Be Prayerfully Active
July 18, 2010
A few Wednesday nights ago we were discussing the “hard sayings of Jesus” in our study of James Moore’s book Yes Lord I Have Sinned (But I Have Several Excellent Excuses) and we named some of the “sayings of Jesus” we found hard to follow such as “turning the other cheek” or giving someone our cloak when they ask for our coat or going “the extra mile” for someone or loving our enemies. I must admit that this passage we have before us today is one of those “hard passages” for me that I struggle with. It is not one I like to preach on – in fact I can probably count on 1 hand the number of times I have preached on it very often in the 25 years I have been in the ministry. I suppose my struggle with this passage comes in feeling like I have to identify with either Mary or Martha – and live like either one or the other – and I am not comfortable with having to make that choice. Yea, this is one of those “hard sayings of Jesus” or “hard passages” for me.
What about you?
Do you feel you have to identify with either Mary or Martha in this passage?
Well – if you had to make a choice – which would you identify with the most?
Would you identify the most with Martha — busily trying to be a good hostess — but being distracted — perhaps to the point of forgetting what was truly important in this situation — what was really important when Jesus was this close to her — when she actually had the opportunity to fellowship with Him — listen to Him — learn from Him — even worship Him — and get to know Him better? Or – would you identify the most with Mary — sitting at Jesus’ feet — listening to Him — fellowshipping with Him — learning from Him — even worshipping Him — getting to know Him — but — leaving Martha with all the work?
Are you a Martha — or a Mary?
Martha — intent on getting things done — or Mary — intent on a relationship with Jesus?
Martha — or Mary?
Which one will you be?
A lot of times that’s the way we feel we have to respond to this lesson — isn’t it?
We feel this lesson calls us to choose — to decide which one to be — to decide if we want to be active like Martha — or prayerful like Mary.
We feel we have to choose one or the other.
Maybe you can understand Martha’s frustration because you have been in situations like hers in your life when you feel everyone is just “sitting around” and you’re having to do all the work!
Yea – we might feel – when we read this passage — that we need to choose which we want to be like – which way we want to live – either like active Martha or prayerful Mary. It’s almost like the categories “Martha” and “Mary” were added to the Myers-Briggs personality test – although I am not sure how they would be abbreviated.
But wait —
Is that really what this lesson is all about?
Do we really have to choose?
Do we really have to be like Martha or to be like Mary?
Or – - Is there a way we can be both?
Is there a way we can spend time nurturing our relationship with Christ being prayerful like Mary — and also spend time doing things for Christ – like Martha?
Is there a way we can live that gives us a balance between active Martha and prayerful Mary?
Maybe – and maybe that’s what this story is all about.
Maybe that’s what God is trying to say to us in this lesson.
Maybe we don’t have to choose to live like active Martha or prayerful Mary — but can find a way to be both. Maybe we can find a way to nurture the Mary within each of us that yearns to sit at Jesus’ feet and listen to Him — and the Martha within each of us that is excited about stepping out into the world with actions.
Maybe we don’t have to choose to be Martha or Mary — but can choose to be Martha and Mary.
Can we be both?
Can we nourish both sides of our relationship with God and the world?
I believe that we not only can — but I believe we need to.
I believe that it’s time to learn to nourish both our prayerful Mary side — and our active Martha side.
It’s time for us to be Mary and Martha.
I call this being prayerfully active.
Prayerful Mary and active Martha.
Prayerfully active.
We don’t need to choose to be one or the other – we need to choose to be both.
We need to choose to nourish both our prayerful, Mary side — and our active Martha side. It takes a delicate balance between the two to be the prayerfully active disciples and Church that God is calling us to be – but it can be done.
The first thing we need to know is – which is the most important in these 2 qualities – the one we need to develop first?
In the passage before us Jesus says that it’s Mary who does the most important thing.
She is listening to Him — getting to know Him — establishing a relationship with Him – and letting Him change her life — worshipping Him – and fellowshipping with Him.
That’s the first step to being prayerfully active — and the most important step for us.
Without the prayerful side of our lives — the worshipful side — the side that listens — gets to know — establishes a relationship with — and fellowships with Jesus — the side that spends time with Jesus and lets Jesus change our lives — without this side — the active side will tire out too soon — and we also put ourselves in danger of either not doing things that God would have us to do – or doing things that God would not have to do.
We need to start by being prayerful.
But — without the active side of our lives — our prayers — our worship — our time getting to know Jesus and establishing a relationship with Him — our time letting Jesus change our lives — these times might help us — but what help would they be to others?
We need prayers — but we also need actions.
To be the Christians – the Church – God would have us be – we don’t need to be prayerful or active – but we need to be prayerful and active.
We need both sides in our lives.
Prayerfully active.
It’s not time to be prayerful Mary or active Martha — it’s time to be both.
