The Call to Be Students (Disciples) of the Jesus Way
Luke 10:38-42
Love will guide us, peace has tried us, hope inside us will lead the way… on the road from greed to giving… love will guide us on our way home.
This morning, as we sit at the park together, I want to do our sermon time a little differently than I normally do. I am going to share some things about our text and then I’d like for us to spend a little bit of time talking with each other.
As you know, I spent the first half of July at three different national church gatherings. Over the coming weeks, both T Michael and I are going to share our experiences: mine from The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries (the African American, Same-Gender Loving Pentecostal movement that has about 40,000 members); and both of ours from the National Gathering of the UCC Open and Affirming Coalition and the General Synod of the UCC. In particular, we are excited to talk about Lyndale being honored by the Open and Affirming Coalition for the work of the Center for Sustainable Justice and our badass LGBTQ+ witness.
But this morning, I want to start by sharing something Rev. Jennifer Butler said at General Synod. She was the keynote speaker and she spoke from her book called Who Stole My Bible?: Reclaiming Scripture as a Handbook for Resisting Tyranny. Her central argument is that the biblical text is, at its heart, a story of generations of people finding ways to resist Empire and live in ways that make for deep community, love, and justice. She concedes that in every age, and especially our own, the lies that are told about the Bible are often more popular than the truth about its radical witness. But she encourages us, especially now, to look to the scripture as a guide to our living and loving.
My first question for you to ponder is how does Jennifer’s argument land on you? Can you see the Bible as a handbook to resist tyranny? Think about that one as I say a few more things.
This morning we have a familiar story from Luke’s gospel about Martha and Mary. I have to admit to not loving this passage at its face value. But when I went deeper and talked with several colleagues, there are several pieces I want to lift up.
First of all, this story is all about discipleship. We don’t use that word a lot here at Lyndale UCC. But to be a disciple is simply to be a student of someone or something. A disciple is someone who tries to embody the lessons taught to them. And the lessons that Jesus is seeking to teach throughout the gospels is about “the way” or the path or the manner of living God has sent him to point the disciples and us, toward.
In our passage, Martha welcomes Jesus into her home. The text tells us that she has a sister named Mary, who “sat at Jesus’ feet and listened to what he was saying.” It’s important to know that sitting at Jesus’ feet was a phrase used to describe all of Jesus’ disciples. Mary is very likely not in the room, but out in the streets doing the work of ministry that listening to Jesus has led her to do.
Martha is distracted by her many tasks and complains to Jesus about the fact that Mary isn’t there to help her out. Jesus gently names Martha’s distraction and supports Mary’s decision to be out in the community doing ministry.
I am curious what you think about this focus on discipleship/followership of the Jesus Way as a focus of your life of faith? And what do you make of Martha and Jesus’ interaction?
Here are a couple of interpretations that I find helpful as I think about this story and my own followership of the Jesus Way.
The tenth chapter of Luke’s gospel begins with Jesus sending out the 72 (the text we read on June 29th) and ends with this story of Martha and Mary. In between we get the Good Samaritan story. There is a strong argument that this whole chapter is about discipleship being primarily about ministry out to the world, and not as much about “internal” service.
But another way to look at it comes from Jennifer Wyant at Working Preacher. She argues,
But by making this request, [Martha] is forcing Jesus to choose between the two (good) behaviors: either telling Mary to stop listening and help her sister, or rejecting Martha’s plea.
But Jesus flips the script on her (and on us) by telling her that she is worried about so many things, but only a few things, indeed, only one thing is needed (verse 42). Mary, he tells her, has chosen the better part, one that will not be taken away from her.
The problem wasn’t that Martha was serving, which is worse than sitting at Jesus’ feet. The problem was that she was distracted by the wrong things. She became focused on the fact that her sister wasn’t helping. Like the older brother in the Parable of the Prodigal Son or the Pharisee in the Parable of the Tax Collector, Martha is focused on the actions of others and their perceived shortcomings, as opposed to focusing on her own relationship with Jesus. It is this misorientation, not her service or her hospitality, that leads to Jesus’ gentle rebuke. Mary has chosen God as her portion, and that will never be taken away.
In this way, the story of these two sisters serves as a powerful example for disciples today. It turns out that maybe Luke isn’t attempting to prioritize one act of Christian discipleship over another. Maybe instead he is presenting the idea that we can do right and good things but still be distracted by the wrong things. We can focus more on the perceived shortcomings of those around us than on our own relationship with Jesus.[1]
I’d love for you to take a little bit of time and talk in pairs or triads.
What is your relationship with the scriptures? Can you imagine it as a handbook of resistance to tyranny?
And how about this story? What is your relationship to the word discipleship? Does it resonate at all? Do you consider yourself someone who tries to be on the Jesus path or following the Jesus Way?
And what about the different models of discipleship? What do you think this story is calling each of us to? Calling us as a community?
Take about 5 min to talk with each other and then let’s come back and do a little sharing.
At the end: The lectionary for today assigned another text as well, from the prophet Amos. In the passage that was assigned for today, Amos talks about the terror and death that result when things like the Big, Ugly Bill are passed by those in power. Amos warns:
Hear this, you who trample on the needy,
and bring to ruin the poor of the land,
5 saying, “When will the new moon be over
so that we may sell grain,
and the Sabbath,
so that we may offer wheat for sale?
We will make the ephah smaller and the shekel heavier
and practice deceit with false balances,
6 buying the poor for silver
and the needy for a pair of sandals
and selling the sweepings of the wheat.”
We are living in times like Amos describes…billionaires are buying the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals.
Jesus lived in Amos times, too. In those times and now, religious authorities were completely co-opted by the powers that be. They blessed, baptized, and touted the oppression and cruelty.
It was into that context that Jesus calls us to follow on the way, to embody the kind of love and justice: in both our ministry of hospitality, welcome, nurture, feeding and in our ministry of protest, resistance, justice-making, and advocacy.
And when we do this, the prophet Amos says that justice [will] roll down like waters and righteousness like an everflowing stream.
Amen.
[1] Jennifer Wyant at Working Preacher https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-16-3/commentary-on-luke-1038-42-6
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