Sermon 03.16.2025: Lent 2: "Everything In Between" Faith & Works (Deacon Sunday)

The story of Mary and Martha is often painted as a story where one does right and one does wrong. We know, however, that life is often more complicated than that.

We know that faith is embodied through being present and taking action—and everything in between. Join us on this second Sunday in Lent as we consider, how can we live along the spectrum of faith and works.

Scripture

Luke 10:38-42

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 the better part, which will not be taken away from her.’

Sermon

For centuries scholars and theologians have debated the importance of faith versus works. “Faith without works is dead,” declares James in chapter 2 verse 17. But then, Paul asserts: “…we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works…” Romans 3:28. And so, early on in Christendom, the false dichotomy of faith and works was born. I say “false” because I think most of us know that the two must go hand in hand, and a healthy life of faith integrates and includes both faith and works.

But in today’s scripture story of Mary and Martha, oftentimes the two are pitted against each other. And oftentimes, as a result, the work and ministry of Martha is held in lower esteem. No shock there, considering the work and ministry that Martha was doing is traditionally considered “women’s work.” 

By contrast, Mary, who sits at the feet of Jesus, takes the stance of what was traditionally the place of men who were disciples of a rabbi. She is pushing those boundaries, as did other women of her day, but it still wouldn’t have been commonplace to see women learning and being discipled by a great teacher. So when translated and put into our scriptures, I’m not surprised that Jesus responds with, “Mary has chosen the better part.” 

I mean, in some way, of course it’s the better part. Given the option to sit around and talk versus cooking, working, and sweating in the kitchen, I agree; it’s the better part! 

And quite frankly, it’s probably the only part that Jesus really knows. He was born in his time as a man, and I’m not sure he would’ve even known his way around a kitchen all that much. Would he have known what was needed to make food and offer tea to guests? Does he even realize what all is included in Martha’s work? 

Probably not. This was over two thousand years ago in a very patriarchal society. And my dad, who is only eighty, and also grew up in a patriarchal society says when he was younger, his mother and sisters would shoo him out of the kitchen telling him it wasn’t his place to be in there. [He still uses that as an excuse for not knowing how to bus or wash his dishes. Don’t be like that, please.] 

But I digress. So, the chances that Jesus knew what Martha was actually doing and worrying about is probably low. One commentator has said that in Luke, Jesus is either going to eat, eating, or coming from a meal. But apart from this passage precious little is said about how food actually gets to the table. 

Jesus, however, does know that he is always received warmly in Martha’s home. He also knows that Martha will feed him, nourish him, and give him sustenance. So maybe, instead of saying Mary has chosen the “better part,” he is saying she has chosen “a good part.” 

Lauren Wright Pittman, the artist for this morning’s bulletin cover writes this: 

“When you look at the Greek, …, it can also be translated as, ‘a good portion’ or ‘a useful share.’ In light of this, I believe Jesus is not offering a value judgment between them, but assuaging Martha’s worry by affirming that Mary is doing a good portion of the work, too.” 

Perhaps Jesus isn’t rebuking Martha, but affirming Mary, who otherwise may have been rebuked by others. And as one who fed the five thousand, Jesus does know a little bit about the challenges and importance of feeding, even if he may not know his way around a kitchen. 

And he knows that feeding people is a ministry. The word Jesus uses for Martha’s work, in fact, is diakonian, meaning work, service, and ministry. It is the Greek word from which the English word “deacons” comes from. So it’s particularly fitting that this is the story we have before us on Deacon Sunday here at Calvary. 

Our deacons provide vital and necessary ministries. According to our PC(USA) Book of Order, “the ministry of deacon as set forth in Scripture is one of compassion … and service . . .” 

Our deacons prepare our communion elements, serve home communion to homebound members of our community; they lead Pack-a-Sack, and offer prayers for those on our prayer list. They are the hands and feet of Christ. And did you know, that in the Presbyterian church, deacons share the same ordination as pastors? The ordination to become an elder, deacon, and minister are all equal; it is the work and ministry to which we are ordained that’s different. 

