This passage about Mary and Martha is familiar to many of you. It is fairly well known. It is a story about one women working in the kitchen and making preparations to entertain guests while her sister is involved in spiritual pursuits and assisting directly in the ministry of Jesus. And, when the kitchen gal, Martha, complains that she isn’t getting much help from Mary, Jesus points out that Mary’s spiritually-focused pursuits are better.
This passage is an important commentary about work. Work in general. Work, plain and simple. What I do every day. But also the work of stay-at-home parents, retired people, grandparent care givers and students. We all work at something everyday, and this passage gives all of us some important advice about our work.
Yes, I know its Sunday, and it is supposed to be a day of rest, but I really am going to talk about work. Because, in the Bible, work is very important.
I don’t know how many of you have thought about this, but work is one of the first things God gives man in the creation story found in Genesis. We all know that right after spending seven days creating the earth, oceans, plants and the fishes, God created Adam. Now, most of us, if we had to guess, would say that the next part of the story is when God created Eve.
However, if you check out Genesis 2, you will discover that God created work for man before he created Eve. Genesis 2 says:
“The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”
It wasn’t until two verses later that God created Eve …and the honey-do list.
Work is important in the Bible and it is an important part of living a fulfilled life. Near Akron, where I grew up, there is a preserved 19th century farm, called Hale Homestead. As you walk among the buildings, you realize that it is a celebration of the early American crafts and trades. On the site is a black smith shop, a glass blowing area, a spinning room, a canning cellar, a broom-making shop and a small candle factory. Volunteers give live demonstrations, reenacting these noble trades in the proper period costumes.
Kids of all ages love to go to Hale Homestead and watch farm life in action. It celebrates a simpler time when people simpler tools and found satisfaction in their work at the end of the day.
The story is different today, statistics show that, for the most part, we don’t like our work. Studies show that 35% of people working outside the home feel trapped in their jobs. Many others feel underutilized. Younger workers are often enslaved so they can pay off student loans. We run through life looking for better jobs and better pay, always in quest of wordly success.
Many of us worry about our work, like me…I work in one of the industries that is shipping jobs to India by the thousands.
And then, our time away from our jobs is spent doing more work—usually around the house or in the yard. I know some people who are always doing something.
I want to look at work differently today. I want to look at the spiritual component of work. Because first and foremost, we were put on this earth to engage in a lifelong process of growing closer to God and becoming more Christlike.
You see, work was never meant to be just work. It always had a role in our spiritual growth. And in that spiritual context, work is no longer just something we do to get ahead. It is not solely about profit. It is not about accomplishing more than the next person. It is not an addiction that feeds the ego. It is not about getting out of the house because we can’t stand those who live there.
The spiritual side of work involves giving and serving…not taking and taking. And it is only through giving and serving that we are transformed and made more holy. Work develops the worker
Be it, in the office, at home, in the garden, in the food pantry, or a patient’s bedside, work is an important part in the process of learning how to be in relationship with people, including those we don’t like. It is where can become less selfish and where we can grow and mature.
Joan Chittester, a Benedictine nun says, “Work is our gift to the world. It is our social fruitfulness, where we work for a greater good.” Work becomes a way that we are saved from total self-centeredness. It give us a reason to exist that is larger than ourself. It gives us hope. Work gives us a place in salvation. It helps us redeem the world from sin. It enables creation to go on creating.
Work builds community. As we work for others we give to ourselves. Work leads to self fulfillment—it uses the gifts and talents we know we have and it calls on gifts within us of which we are unaware.
I have a friend who started her own business when she was in her early 30s. She was tired of dealing with bosses who worked her too hard then took all the credit. She thought being self-employed would be much easier. But it wasn’t long before the people who hired her as an independent consultant worked her too hard. She was contracted by people far worse than her old bosses. Nothing had really changed.
But, at about the same time, her Christian spiritual journey started in earnest. She learned to make her way through a lot of tough situations by telling herself that God put these people in her path to teach her how to apply Christian teachings. She says that she would imagine Jesus on her shoulder guiding her interactions with challenging people.
I don’t know if God really does put people in our path to test us, but I do know that by looking at work relationships as a way to apply our spiritual and moral beliefs, we grow and mature in dealings with others.
Now, back to Mary and Martha and our scripture for today. We can see Martha as doing basically busy work, while ignoring the spiritual purpose of her labors. We see Mary focused on the urgency of Jesus’ ministry. We see giving and serving in Mary rather than the almost compulsive busy work in Martha that lacked long-term redeeming value.
There was important spiritual work to be done, and the master was only going to be present for a short time. Thus, Jesus said to Martha when she complained about not getting any help around the house, “Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."
Now, I don’t want to hear next week that anyone quit their job or torched the kitchen! Because it is not what we do, but how we do it.
The spiritual side of work can be practiced at any job, at any time.
Start by not backbiting. Praise others, especially when they struggle. Say nice things to your co-workers, even if they don’t say nice things to you. Let little things slide off your back. Admit and apologize for your mistakes. Let someone else have the credit for a job well done. Try to understand your client or patient’s difficulties and show empathy.
Remember that you lay claim to a higher truth and that you have a moral compass to guide you in all your endeavors, including work.
And if you tend to forget that, keep a Bible or book of Bible verses for workers at your desk or in the kitchen, wherever you work.
And finally, remember who your real boss is. You’ve probably seen the bumper sticker that says: “My boss is a Jewish carpenter.”
Well, that is the difference between Mary and Martha. And that can be the difference in your life as well.
So, let that thought guide your work this week and see if you and those around you aren’t all feeling a bit closer to God by next Sunday.
