Luke 10.38-end
Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’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; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.’
I think I get a bit of a kick out of being busy. If I have a lot of tasks to do in a day, if there are deadlines to keep, I seem to get a real buzz of adrenaline as I go from task to task, there’s this to do and there’s that to do; and there is a little feeling of accomplishment every time something gets done. And before I know it I’ve got through twenty or thirty things that I wanted to get done in a day.
And yet, I don’t think it’s good for me. I get a buzz out of it yes, but I think it also gives me a headache; I get a pain at the front right of my head which I think is a result of overstimulation. And when I get they I have to go and lie down in a quiet and dark room for a while.
Maybe this is simply a product of this technological era that we’ve been going through since the enlightenment, or perhaps an extreme parody of the protestant work ethic has so instantiated itself in us then we can’t think of any other way to be. We must always be doing and doing things more quickly and efficiently.
But surely, doing more is a good thing right, after all, we can do more good if we move more quickly, so what’s the problem? Somebody once said to me ‘if you want something doing, ask a busy person.’ And they’re right, I’ve noticed that, if you want something doing, then ask somebody who is busy
But notice what Martha’s busyness is doing to her. The tasks that she has given herself have carried here away from the moment and all its importance. She is one of the most privileged people in the world, as she got to spend some time with the Lord of Life himself. And she is distracted by all the things that she thinks are important. Notice her anger and her frustration as she tries to get more and more done, and being in a hurry.
‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do the work all by myself?’
This can happen when we are busy, when we are busy it is so easy to get frustrated at others, because they don’t go at the pace that we want them to. She doesn’t see what Mary is doing, she just didn’t say how important it is; her mind is moving so quickly and she’s missing everything that’s truly important. And that’s the point, that’s what speed does, it distracts us from the things are truly important, our relationships, our families, ourselves even. How often do we have time to attend to ourselves and our own needs and wants and desires? How often to they get left by the wayside because of all the things that we need to do. Mary is doing that right now and our passage she is attending to herself by attending to her Lord sitting at his feet and listening to him
‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.’
Here is why it’s an issue. If you’re in a hurry, it is very difficult to love, it is very difficult to attend to each situation and give it the attention it deserves. If I spend time playing with my son and I’m not ‘present’ in the moment and if I’m distracted, he will pick up on that, and he will get frustrated, he will think that I don’t care about him. And he’s right to think those things, because it’s not his fault that I have allowed myself to become distracted and worried by other things; even if it is habit that has going on for years.
There’s a wonderful book published in 1979 by a Japanese Christian called Kosuke Koyama, it’s called ‘Three Mile an Hour God.’ In the preface to that book we read:
“The average speed that a human being walks at is three miles per hour. Jesus who is God walks at three miles per hour. Jesus who is God who is love walks at three miles per hour … ‘Love has its speed. It is a spiritual speed. It is a different kind of speed from the technological speed to which we are accustomed. It goes on in the depth of our life, whether we notice it or not, at three miles an hour. It is the speed we walk and therefore the speed the love of God walks.’ What a challenge! In a world that values speed, punctuality and ‘getting the job done at all costs’, … [we are called on] to slow down, tune in to the speed and the rhythm of the love of God and see what that looks like.”
When we slow down our minds, we are less anxious. We can feel love and indeed give love in return. We are attuned to God’s way of doing things. When we slow down, when we take our time, when we breathe slowly, walk slowly, and attend to each situation with our minds, and seeing them for what we are, Holy moments, then life becomes rich it becomes joyous, and most importantly, it gives us opportunities to love.
As a dad of young children, I feel this acutely, I need to remember all the time, especially when I’m in the middle of something or I’m about to rush out of the house to get to a meeting, and they call my name; I need to pay attention to them. I need to attend to them, because that’s what people that love each other do.
And that’s the point, that’s what speed does, it distracts us from the things are truly important, our relationships, our families, ourselves even. How often do we have time to attend to the most important things? How often to they get left by the wayside because of all the things that we need to do. Mary is doing that right now and our passage she is attending to herself by attending to her Lord sitting at his feet and listening to him,
In the chronicles of Narnia, in the book the ‘magician’s nephew’ Aslan the Lion sings and brings forth the sun and the stars and the whole universe into being. He brings forth creatures, and they spring to life around him and he gives some of them the ability to speak and to understand language:
“Out of the trees wild people stepped forth, gods and goddesses of the wood; with them came Fauns and Satyrs and Dwarfs. Out of the river rose the River-god with his Naiad daughters. And all these and all the beasts and birds in their different voices, low or high or thick or clear, replied: “Hail, Aslan. We hear and obey. We are awake. We love. We think. We speak. We know.” … “Creatures, I give you yourselves,” said the strong, happy voice of Aslan. “I give to you for ever this land of Narnia. I give you the woods, the fruits, the rivers. I give you the stars and I give you myself. The Dumb Beasts whom I have not chosen are yours also. Treat them gently and cherish them.”
Cherish them.
Let’s cherish each other. How about we do that? And how do we learn that? by sitting at the feet of the master and moving at His speed. Mary takes a place seated at Jesus’ feet, that’s the position of a learner, a disciple, or an apprentice. And she has chosen the better path. And it doesn’t matter what age we are, we all need to do this; sit at Jesus’ feet and learn from him.
Look at the life of Jesus in the gospels. You’ll see that it was actually when the unexpected happened, or when Jesus was interrupted, that the most amazing miracles happened. The miracle of the feeding of the 5000. A Crowd ends up following Jesus whilst he’s trying to get away for the day, and he doesn’t send them away but instead teaches them. Then they need feeding, and he does it with even the smallest amount of resources (two fishes and five loaves). The gospels speak about all kinds of people came to him often, and he healed them, because he took time with them, or in other words, he loved them. The woman who suffered from bleeding for twelve years. Jesus was walking to somebody’s house to heal somebody else, and the woman had such faith that she just touched the hem of his robe. And because Jesus was attentive, he noticed the power going out of him, even though he was being mobbed by a crowd as he travelled, he noticed the one person who needed him the most.
When we hurry, people can become a means to an end rather than an end in themselves, worthy of attention, worthy of being listened to, worthy of being helped, worthy of being noticed.
Walk at the speed of love, attune your mind to the speed of love, orientate your heart to the speed of love, three miles an hour.
Amen