So thank you to all our current deacons, and to all who have served as deacons in the past. And thank you to our fellowship volunteers who make coffee hour possible and meals like last week’s Lenten Study lunch possible. (Alison and I joke that Jane Manning runs the charcuterie ministry here at Calvary.) And to all who have ever set a table, cooked in our kitchen, thrown away trash, or made a sandwich at pack-a-sack: thank you. You continue the legacy and traditions of Martha, whose work and ministry were so pivotal to Jesus’ time here on earth. 

And although deacons are ordained to the work of service and compassion, that work is for us all, not just the deacons. Just as the work of discipleship and life-long learning is for us all, not just the scholars. Faith and works; learning and doing; contemplation and action, they are for us all. 

That being said, Elisabeth Johnson, a pastor in Minnesota purports that: 

The problem with Martha is not that she is busy serving and providing hospitality. [We can see that] Certainly Jesus commends this kind of service to the neighbor many times, notably in the parable of the Good Samaritan that immediately precedes the story of Mary and Martha. The problem with Martha is not her serving, but rather that she is worried and distracted. 

The word translated “distracted” in verse 40, periespato, has the connotation of being pulled or dragged in different directions… 

Anyone familiar with that feeling? 

Lauren Dykstra shares her Greek knowledge with us saying: 

in only two verses (40 and 41) there are four different words for worry. First of all, Martha is described as distracted by her work, using a Greek word that at its root means to be pulled in all directions. So she asks Jesus, and none too gently, “don’t you care,” “aren’t you concerned” (a related word used 7 verses before for what the Samaritan does for a robbed and injured man). 

Jesus responds using two synonyms, translated in the NRSV as “Martha –you are worried and distracted” – the first word is worried or anxious as it appears in the passage about the lilies of the field— “which one of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” 

The second word appears only here in the New Testament, but refers to chaos and the noise crowds. 

So the anxiety level is high in this story, particularly for Martha.

For Johnson, Jesus’ words to Martha may be seen as an invitation rather than a rebuke. 

Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. The one thing needed is for Martha to receive the gracious presence of Jesus, to listen to his words, to know that she is valued not for what she does or how well she does it, but for who she is as a child of God. 

When we are busy, we can often get worried and distracted. We lose sight of what ultimately matters. 

When we are flooded with sweeping injustice and a constant deluge of information, we can get overwhelmed with all that seems to need our attention. Part of the strategy for those in power today is precisely that - to “flood the zone,” to leave us reeling and unable to figure out how and where to focus. 

Today’s story reminds us that even in the midst of all that is happening, and all that we have to do, or perhaps especially because of all that is happening and all that we have to do, we must root ourselves in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. We must sit at the feet of Jesus and be willing to learn from his words and from his life, death, and resurrection. 

Now is not the time to pull back on Christian discipleship, but rather to lean in, closer to Jesus, and to allow ourselves to be centered and transformed by his presence. 

And, by the way, it’s not too late to join a Lenten Small Group; just let us know. 

Now, I know many of you personally, and I know that much of your busyness stems from the noblest of intentions. I am so grateful for all the ways this congregation and each of you care for your loved ones, care for your communities, and care for the most vulnerable in our society. Where would the church be; where would our society be without our Marthas and our deacons and the people who get stuff done?! 

You are the community of the faithful who perform the holy tasks of hospitality and service, making the church and the world a more welcoming and loving place. 

But let us never forget from whence we get our hope and our why for doing such work. Let us always be centered in the liberating good new of Jesus, so that we don’t become anxious and troubled and distracted, so that we do not do the important work before us devoid of love and joy.

Friends, our well-being is important enough to prioritize. Our spiritual life is important enough to prioritize. Our mental and physical and emotional health is important enough to prioritize. 

Because it’s not whether you are a “Mary or a Martha.” It’s that we need both. And perhaps together, we do not have to serve alone and we do not have to learn alone, but together, we are built up and strengthened to dismantle and resist all forms of oppression. 

Resist the “either/or”s the false dichotomies of the world. Instead, embrace the “both/and”s, because that is where Jesus is found. Both in the learning and in the doing. Both in the faith and in the works. Both in the fully human and in the fully divine. Both in us and in others. 

Thanks be to God, Amen.