Who are you? Mary? Martha?

Depending on where I am in my life when I read this story about Mary and Martha, I identify with either one. There are times when I sympathize with Martha; she is doing as she has always done. She is the consummate host extending hospitality to Jesus and catering to him as is her duty in that time and place. She is irritated at her sister Mary who she thinks is slacking in her duties, just sitting there listening to Jesus. There would have been a lot of little details for Martha to attend to and having the extra set of hands of Mary would have been helpful. Sometimes I sympathize with Mary. Martha seems like a bit of a taskmaster and it couldn't have been easy for Mary to work under her when it appears that they have very different personalities. Mary wants to take advantage of the rare opportunity to listen to the words Jesus is sharing at her own table. I always think it must have been humiliating for Mary when Martha drags Jesus in to her dramatic display and asks him to make Mary work. We (in the church) frequently talk about the need for action when we are talking about doing God's work.  We preach mission and involvement and those are both action items. One could argue that the church has been a bit idle in the past and has neglected doing the "get your hands dirty" work required for mission; this is a good thing. Just not the way Martha is doing it. Martha is doing this hard work because she is supposed to - it is her station in life as a woman in this context. Martha is not doing this hospitality for the glory of God. She is worried and she is distracted by trivial details.  We too get worried and distracted by all the to-do's and task lists. Mission doesn't happen by itself - we must work at it and not be idle. However, when we lose focus of the big picture, too distracted to hear the directions, we are doing the work but at the expense of listening to the word of God. How often do we long to be like Mary; to quietly listen to the voice of Jesus? To mindfully focus on only one thing? To lay aside the worries and drudgery of work in favor of the peace and good news that Jesus brings? Being like Mary is a possibility for all of us if we can learn that it is ok to rest and meditate and simply listen for the voice of God. We need to give ourselves permission to close our eyes, to step away from the work distraction and listen. How else can we ensure that we are on the right path? I think in many ways it is easier to be like Martha - ticking items off her to-do list one by one. She feels that Mary was sitting idly, but quietly listening, focusing and absorbing is not easy to do. And yet, Jesus says, "Mary has chosen the better part." Mary and Martha are a good balance for each other, but I feel like it's important for both of these aspects to be present in each of us - to know when to get our hands dirty, to work hard for the big picture and for the glory of God but also to know when to simply sit and listen. thanks to Samantha Rossi, guest blogger and seminarian from Upstate NY Synod. This first appeared in the Upstate Update Midweek Musings.

Water into Wine....Who is this Jesus?

If you are familiar with the story of the Wedding at Cana in the Gospel of John, you have probably noticed the unusual conversation between Jesus and his mother (who BTW is not named).

Mary notices that the host has run out of wine.  More than an inconvenience, this would prove a major embarrassment to the entire family, and believe me, in the small towns of those days would be talked about not for months but for generations!

Mary tells Jesus who has tagged along to the wedding with her.  He has the strangest response, "Woman, what is that to me?" ...the first century equivalent of "none of my business" or the less polite "whatever."

We don't want Jesus to sound like this.  None of us and I am more than willing to think that his tone of voice would give it a different inflection, and possibly this phrase doesn't translate well across time and culture, but really....doesn't it sound a bit harsh to you?  Impolite?  Disrespectful?

Now Jesus follows this up by saying "My hour has not yet come" which in the gospel of John is shorthand for "I'm not on duty yet as the Messiah"  It is, in fact, a very important phrase; when Jesus was about to be arrested he announced that now his hour was upon him.

But it all gets even stranger because Mary does not argue with him.  Rather she tells the servants to do whatever he commands.  This whole episode feels like a text message sent in all those three letter abbreviations...a little cryptic to outsiders.

But that does it.  Jesus commands the jars be filled with water.  When it is drawn out again it is fine wine, better than anything the bride and groom planned on.  And no one knew where it had come from ......although the servants knew.  And thus completes the first miracle of Jesus according to the gospel of John.

Thus begins Jesus' public ministry, a revealing of who he is and whose he is.  John gives us a wonderful metaphor for the life of faith and the reality of a human being God incarnate and eventually the resurrection where death becomes the fine wine of new life.

Why did Jesus had to talk that way?  I'm not sure [and I've read any number of explanations]. Why did Mary simply ignore his response and prepare the servants for what was coming?  I don't know.  How did Mary know what was coming?  I don't know.

