This sermon was preached by Dan Harper at Berkeley, California, to the Ministerial Fellowship Commitee of the Unitarian Universalist Association. As usual, the sermon below is a reading text. The actual sermon as preached contained ad libs, interjections, and other improvisation. Sermon copyright (c) 2003 Daniel Harper.
I’m leaving this sermon here to show the kind of thing that apparently appealed to the Ministerial Fellowship Committee back in the day — because they did in fact approve me for ministry, even after hearing this sermon.
Once upon a time, long ago in a land far away, the wandering rabbi and miracle-worker named Jesus happened to stop in a little village only a few miles from Jerusalem. A woman named Martha live in that village, and she opened up her home to Jesus and his followers.
Martha opened her door, and in walked six, seven, eight — ten — twelve followers. With Jesus, that made thirteen guests for her table! Martha began to hustle back and forth, making preparations so that all these visitors could be welcomed at her table.
But Mary, Martha’s sister, sat at the feet of Jesus. Instead of helping Martha, Mary sat there listening to whatever it was that Jesus was saying — something about the coming kingdom of God.
Needless to say, Martha was annoyed by Mary’s behavior. Why did Mary just sit there? Why couldn’t Mary come and help out?
So Martha said politely to Jesus, You know, I need some help with all the necessary preparations. I’m afraid you’re going to have to let Mary go, so she can come help me serve at the table.
But Jesus replied: “Martha, Martha. You are worried and upset about many things…. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
And on this unsatisfactory note, the traditional story, as it was told by the early Christian writer known as Luke, abruptly ends.
The story of Mary and Martha bothers me. I don’t believe it — I don’t want to believe that Jesus could have been quite so unsympathetic.
And I have come to realize that the story bothers me in the same way I am bothered when I hear people say that the work of church committees is “scut work” — or in the same way I am bothered by the people who think ministers only work for an hour or so each week. I am bothered because I do not believe religion just appears, that religion is granted by some higher authority. I don’t believe religion is passive — I believe religion is something that each of us has to help create.
Maybe that’s a radical thought — I don’t know — that religion is something we are in the process of re-creating together. But this raises a related point about the story that troubles me — and that point is, Who gets to help create religion?
Feminist Bible scholars such as Elisabeth Schussler-Fiorenza have pointed out that when you read this story in the original Greek, when Martha talks about the work she’s doing, serving at the table, she uses the same words that are used to talk about church leaders who served communion.
You see, it appears that back in the earliest days of the Christian church, women were church leaders right alongside men. Women founded churches; women served in leadership roles; and women had the priestly right to serve communion.
But, say the feminist Bible scholars, whoever wrote the gospel of Luke, whoever wrote down the story of Mary and Martha, did not like the idea of women serving as church leaders. He injected his own opinions into the story: woman may sit and listen to the Word as it is preached by men; but they may not take active leadership roles, women may not become active co-creators of religion.
Traditionally, Mary is the heroine of this story. Women are supposed to act like the heroine — but not act like pushy Martha. I suspect you won’t be surprised to learn that my heroine is Martha. When I teach Sunday school — when I do religious education — I encourage young people tobbe pushy just like Martha. We should all be pushy like Martha — actively working with each other to create religion; and asking for help, asking for shared leadership.
What would happen if we today really took Martha seriously? What would happen if we actively shared leadership, seeing religion as something we create together?
Well, let’s start with committees — after all, we’re all here on church committee business. Committees are great, because they give us the opportunity to invite many different persons into shared leadership. Contrary to what some would have us believe, committees are not an evil device for inflicting drudgery and “scut work” onto unsuspecting people! Committees can be — should be — a deeply satisfying way to share leadership. And I believe Martha is calling on us to open up leadership to persons who, like Martha, are usually shut out of leadership positions —
— just as this committee did recently when you broke and age barrier and asked a young adult in her early twenties to join this committee;
— just as People’s Church in Chicago has been breaking down economic and class distinctions by inviting homeless persons to become members and serve on committees;
and I’m sure you can think of your own examples.
I’d like to think that the story of Martha does not end the way it does in the traditional story as told by Luke. Here’s the way I wish the story ended:
Jesus says, Martha, Martha, leave Mary alone.
Fine, says Martha. Mary, if you need to sit and listen to Jesus, if that’s where you need to be right now, that’s OK.
Martha goes back out in the kitchen where the other women are, and she forms a commitee, which they call the Women’s Alliance. They not only cook for Jesus and his followers, they alos manage to feed the hundreds of homeless people who have followed Jesus.
They organize further, and propose a Women in Religion resolution, which is adopted, and soon half of all church leaders are women. They ally with other committees who represent oppressed minorities, work to overcome economic injustice — well, you get the idea.
Soon they’re on the way to creating the kind of “Kingdom of God” that Jesus talked about.
And I guess if I had to say the moral of the story, it would be this: Never underestimate the power of church committees. Never underestimate the power of shared leadership. Because religion is something that we work to create together.