Okay, how many here have siblings? How many of you have said to them, what
are you doing? What are you thinking about? How many times haven’t you see eye to eye on what
you/they should be doing?
My oldest brother Tom is 13 plus years older than me. His son Doug is 6 years younger than me. Doug is
closer in age to me than any of my brother’s, and lived with us in Greenock so his Mom could finish her
teaching degree at IUP while Tom was in Vietnam.
There is nothing quite like an invitation to Tom and Alice’s house. Alice comes from a pure Italian family
and can she cook! Tom, like all of us, also learned how to cook. Dinner is always superb, the welcome
mat is out and you are made to feel at home. They are very hospitable and make you feel welcome and
no one walks away hungry!
.
Tom’s son Doug is a logger and somewhere in the early 90’s, he and his business partner were bidding
on a tract of land in Sinnemahoning when they noticed a “for sale” on the property. The property is 150
acres with a two story cabin, which is approximately 1900 square feet and they bought the property
which is now “bear camp.”
When I think of bear camp, I think of Martha. When it first started everyone kicked in cash toward
the groceries which Doug bought. People took turns cooking different dishes and the work was kind of
shared. Then people complained not everyone was there for the whole camp so why should everyone
pay the same. Others complained that the workload was not shared equally..
Over the years, it has gone from being a set cost, to people bringing dishes to share with everyone, to
people bringing nothing and eating at the Willows or the Sportsman Club and mostly, a combination in
between. Tom tries to keep the tradition that bear camp is a place where we break bread and eat
together. I am a planner and an organizer too, so I understand his heart and his willingness to serve and
I appreciate that.
Three years ago when we were opening up camp I could see that Tom was really frustrated and his plans
weren’t coming together. A Martha moment was on the horizon. Doug rarely comes to camp, many of
the regulars were not coming and everything was up in the air. Tom is more type D than I am.
I finally had to say to my brother, Tom, listen, why do people come to bear camp? Silence.
It’s not because of the great bear hunting here. In fact, some actually have gone to spots where more
bear are harvested. We go to bear camp to see each other, enjoy each other’s company, build big camp
fires that never go out, relax and hang out around the fire or in the house around the table. This is
everyone’s vacation, let them enjoy it however they want.
In today’s passage, we find Jesus taking Martha up on her open invitation to come to dinner. Now, try
to think about this in real time. Just how cool would it be for you to have an open invite for Jesus to stop
at your house anytime? This is the same Martha and Mary who were sisters of Lazurus, whom John 11
records that Jesus loved. These are really close friends who live in Bethany, a stones throw from
Jerusalem. I mean an invitation is one thing, but for Him to actually take you up on it!
How awesome!
So imagine for a moment: Knock, Knock. Who’s there? Jesus and my disciples Martha! Well come in
Jesus, make yourself at home, which Jesus did. He went straight in to the living room and settled in and
Began sharing with them.
Martha began to make the preparations for her guests. All was well, Jesus was sharing and Martha was
preparing. This is what they did.
Martha, being Martha, the hostess with the mostess, wanted to impress Jesus with a spread and started
to prepare one, and put herself behind the eight ball. She started thinking, what up with that Lazy Mary,
anyway? I’ll teach her, I’ll embarrass her to help me, right in front of Jesus. He’ll tell her!
So Mary goes up, interrupts Jesus and rudely instructs Jesus what he should tell her sister to do.
And neither Martha, nor frankly many Christians today, were ready for Jesus reply. Sternfully loving,
Jesus tells Martha that she was stressing herself by making a feast when a lite meal would do. The
reason why he came by was to be with them and share with them, not to get another of her well known
feasts. He probably loved her cooking, but today he came to feed her and Mary. Maybe this was when
he had come to share his time would be short with them, as hostilities had really grown toward him.
In Jewish culture, hospitality was not a mere friendly gesture, it was mandated . Hosts and guests both
had responsibilities toward the others. Catholic Culture.org tells us that hosts had a “sacred obligation”
to provide food , drink , water to wash their feet and a place to rest. In exchange the guest was
obligated to accept what was offered. To do otherwise was a breach of their sacred honor. In fact,
guests were required to provide for the safety of their guests. Think back to when Lot offered his
daughters to protect the strangers under his roof. As such, there is no way we can interpret todays
passage as condemning Martha for her preparations. Instead, Jesus had to lovingly rebuke Martha for
letting her zeal for being a hostess lose the point of the visit altogether.
This is the second passage that talks about hospitality. Last week in the Good Samaritan and now this week with Martha and Mary,
Jesus challenged ACCEPTED cultural norms.
In their culture, Mary was to be helping Martha, as women were to be serving men, not to be socializing
and fraternizing with them. Remember, in their culture women were often denied the right to religious
instruction. Jesus was giving both Martha and Mary the opportunity to sit as his feet as disciples and
feed them. Awesome!
imagine again for a moment: Knock, Knock. Who’s there? It’s Jesus! Is our response to Jesus, come in
and make yourself at home? Is your heart and life familiar enough for Jesus to just settle in and begin sharing with you?
He still comes knocking today, how do we respond?
In conclusion, in 1990 a woman entered a Haagen-Dazs in the Kansas City Plaza for an ice-cream cone. While
she was ordering another customer entered the store. She placed her order, turned and found
herself staring face to face with Paul Newman. He was in town filming a movie. His blue eyes
made her knees buckle. She finished paying and quickly walked out of the store with her heart still
pounding. Gaining her composure, she suddenly realized she didn’t have her cone; she turned to go
back in. At the door she met Paul Newman who was coming out. He said to her, "Are you
looking for your ice-cream cone?" Unable to utter a word she nodded yes. "You put it in your
purse with your change."
When was the last time the presence of God made you forget what was going on around you?
Made you forget the dishes? Made you forget the ball game? Made you forget the bank account? Made
you forget where...you put your ice cream cone?
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