Morning Devotion for the Season after Pentecost
July 29, 2022
Invitatory
Send out your light and your truth, that they may lead me, and bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.
The mercy of the Lord is everlasting: Come let us adore him.
Reading - Luke 10: 38-42
Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at Jesus’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks, so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her, then, to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things, but few things are needed—indeed only one. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”
Meditation - Winnie Smith
“Mary has chosen the better part.” This line has always struck me when I’ve read Luke’s account of Jesus’s visit to the home of sisters Mary and Martha in Bethany. At first reading, it seems that Jesus is clearly picking favorites: Mary is the devoted one. Martha should strive to be more like her. As someone who is more often identified with Martha than Mary, I have always found this simplistic interpretation irksome. Is my desire to do things, to clean or cook before company arrives, the worse part? If we all sit and worship at the feet of our guests, how will anything get done, and how is that really showing hospitality? As usual, there is more to unpack and understand in this Gospel passage.
A friend of mine preached on this text just a couple of weeks ago, and I loved his exposition. He explained that Mary’s position of sitting at Jesus’s feet and listening to him was counter-cultural. Most women would never have done such a thing, as only men were permitted to sit at the feet of their rabbis. Mary broke social order because of her devotion to her teacher, and in doing this, she chose “the better part.” She recognized that what Jesus had to offer her was worth far more than whatever punishment or social ostracization she might face for taking a man’s place at the feet of the teacher. When Jesus speaks to Martha, he is not chastising her. Instead, he is giving her permission to stop acting for a moment and to rest. To listen rather than do. She is not being corrected, but is being invited to worship Jesus. He is telling her that she is acceptable just as she is, regardless of what she does, and that the best thing she can do is stop and hear him.
This Gospel reading is appointed for two commemorations today: that of Martha and Mary, of course, and that of the Philadelphia Eleven. These eleven were the first women to be ordained priests in the Episcopal Church, just down the road at the Church of the Advocate in Philadelphia on July 29, 1974. Mary and Martha, I think, laid the groundwork for this level of participation by women in the worship of the Lord. It took a while for the Church to catch up and recognize the validity of women stepping into formal leadership roles, but it started with these sisters. By preparing the house for Jesus, Martha demonstrated active faith. Mary, listening attentively at the feet of Jesus, showed contemplation and devotion. The Philadelphia Eleven exemplified all these qualities. They were not discouraged by the expectations placed on them (or more accurately, not placed on them), nor did they lose hope when they consistently heard “no” from church authorities. They knew they were called, and they chose to follow that call of devotion and service to God’s Church in the face of opposition. They chose the better part.
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
