Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he was saying. 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." But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her." (Luke 10:38-42 NRSV)

* * *

Martha, Martha ...
Put yourselves into her sandals for a moment.

Here, Jesus has come,
you have invited him into your home,
you have offered him your hospitality,
and there are many things that you must do
to make your master comfortable.

Here you are,
working in your kitchen
sweating and slaving over a hot fire
and an even hotter oven
roasting a lamb
baking bread
chopping up lettuce
crushing some grapes.

And, while you’re working
hard
to prepare a table and satisfy your Lord’s needs
your younger sister sits,
at your master’s foot,
listening as your master speaks to her of the mysteries
of God’s kingdom.

It’s not fair!

I can almost hear Martha complain to Jesus
“Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me
to do all of the work by myself?
Make her come and help me!”

I’m sure we can all remember such a time as that,
a time in our own lives,
when it seemed as though
the work was not evenly distributed
and others got a better deal.

I know I can.

And, I know that I feel sorry for Martha.
Sorry because she got stuck with the work,
and missed Jesus’ teachings.

Sorry because she didn’t realize that
her calling
her duty
her life’s vocation
that of service to her Lord,
depended as much upon Christ’s teachings as did Mary’s.

Would you pray with me?

Gracious God, move among us this day so that we may always know that we are never alone; and speak to us so that we may always hear, understand, and remember -- give us your word by which you mold and shape our living; in Jesus Name we pray. Amen.

Where are your priorities?
Where were Mary’s?
Where were Martha’s?

We all represent a diversity of callings.
Some of us were called to be husbands and fathers
Some of us were called to be wives and mothers
Some of us were called to work the fields of God’s good Earth,
Some were called to labor with their hands in technical pursuits.
Some of us were called to teach.
All of us are called to learn.
Some of us have been called to preach
And all of us have been called to express the grace of Christ.

A diversity of callings,
with multiple priorities.

I ask you --
What are your priorities?
What do you place first in your life?
What do you crave the most, and know you need the most?
What do you make time for, no matter what?
What is the first thing you give up, when the going gets tough?
What is the first thing to suffer when you’re running low on time, money, and energy?
What is the highest among your priorities?
... and what is the lowest?

I’m going to be point-blank here,
Because Jesus was.

Where does God fall on your list of priorities?
What happens to your spiritual life,
when time becomes a precious commodity?
What happens to your prayer life --
Indeed: do you even have a prayer life?

Difficult questions,
and I won’t mention who I saw squirming.
Difficult questions,
but questions which I am convinced we must,
all of us,
hear and attempt to answer for ourselves.

I have a very dear friend.
his name is Eldridge Pendelton
and he grew up not far from here in the Texas town of Farmersville.

He grew up a Baptist,
went to collage at NTSU--
UNT, I think it’s now called,
He got his PhD in History at the University of Virginia.
And, for 17 years, he lived a quiet life as a Museum Curator.

Then, in his late 40s, he left a well-paying job
and many friends in the University,
to enter a monastery and become a monk.

You see -- his priorities had changed.
Eldridge tells me that,
even with his success and academic notoriety,
he discovered that his calling wasn’t being fulfilled.

Eldridge was called to pray.
Eldridge was called to a simple life
of quiet meditation,
spiritual direction,
prayer
and personal devotion to God.

For years he had tried to fulfill parts of his calling,
but the depth of God’s hold on his life
went beyond what he could do, by himself.

Even the church couldn’t help him very much.
No, God’s claim on his life stretched out of the ordinary,
God’s claim on Eldridge drew him
away from a world of distractions
away from a world of meaningless dribble,
and to the feet of His Lord.

Eldridge was called to sit and listen
he was called to kneel and pray
And live the life of an Anglican Monk.

The life is a tempting one, I will admit.

For several years, now, Eldridge and several of the other monks
have tried to get me to leave
my calling to the ministry behind
my calling to reach out to a lost world,
and join him, as a monk,
in the Society of St. John the Evangelist.

And it is, from time to time, a tempting prospect.
But, as I have discovered over the years, it is not my calling.

Jesus told Martha,
that Mary was called to a “better” way.
A different way,
A way of devotion that was different from Martha’s way.

Martha’s calling was to serve,
to work,
to give
and to find her source of strength
in that which Mary was doing -- listening.

Martha, in other words, was also called to listen.
She was also called to sit at the feet of her Lord
like Mary
But she couldn’t stay there.

Her calling went beyond that depth of devotion,
and tended toward things,
toward the needs of this existence.

And Jesus was telling her,
just because her calling included service
that didn’t mean that Mary’s did.

The life which my spiritual Brother, Eldridge,
lives is a tempting life --
and I do share elements of that life:
prayer
contemplation
devotion
the call to quiet obedience

But my calling goes beyond just sitting at the master’s feet.
It starts there, but it doesn’t end there.
My calling is not locked away,
in a Monastery in Durham or in Boston.
My calling is here,
My calling is here, with you,
doing the Will of God with you
being, in a small way, Christ’s shepherd, with you.

This doesn’t mean that there aren’t times
when the loneliness of this life drives me to tears.

This doesn’t mean that the close brotherhood of
a monastic order doesn’t appear to me
during the middle of a lonely, quiet night.
It does mean that when I cry out,
whine
and complain to Jesus about Eldridge’s calling to sit and to listen,
God reminds me that I have a different calling.
I have other priorities.

What are your priorities?
What is your calling?

Are you Mary?
sitting at the feet of Jesus?

Are you Martha?
working in the kitchen?

What are your priorities?
I challenge you to go home, take out a sheet of paper, and write down your priorities.
Be honest with yourself -- you don’t have to show this to anyone --

and if you find distractions,
if you find sinful things
Things of this world
at the top of your list,
and if you find God
if you find your faith in Jesus Christ,
Somewhere down the list

then I humbly suggest that, perhaps, you need to consider your calling again.
Perhaps you need to spend some time at the feet of your Lord Jesus
so that your priorities will be made clear.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
--Amen