You know — sometimes we may feel that our lives are so confusing that we don’t know which way to turn.
We get that way sometimes, don’t we?
Like Martha we get so busy and so preoccupied with doing things and getting things done that we miss opportunities to worship God and let Him speak to us — let Him really change our lives so the things we get done are the things He would have us to get done. Like Martha — sometimes we get distracted and worried about many things — and forget the one thing that is really necessary.
Do you ever feel that way?
I know I do.
We all do.
There are also times in our lives we may feel that way as a community of faith — as a Church — so distracted with so many things that we forget what’s really important.
This might be one of those times for us as a Church.
We might feel the future is very uncertain – and not know what God would have us to be doing.
So — what do we do?
Do we become distracted like Martha — rushing around — trying to do many things – or like Mary — do we spend time in prayer — time listening to Jesus — time asking God what direction He would have the Church to go — time trying to discern God’s will for our lives and our Church?
This may be a time for us to learn to be prayerfully active.
This may not be a time for us to be either prayerful or active – but both. This might be a time for us to prayerfully consider what God would have us be doing – and then busy ourselves doing it.
This may be a time for us to truly be prayerfully active.
About 10 years ago I was the pastor at a Church that was at a crossroads in their faith journey. They had been yoked with another Church for almost 100 years – but the other, larger Church felt it was time for them to dissolve the yoke and go out on their own.
Where would this leave the smaller Church?
Where would that leave Sally and me?
What were we going to do?
While we were going through this struggle I went with the youth from the 5 church youth group I was working with to a camp in Tennessee on the Doe River. This was a camp was not like Camp Pee Dee – but was much more intentional on building leaders. It was equipped with a lot of high ropes courses and white water rafting – and also had great worship and fellowship opportunities. I remember one of the messages we heard that week dealt with King Jehoshaphat. It was based on the story from II Chronicles 20. If you keep up with the Read Through The Bible In A Year plan we attached in your January newsletter read the passage last week. I’m not going to read that story to you — but I urge you to go home and read it.
In this passage Israel is about to be attacked by an enemy much stronger that they.
What does Jehoshaphat do?
Instead of acting impulsively — rushing out into battle — he calls for a national prayer service — and prays for God to reveal His will to them. God answers them — and they step out in faith – and are victorious.
It took prayer and action for Jehoshaphat to learn and do God’s will.
Prayer to discern God’s will — then action to act on it.
I don’t mind saying that this particular message brought me to tears — because I saw how I was not listening to God in my own situation.
I went back to the smaller Church and we prayed – and learned what God wanted us to do. I continued serving the smaller Church and working in the school system and as Director of an Outreach Center for around 6 more years – until I came here.
I had to learn that I needed to be prayerful and active.
I needed to be prayerfully active.
I must admit that it’s not easy for me to be prayerfully active.
It’s not easy for me to take time to pray and wait for God’s answer when a problem presents itself.
Maybe it’s not easy for you, either.
Too many times I become like Martha — worried and preoccupied over many things — and forgetting what’s important. It’s not easy for me in the middle of a problem or a major decision to stop — pray — and wait for God to speak. But it’s necessary. Then — it’s necessary to act on what God says – which can be difficult, too.
Maybe – like Jehoshaphat – you feel like the enemy is about to attack.
Maybe you feel that your life is under siege.
Maybe you feel the Church is somehow under siege that we have to do something – but you don’t know what.
Well — don’t just act — but pray — then act.
Be prayerfully active.
Lets’ be prayerfully active.
At the same camp they had what they called the “Pamper Pole”. You were strapped in a harness and others from your group were on the ground holding a cord that was attached to your harness – and you were supposed to climb to the top of a telephone pole — then jump — swing on a Trapeze — before you let go and your teammates lowered to the ground. I must admit that I learned about prayer and action on that pole. As I got near the top of the pole — I was scared. I prayed. But guess what — my prayers couldn’t get me down. I had to act. I had to continue climbing – and when I reached the top – I prayed again. But even then my prayers could not get me down – I again had to act. I had to jump. And when I did — I was lowered down by those holding the rope I was secured to.
It took prayer — and it took action.
You might feel that you’re on top of that pole right now — scared — knowing you have to do something — but not knowing what to do. We might feel that — as a Church — we are on top of the pole right now — scared — knowing we have to do something — but not knowing what to do.
Let’s be prayerful – and let’s be active.
Pray.
Listen for God to tell you what to do.
Listen for God to tell us what to do.
Then — act.
Jump.
Make that leap of faith.
And know that God is not going to let us fall — as long as we seek and act on His will.
We can’t choose to be prayerful or active.
We can’t choose if we are going to be prayerful Mary or active Martha.
We can choose to be both prayerful and active.
We can choose to be prayerfully active. Amen.
