping, but rather knowing that something remarkable, something ageless, something that will inspire your children’s children is about to be spoken.  I have gone to St. John’s church in Richmond. I have visited that graveyard in Gettysburg. I have stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. I went for one reason, to stand where those words were first spoken.  Once there, I understood those words not as “historic” but as visionary. They still ring with a freshness that defines every age.  They are holy words written on our souls.

When holy words are spoken, why wouldn’t we want to stop whatever we are doing and transfer our full attention to the possibility that those words might completely transform our lives?  Imagine Jesus coming to see you.  Would be your priority be a clean house or an open mind? Mary made her choice. She sat and listened as Jesus said, “Mary, God so loves the world that my father would do anything for your benefit.”  She heard him say, “Mary, you worry too much about things that are not really that important.  Look at how God cares for the birds of the air and the flowers of the field.  Do you really think that God will not care for you, the most precious gem in all of creation?  She heard him promise, “Mary, someday this life will end, but do not be afraid.  I will go before you and prepare a place for you.  In my Father’s house there are many rooms.  One of them has been especially prepared for you.” 

Perhaps Jesus told Mary a story about a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho, or a father who had two sons, or a shepherd who lost one of a hundred sheep, or of a great feast that had been prepared for the bride groom.  No matter which word was spoken, it was a word that caused Mary to follow Jesus to the cross, to the grave, and beyond.  It was a word that gave Mary hope and resilience.  It was a word that lived longer than the effects of a clean table or a dusted floor. 

I am not making light of the presence of Martha.  Where would a church be without the Martha’s that constantly practice acts of hospitality, the Martha’s that show up unannounced to care for the gardens, the Martha’s that struggle with church budgets, the Martha’s that take care of those little details that no one notices.  Churches cannot operate without Martha.  But the church would not exist without Mary.

The history of our great country cannot be told without remembering the oratory of the Henrys, Lincolns and Kings.  Likewise the faith our church cannot be understood only through acts of justice and mercy.  Someone needs to tell the stories.  There are a lot of Mary’s out there who need a word of hope, a word of grace, and a word of truth.  Therefore  I implore you, Listen to the Word, Speak the Word, Sing the Word, Do the Word. Become the Word.  Somewhere, Mary is listening.

Amen.