"I Beg To Differ," a sermon delivered at St. George's Episcopal Church, Austin, on July 18, 2004, by Beverly Williams-Hawkins LSPS '98

Luke 10: 38 - 42

To put it in the colloquial style of the young, I'm really feeling my daughter this week. In old school vernacular, I'm resonating deeply with how she felt when she called a couple weeks ago and said:
"Mamma, you gotta help me out girl. I just left bible study and girl that man ran me hot. He didn't give nothing I can work with. I sat in there listening to that man talking about a whole bunch of stuff and saying nothing that made any sense to me. He didn't answer any of my questions. I left there and couldn't draw any conclusions for myself." Ooh girl, he ran me hot! Help me out mamma, let me ask you about a few of these concepts."

I love how young people have learned to name and describe their feelings so clearly without hesitation. "Girl, he ran me hot." I love that, and when I read the texts and annotations for the Old Testament and Gospel readings for this morning, I knew exactly what Chamagne was talking about. Those texts and annotations ran me hot. Let's take another look at them and I'll tell you why.

You'll note that Abraham's frantic running about in preparation for his visitors, whom he had no clue were anything other that strangers passing by, is described as "A fine description of oriental hospitality." You'll also note that when he asks for help he gets it. Martha's hospitality, on the hand is referred to as "unneeded acts of hospitality (the more usual woman's role)." And, of course, when she asks for help she's told to stop stressing.

Now, I don't know about you, but I always get a little agitated when this periscope is preached. I get little squirmy and can't seem to find a comfortable pew posture. I think the reason is because, quite frankly I've not heard anything about this story that I've found very compelling. I can honestly tell you that I've never heard a sermon that has helped me to resolve the Martha/Mary conundrum. Generally what I've heard goes something like this, we need to either increase our Maryness or strive for that perfect balance between our Marthaness and our Maryness. More recently, some women interpreters of the text are telling the Martha's among us to wake up and ring for coffee; Jesus has entitled us to come sit quietly at his feet. I don't know about you but quite frankly I don't find either of these options very appealing. But somewhere in all of this knew that I'd have to find a good word for us.

So, by Thursday I knew that I had a full blown agenda on my hands. I knew that it was time for me to put on the brakes, take a deep breath and pray to God for help navigating this minefield I was plunging into headlong. Now let me tell you, there is nothing as frightening to a preacher as to know that she's gotten herself caught up into her own agenda. Because let me tell you, if they don't preach anything else in homiletics class, they preach that preachers are not to have their own agendas. So now, I'm feeling Bill Cosby who recently was chastised by some members of the African American community for airing "our dirty laundry" in public. Like Cosby, I've got something to say and I run the risk of going against the grain. I stand the risk of being chastised for being exegetically incorrect, if not out right heretical.

What I want to say is that I beg to differ. I beg to differ with an interpretation of our gospel text that suggests that Martha needs to take a chill pill and de-stress. For me, Martha is who she is, does what she does, and rightly so. Martha is a householder and a host and as such there are certain requirements for hospitality that she has as much right and responsibility to attend to with great care as Abraham. After all, she knew that she was serving the Lord. And if that doesn't make a host pay a little extra attention to the details something is terribly wrong. I for one think she was entitled to a little help, from both Mary and Jesus. Ever wonder what it might have been like for Martha if Jesus had said "Here Martha, let me give you a hand."

Unfortunately, Martha didn't get the help she wanted. Jesus denied her request and metaphorically speaking, gave her a sharp rap with the ruler for asking. How messed up is that! But by god she had the chutzpah to ask, and that makes Martha okay by me. The text doesn't tell us how Martha felt about being silenced, but when I step into the text imaginatively, I see her straighten her back, pull back her shoulders, wipe her hands on her apron and head back to her kitchen thinking, "Well alright, in that case, there'll be no cakes and honey with dinner tonight." Okay, so that's a little passive-aggressive. You who are without guilt cast your red letter editions at me.

Next, I beg to differ with the notion that Mary chose the better portion. I'm not suggesting that there isn't a time for sitting in silent receptivity, taking in the wisdom of one's teacher. Heaven knows I've spent my fair share of time sitting in silent doe-eyed wonder before the learned ones. But I also know that, while I've gained some benefit from instruction received in silence, my most memorable and lasting learning occurs when I've been in dialogue with the teacher as Martha was with Jesus. It also occurs to me that Martha, like many women, was probably a natural multi-tasker. I imagine that she was able to catch a fair amount of Jesus' teaching somewhere between the shopping and the serving. In any event, whether she learned her lessons during her toe-to-toe dialogues with Jesus or somewhere between the lentils and the bread, we know she learned them well. The Women's Bible Commentary informs us that in the Gospel of John, Martha makes the central Christological confession that Jesus is Christ, the son of God, just as Peter does in the synoptic gospels. Girlfriend may have had her issues, but she was no theological slouch.

What about Mary? Well, for now, not much. Despite the fact that many an interpreter touts Mary as the winner in this story and places her on the dais of model discipleship and all, I'm afraid she simply does not have the presence that Martha does. In this story Mary is silent. Neither Martha nor Jesus addresses her and she doesn't speak up for herself. Given that, I suspect that Mary did in fact choose the portion that was right for her temperament. And though she is quiet, Mary is no theological slacker herself. The Women's Bible Commentary also points that Mary also enters into dialogue with Jesus in the Gospel of John and performs the prophetic action of anointing his feet.

What I see here is a story of two women, each making her own decision about how best she might to be in the company in a way that is true to her temperament and deep longings for God. It is a place that each one of us has to come to at points along our journeys. But I believe that this kind of self-determination is particularly crucial for women as we begin to cast off roles that were determined for us in favor of roles that we define and take on ourselves.

So, what do I want you to take away with you this morning. For my sisters, I offer the following challenges:

1) to take responsibility for you own learning and be an active interpreter of scripture in both your personal study and in dialogue with other women and with men

2) connect with your own inner authority and trust that God will reveal Herself to you through your own experiences, in ways you will understand and that will help you to make meaning of your life and you journey with Jesus

3) experiment with imaginatively entering into the scriptures; identify with the characters that speak your address your concerns, ask the questions that are pertinent to your particular experience, be playful with the Word, enjoy it, romp in it, revel in it, wrestle with it or simply rest in it

4) Share what you find there with your partners, your children, your friends, and others; and know that when you do you contribute to the ongoing struggle that women face in trying to find themselves in scriptures written primarily from a male perspective

My brothers, I encourage to open yourselves more and more to the scriptures as interpreted by women. Enter into dialogue about the Word with your wives, your daughters, your mothers, your sisters and your women friends. Ask questions, listen carefully and sometimes quietly to hear the unique take that we women have on the Christian story and learn to find meaning for your selves through our particular perspectives.

Sisters and brothers in the faith I pray that you accept my challenge because I know in my heart of hearts that the end result will be a net gain for all of us-for ourselves, our partners, our church and our world. I believe that when we look at scripture through the eyes of another we see more, learn more, and share more of God. And more of God in our eyes, in our hearts and on our lips can only be good news. Amen.