Putting Words in Jesus' Mouth [Proper 11C - Luke 10:38-42]

 The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson

Luke 10:38-42

 

Putting Words in Jesus’ Mouth

St. James, Lake Delaware

 

It was a bold move.  But somebody had to do it.  Because they were hosting a small village and Mary was just sitting there.  There were tons of tasks to do: beds and food and basins of water and coasters to put under drinks.  And with that many young men in the house, messes to clean up and scents to air out.  So, of course, Martha was scurrying around, checking off task after task with little to no help – no help, if you asked her.  

 

And you know how it is: siblings don’t listen to siblings.  Mary wasn’t jumping up at Martha’s command.  Mary was tuning her out to tune into the voice of Jesus.  And, like, Martha got that.  Jesus was a great storyteller; he was interesting to listen to.  Martha would have loved to sit and listen to Jesus but there was a lot to do.  And she needed some help.

 

And so, yes, it was a bold move.  But somebody had to do it.  And so Martha went right up to Jesus and told Jesus how to Jesus – sprinkling in a little guilt trip for good measure: “Do you not care….”  Yes, she was giving Jesus his own task to worry about, but she was making it easy for him; she generously put the words right in Jesus’ mouth: “Tell her…to help me.”

 

It's not like this was unexpected.  Every person in any type of leadership role has had a similar experience.  On the regular, I am offered unsolicited advice on how to be a bishop.  In this wild political age, folks often, let’s say, “encourage” me to make public statements.  But also they make it easy for me.  They generously tell me exactly what I should say.

 

Jesus was no stranger to having words put in his mouth.  His enemies put a bunch of words in Jesus’ mouth at his trial.  They had bad intentions; but usually folks with good intentions tell Jesus how to talk.  The disciples tell him what to say often: send the 5000 away, tell those moms to control their children, stop talking about the cross, say something messianic, make people happy.  Because they wanted Jesus to stick around for a while.

 

And now Martha.  She loves Jesus.  She opened her home to him; she hustled around; she worried about him; she exhausted herself in service. Her request, her suggestion, some might say demand, isn't coming from a place of malice, but from genuine frustration and a deep-seated belief in what true hospitality requires. She sees a problem, she sees a solution (Mary helping), and she sees Jesus as the one with the authority to enact that solution.  It comes from a good place.  You know, sometimes Jesus just needs a little push – a little push in the right direction.

 

But Jesus gives her exactly what she doesn’t need right now.  It’s like when you are in an argument and your dad takes your sister’s side.  It’s the worst.  Martha wants a yes from Jesus because she is convinced that a yes is the right answer.  But Jesus says no.  Though not just no. 

 

In his firm and gentle way, Jesus offers a different path, a different priority. He doesn't dismiss Martha's work.  He sees her good heart and her good intentions.  She’s working hard to be busy for Jesus – but working hard like a hamster on a wheel.  She really wants to make Jesus happy, but she can’t stop to listen.  And so she doesn’t realize that he is happy when they are together.  Jesus doesn't say "no" to her hospitality; he says "yes" to something deeper.

 

Martha was trying; she was busy because she was worried – worried that it is never going to be enough, worried that she is never going to be enough.  And so, unlike her sister, she won’t stop, because then the worries will catch up.  And she is trying to push through the pain. 

 

As many of us know, it is painful to live with the persistent churn of worry.  That discomfort drives us to scramble for a solution, a fix.  Anything to calm the mind and quiet the soul.  Jesus fixes a lot of people and problems in the Gospel.  And Jesus is in Martha’s home.  He’s right there.  And she knows he can put her worries to rest.  And in her very human way, she brings her own perfect solution to the one she believes is the answer.  And she lays out the plan, tells Jesus exactly what to do and say.  To make her feel better.  To give her some peace.

 

She takes action.  And isn’t that what we are taught to do?  See problem, fix problem?  Life is tough.  There are too many things to worry about.  It’s hard to know what to do - not that that’s stopping anyone.  Folks are busy doing stuff, all over the place.  If we don’t fix things, who will?  I suspect deep down, most struggle to really trust Jesus - that Jesus can take care of things, and take care of us.  Honestly, how will Jesus know how to Jesus us if we don’t tell him how to Jesus?  And I hear that sometimes it helps to even sprinkle in a guilt-tripped motivation: “Do you not care…?”  

 

There is so much to do.  So much to fix.  So much to say.  And so no time to listen.  Because listen doesn’t get things done.

 

And yet Jesus, in his frustratingly Jesus way, is asking us to listen.  To sit still and listen.  In this world?  In this nation?  With this task list?  Let’s be honest, that feels like an unreasonable request.

 

Also it is exactly what we need to hear.  Exactly what Martha needed to hear.  She was being a good host.  She was doing all the things.  Except the one thing her guest wanted.  Jesus just wanted her to stop doing and sit.  Stop talking and listen.  Stop telling him how to Jesus and just let him be Jesus. 

 

Often, as Christians, we are so busy making room for Jesus that we forget that he is the one making room for us.  We are so busy talking at Jesus that we forget to listen to his voice.  We are so busy trying to save the world that we forget that Jesus has already checked that box.

 

In the swirl of this world’s chaos, it might be that Jesus is calling his Church into a quiet time.  In an age of conflict and contention, shouting and statements, peace feels like a radical choice.  If we dare to sit still at the feet of Jesus, I think we will find that we will become more like him.  And perhaps by listening to the voice of Jesus, instead of putting words in his mouth, we might find the very thing we are looking for.

 

There is so much to do and say.  And so, Jesus invites us to sit and listen.