Worried and Distracted?
This is the sermon I preached two Sundays ago at St. Timothy Lutheran Church. The text was Luke 10:38-42. Ah, another story that we know. It’s not only familiar, but we’re pretty sure we know what it means, don’t we? Devotional books tell us to be like Mary and not like Martha, but is that what this gospel says? This episode begins with a journey motif, tying this scene to the preceding one, of last week’s Good Samaritan. This is part of Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem. Here Luke highlights the overarching concern with extending or refusing hospitality to those on the road. The fact that this is Martha’s home tells us that there is no man around as head of the house. We have no mention of Lazarus, but because of the similarity to the Gospel of John’s telling of this scene, we can assume these two women are Lazarus’ sisters. Being Martha’s home tells us about her status. Martha is portrayed as one of the women who supported Jesus and his mission from their own resources (8:1–3). Of cou...