Readings for the Feast Day of Sts. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus
Ruth 2:5-12
Psalm 36:5-10
Romans 12:9-13
John 11:1-7, 17-44
This sermon was preached by Fr. Daniel London at Sts. Martha and Mary parochial mission in Trinidad CA on Sunday July 29, 2018.
“Your family is God’s gift to you as you are to them.” These words are attributed to Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who also said, “God’s dream is that you and I and all of us will realize that we are all family, that we are made for togetherness, for goodness, and for compassion.”
The readings assigned for this Feast Day of Mary, Martha and Lazarus overflow with warmth, wisdom and radical hope. They include invitations to practice and receive generous hospitality; to offer open hearts, willing hands and listening ears. They invite us to find refuge under the shadow of God’s wings, to become part of God’s family, like Ruth the foreigner, who was welcomed and received by Boaz and invited to find her full reward in the God of Israel, under whose wings she had sought refuge. The readings urge us to let our love be genuine and our affection mutual, to persevere in prayer, to outdo one another in showing honor to each other, to rejoice in hope and to be patient in suffering because, according to the Gospel, whatever current illness we may now endure will not ultimately lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory. According to the Gospel, even when someone or some community appears to be dead and buried, our Lord Jesus Christ says, “Take away the stone. Unbind him and let him go!” The readings remind us that we are a family of resurrection people and that death never has the final word. Love has the final word.
And yet our Lord Jesus Christ feels all of the emotions associated with death, especially profound grief that leads him to weep with Mary and Martha, who are clearly and justifiably upset with Jesus for not arriving sooner: “Lord, if you had been here my brother would not have died.” Commentators agree that Martha and Mary are here both admonishing their friend Jesus, whose decision to wait two extra days until he arrived appeared to be not only confusing but callous. Jesus listens to both of them with an open heart and responds to Martha by inviting her into a deeper faith in the One who is the Resurrection and the Life. And he responds to Mary by grieving with her.
Jesus feels another powerful emotion that is unfortunately lost in translation. Our translation says that Jesus “was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.” However, the original Greek is not nearly as tame. Eugene Peterson offers a more accurate translation in the Message when he says, “a deep anger welled up within him.” The Greek word is embrimaomai, which is the same word used for the angry snorting of a horse or the roaring of a lion. Jesus is filled to the brim with indignation and rage.
Even though he knows love and life will win in the end, Jesus is still incensed and infuriated by the forces of death that rip apart friendships and homes and families. We know these forces all too well: the fires that are currently ravaging through Redding, the deep fears that drive us to build walls rather than bridges, the many illnesses and personal challenges that we face each day that make us feel like death is winning, like we are losing our family.
“Your family is God’s gift to you as you are to them…God’s dream is that you and I and all of us will realize that we are family, that we are made for togetherness, for goodness, and for compassion.”
Throughout church history, Martha and Mary have been understood as symbols of two different ways of living out the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Martha represents action and service while Mary represents contemplation and prayer. These two sisters are very different. In the Gospel of Luke (10:38-42), Martha gets upset with Mary for not being more active and service-oriented. Jesus says, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed.” Some believe this means that Jesus is saying that prayer is more important than action. Perhaps this is true, and yet the book of James and many other teachings of Jesus insist that “Faith without action is dead.” I appreciate how the Episcopal Church’s book for the Calendar of Commemorations understands these words of Jesus in the book’s description of the feast day of Mary, Martha and Lazarus. The book, which is called “A Great Cloud of Witnesses,” invites us to understand the words of Jesus as “a defense of that which Mary does best, and a commendation of Martha for what she does best—neither vocation giving grounds for despising the other” (July 29). In other words, Jesus does not chastise Martha for preparing and serving him food (which she does best), rather Jesus invites her to stop condemning her sister for doing what she does best: namely, sitting at the feet of Jesus and listening with an open heart. Jesus invites Martha to let go of her judgmental attitude, to let go of what she believes to be the only real way to serve Jesus. Jesus invites Martha to let go and let Mary be Mary. Jesus invites Martha to remember that Mary is her sister. Mary is her family. They are gifts to each other.
“Your family is God’s gift to you as you are to them…God’s dream is that you and I and all of us will realize that we are family, that we are made for togetherness, for goodness, and for compassion.”
Personally, I have many deep disagreements with my biological family. Sometimes, I am very embarrassed by my family and upset with them and with decisions they have made. But, my brothers and sisters, they are still my family. And they always will be my family.
And when I was baptized, I became part of God’s family. And when I was confirmed an Episcopalian about eleven years ago, I became part of the Episcopal and Anglican family. I may disagree and be embarrassed by my Episcopal and Anglican brothers and sisters. I might be like Martha and think they’re not taking enough action, they’re not living out their baptismal vows to respect the dignity of every human being, to seek and serve Christ in all persons. Or sometimes I might be more like Mary and perhaps think that my Anglican brothers and sisters are being too active or too political. I might think that they are too “worried and upset about many things” and that they should sit down at the feet of Jesus and pray. But whatever I think my Episcopal and Anglican brothers and sisters should or should not do, they are still my family. Martha and Mary are family.
Like Jesus, I get very angry at all the forces that rip apart families, yet also, like Jesus, I feel I can still give thanks to God the Father, even in the midst of death, because I believe love and life will win in the end. And even if someone leaves the family, even if someone claims to disown the family, even if someone never wants to talk to the family again, it does not change the fact that they are still family.
“Your family is God’s gift to you as you are to them…God’s dream is that you and I and all of us will realize that we are family, that we are made for togetherness, for goodness, and for compassion.” All who have been baptized in this church are part of God’s family. All the Marys and all the Marthas. These two sisters and saints invite us to fulfill God’s dream by realizing that, in spite of our differences and frustrations and deep disagreements, we are family, that we are made for togetherness, for goodness and for compassion. May it be so. Amen.
DANIEL DeFOREST LONDON 