There is Need of Only One Thing

The Reverend Shearon Sykes Williams, Saint Geore’’s Episcopal Church, Arlington, Virginia, Pentecost 6, July 20th, 2025

                                              “…Martha welcomed (Jesus) into her home.  She had a sister named Mary , who sat at the Lord’s feet…But Martha was distracted by her many tasks…”.  Luke 10: 38-42

In today’s Gospel, we hear the familiar story of Jesus’ visit to Martha and Mary’s house.  Martha immediately goes into action providing hospitality for Jesus and the disciples, while her sister Mary sits at Jesus’ feet and listens to his teachings.  When Martha complains about her sister, Jesus tells her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing.”

I always feel a little sorry for Martha when Jesus responds this way.  She’s the one making things happen.  If she didn’t prepare food and take care of everybody, who would do it?  And there was an expectation, a requirement even, to provide hospitality in ancient Judaism.  Martha had listened to the stories of her faith tradition and put them into practice.  Just like Abraham had welcomed visitors in the desert, providing a place of safety, rest, and sustenance, after a long journey, Martha had welcomed Jesus.    Showing hospitality, especially to strangers, was central to faith and ethical practice.  So, Martha was doing what was expected and required of her.  And Jesus and his disciples needed the care she provided.  Their survival depended upon the kindness of others.  

Mary, on the other hand, sat at Jesus’ feet, taking on the posture of a student, a disciple.  She hung on Jesus’ every word, trying to absorb his teachings.  And Jesus welcomed and encouraged her.  He said that she had chosen the better part, which would not be taken away from her.  That was a really radical thing for Jesus to say about a woman.  He celebrated her eagerness to learn and her attentiveness to his teachings.  And he praised her for her ability to recognize the extraordinary opportunity that she was being given,  and having the courage to do something that was outside of the social norms of the day, with his blessing.  Mary didn’t let busy-ness distract her from spending time listening.  

If there is anything that is the word of the day in our culture, it is distraction.  We are in 24/7 overdrive, constantly bombarded by news blasts, advertisements, texts, phone calls, emails and the incessant demands of competing voices vying for our attention.  It is sometimes challenging to hear God’s voice in the cacophony of other voices.  

The particular distractions that we deal with today are relatively new, but the need to keep our priorities straight is not.  And doing that requires a lot of determination and self-discipline.  The ancient monastics developed practices to help them order their hearts and minds, practices that helped them to listen for God’s voice.  And they still do that today.  Their days are very structured.  They pray multiple times a day.  They sit at Jesus’ feet, listening to Scripture, and worshipping together, just as Mary did.    And they eat together and work together and provide hospitality to people who come for retreats, just like Martha did.  Mary was the contemplative one and Martha was the active, service-focused one.  And both are important.  Jesus isn’t admonishing Martha for providing for them.  I am sure he was grateful for that.  He was encouraging her to think about the spirit  with which she was doing everything she was doing.  She was overwhelmed by her busy-ness and not thinking about why she was doing it.  And she was resentful of her sister who had immediately understood that when Jesus began teaching, this was the opportunity of a lifetime, and stopped everything, to sit at Jesus’ feet.  Dinner could wait.  Mary had a singular focus on what the most important thing was in that moment.  

We need both and there is a Mary and a Martha in each of us, although we generally tend toward one or the other.  Christians are called to active service, both inside and outside the church, caring for others, providing hospitality to strangers, particularly the most vulnerable.  We are called to work for justice and to be Jesus’ hands and heart in this world.  I am constantly amazed by all of the people who volunteer in our food pantry, work in our refugee ministry, support our siblings at San Jose, participate in our race and reconciliation work.  These faithful people spend hours and hours each week to make everything happen.  We need Marthas.  They are the people who make things go.  And we also need the Marys, the contemplatives, the folks who pray for all of us.  Did you know that we have people who take the prayer list home and pray for every single person on it, every single day, whether they know them or not?  They are the people who read and study Scripture and really try to sit at Jesus’ feet when they are doing that.  And we are all called to do both.  To dwell deeply with Jesus in prayer, worship and study, and then to live that out in active ways.  It is a great circle. Prayer and Service, prayer and service, prayer and service.  Mary and Martha, Mary and Martha.  The only way that we can keep a right spirit about the work that God calls us to is to have it always be rooted and grounded in our love for Jesus.  Martha needed to be refreshed after all her work, so that she could go back to it without resentment and a clear sense of why she was doing what she was doing.  And Mary couldn’t sit at Jesus’ feet forever.  She needed to get to work after that.  “Ora et labora” is the motto of Benedictine spirituality.  They are both considered sacred.  Prayer and work.  Both are essential, in a monastery, in a church, and in our daily lives.  When we ground out work in prayer and discernment, it gives us an attitude of gratitude about our work, rather than getting resentful.  Martha could have asked Mary directly to help her, rather than complaining about her no-load sister.  

When I think about our life here at Saint George’s, it takes a lot of people to make all of our ministries go.  Our worship services alone require a huge number of people each week.  Acolytes, ushers, readers, Eucharistic ministers, intercessors, flower guild members, altar guild members, the choir, it’s a big, long, list.  Liturgy is the work of the people and it is vitally important work.  And all of our other ministries flow out of worship.  Our food pantry is feeding more and more people each day, with the upwards of 100 people coming at lunchtime every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  And a big team of people manage all of the different aspects of food pantry, the ordering, the inventory management, the volunteer scheduling.  It’s a huge operation.   The leaders spend hours each week.  And everyone who comes to our doors is received with a spirit of hospitality, just as surely as Martha opened her door to Jesus, welcomed him in and fed him.  And our food pantry ministers do that with a clear sense of focus and purpose that springs from prayer and worship.  And the Lord answered Martha, ….”there is need of only one thing.”…. Love.  Love for God that leads us to love others.