Today is the Feast of Mary Magdalene, and last Sunday in church we heard the classic account of Jesus’ visit to her and her sister Martha’s home in Bethany. While the dutiful Martha is at hard at work in the kitchen, Mary sits at Jesus’ feet in prayer and adoration, and Jesus praises her for “choosing the better part.” To be honest, this story always leaves me feeling personally attacked by Jesus. After all, it is Mary’s feast day, but without Martha there would be no feast!
Scholars have commented at length on this encounter in an effort to justify Martha—and perhaps themselves! (I encourage you to sign up for the Rev. Meredith Ward’s class on Imagining Mary Magdalene beginning this Tuesday to learn more). Nevertheless, as a self-professed Martha, a plain reading of this text causes me to want to push back and say, “But Jesus, wait a second—you don’t understand! Trust me, I was born this way. Being a Martha is not merely a ‘lifestyle decision.’ I can’t help it!!!”
Icon by Kristen Wheeler.
I know I am not alone. We here at St. Bart’s find ourselves in a frenetic and frenzied time, in a frenetic and frenzied city, in a frenetic and frenzied world. It is a “Martha world,” in which productivity and profit are all too often equated with virtue. So what if we let down our defenses long enough to hear Jesus words not as a judgmental critique but as a compassionate invitation to rest, to pray, to savor the moment, to seize the day? To remember we are meant to be human beings, not humans doing?
In his book, Sabbath as Resistance: Saying No to the Culture of Now, theologian Walter Brueggemann argues that we in fact are not “born this way” but insidiously conditioned by society. He writes that, “In our own contemporary context of the rat race of anxiety, the celebration of Sabbath is an act of both resistance and alternative. It is resistance because it is a visible insistence that our lives are not defined by the production and consumption of commodity goods.”
As it turns out, it takes a great deal of courage to rest, to take a pause, to cast our cares on the Lord who cares for us. But the more we practice, the more we receive. It was out of the same deep well of courage and faith that Mary Magdalene became the first witness of the resurrection and the first preacher of the Gospel, speaking out in a world that silences women, and proclaiming hope in a world that thought hope was lost. Time spent in holy rest at Jesus' feet prepared and empowered her for the most holy work anyone could possibly imagine.
So, an unabashed invitation to come to church (or back to church) this Sunday, in-person or online, as we gather with Mary Magdalene at the foot of God’s altar once more. Come and pause. Come and pray. Come reflect. Come receive. Come borrow courage from the saints of ages past as we seek strength for the work to which God calls us. It will be a holy waste of time, together. We’re saving you a seat!
Blessings,