These things I do know.  In the gospel of John, these were Jesus' first steps as the bringer of life to those around him.  Mary chose to focus on the moment and to do her part in Jesus' work rather than dwell on an awkward exchange between mother and son. Those servants who followed Jesus' command were given unique insight into who he was. From Mary (who doesn't even get the honor of being named)  to those who were working the kitchen, it was the anonymous ones who receive the first invitation to faith.

That funny dialogue between Mary and Jesus trips me up every time. But if Mary could ignore it and simply support the work that God was about to do in Jesus, then I guess I can too.

Frozen in time.....

The Advent of our Lord is fast upon us......or so those among us who speak in liturgical language might claim.  It's December 21st and the final frenzy of preparation is in progress.  The gift list is being double checked to make sure everyone is 'covered' and the gift wrapping is in full swing in some hidden locale within the house, and some cookies are being baked for that holiday exchange at the office, and the grocery list is being assembled for the big shop that precedes the big cook....well, I guess I don't have to tell you, right?

Meanwhile, church secretaries are finalizing bulletins, altar guilds are arranging poinsettias, the cleaning crews are dusting and the pastor is making last minute visits, writing a sermon, confirming all the assistants and ordering pizza for Christmas Eve (since she never cooks on that night!).

For many the very busy - ness of it all is wonderful. Hanging the stockings, pulling out the fancy clothes for Christmas Eve services, sneaking one more cookie.  All this frenzy - and at the center of it all is a frozen ceramic Mary and Joseph, some straw, a few sheep and maybe a donkey, all gathered in a western version of a stable.  The same Mary and Joseph that have been stoically stuck in that stable for your lifetime....and the lifetime before them.

Stuck.  Frozen in time.  In fact, for many, Mary and Joseph have simply become the background wallpaper that provides the excuse for immersing ourselves in family tradition and the gathering of friends.

The outrageous claim that the love of God took on human flesh in the person of Jesus, born 2000 years ago, and yet alive today among and between us......is lost.  Gone.  Frozen into a dilute yet beautifully rendered tableau of mother and child, with Joseph thrown in for good measure.

"Jesus is the reason for the season"  Yes.  But I think Jesus is no longer at the center of the season or the celebration.  Jesus is frozen to a time long, long ago in a place far, far away. Can it be that the only Jesus you know is the ceramic one that is pulled out and dusted off for Christmas Eve services?

If so, then maybe next week, when the hoopla has died down, you might want to stop by for a chat, to talk about the world that is killing you and the Savior who waits to give you life.  There are no gifts needed, no special decorations or fancy cookies.

I will spring for the coffee at Panera though because, you don't want to miss knowing this living, life giving Jesus.  You don't want to miss out on the hope that he brings into our lives.  You don't want to navigate one more year on your own when the Prince of Peace is waiting to walk with you.

Let's defrost the baby Jesus and allow him to work in our lives.  It's not too late; it's the best present you'll receive.  Come, holy Jesus.

If you had been here...........

"If you had been here my brother would not have died."
Both Mary and Martha say these exact words to their close friend, their brother Lazarus' close friend, Jesus.

You've heard them said in similar ways by friends and relatives:
If only........we had gone to the doctor's office earlier
If only........he had watched his sugar
If only........the ambulance had come sooner
If only........I had called that morning to check on her
If only.......we had the right doctor

The foundation for these words is a deep grief and the stark reality of someone's death.  Winding through these words is the sense of being abandoned, lost, alone.  We all hear the overtone of blame and guilt.

Releasing a loved one into the hands of a merciful God is difficult beyond measure.  Jesus waited four days before showing up at Lazarus' door.  Jesus wanted to be sure Lazarus was truly dead before he came.  It not only looks intentional, it was intentional.  Lazarus had to be really and truly dead for Jesus to do what needed to be done; to bring him back across that threshold of the tomb to resume his life.  It was not easy for Mary or Martha or Jesus for that matter.

But it really wasn't easy for Lazarus.  He would have to enter the place of death again.  He would have to really and truly die once more.  For those following Jesus, Lazarus was the final example of the power of God present in Jesus.  The power to bring back into life that which is dead.

God doesn't stop there.  Easter morning God will show us that returning to this life is but a reprise of this created life while resurrection is a gift of life beyond the power of death.  Jesus rose to die no more.

That's the promise he makes to us as well.  "Follow me. In my Father's house there are many dwelling places so where I am you can be also."  It is time once again for us to do our best to grasp the undiluted power of that message and that gift.