What is the one thing?

July 17, 2022 + Lectionary 16c + Luke 10:38-42 + Pr. Craig Mueller

Martha is worried and distracted. Mary has chosen the one thing, the most important thing. But what is the one thing? Wouldn’t you love to discover the one thing that would give you peace of mind? The one thing that would lower the temperature these days? (I’m talking metaphorically) The one thing that would solve the mounting problems of the nation and the planet?

We’re always being asked to identify the one thing. For example, the one thing that most concerns—that worries you—and potential voters with midterm elections in sight. The economy. Abortion. Extremist groups. The threat to democracy. Climate change. Something else? What is the one thing that matters most to you these days?

There’s a lot packed into the four verses into today’s gospel. Including two words that describe the days we are living. But since they were two words used back in biblical times, I wonder if they are words that always describe the human condition. Worried and distracted.

I asked a group of Holy Trinity folks what most distracted them these days. What takes away their focus from the one thing, or the things that really matter? Several said the news. Several mentioned all the shouting voices in the media and in social media. Others mentioned technology, their wristwatch, the demands of everyday life. The phone in my pocket is always a distraction to me. Shall I open an app? Shall I check my email? My phone distracts me from the gift of nature. It distracts me from giving full attention to the person in front of me. It distracts me from my thoughts and feelings.

Mental health is a great concern for a growing number of Americans, especially youth. Listen to this recent headline: “The age of distracti-pression.” And the secondary headline: “The pandemic’s toll on mental health won’t be known for a long time, but data from the past two years indicates a rise—some of it sharp—in prescription drugs for conditions like A.D.H.D. and depression.” Distraction and depression. There is a great spike in people taking Alderall and other medications that treat Attention Deficit Disorder. Many people are burned out, lethargic, and forced to focus all day on computer screens.1 Are we now an ADHD Nation, as one book title puts it?

One thing we often do with this gospel is to look at the Mary and Martha story in simple terms. At first glance, Martha gets a little slap from Jesus for whining about being left with all the kitchen work. While Mary gets the compliment for doing nothing but giving Jesus her full attention.

Sidebar: Luke is giving women roles that would be surprising back then. Martha welcomes Jesus into her home and provides hospitality. Welcoming would be a man’s role. And Mary is a disciple sitting at rabbi Jesus’ feet. Again, a man’s role.

So that is the one thing important in this story?

Martha, we’re coming to your defense! Martha is doing good work. She is serving. Get your mind out of the kitchen. Think of serving in a larger, biblical way. Martha represents the ministry of service—

diakonia, something we are all called to in baptism. Or think of Martha as the EveryPerson. A life overburdened by anxiety and worry.

But in her hospitality, in her serving, Martha is distracted by the little things. Like the seed that falls on thorns and gets choked by the world. Like Jesus urging us to not worry about what we will eat or drink. And then: Martha gets stuck in the self-justifying, feel-sorry-for yourself mode.

But listen to Jesus’ compassionate response to Martha. He repeats her name twice, for emphasis, like in other biblical passages. Martha, Martha. You are worried and distracted. Mary has chosen the better part. This one thing that will not be taken away from her.

There is the one thing again. What is the one thing that Mary is modeling to Martha? And to us?

Is it being focused on hearing the word of the Lord? Is it deep listening? Is it providing a different kind of hospitality—being truly present to guests, being present to strangers, being present to the other, being present to God—as Jesus was intently focused on all to whom he ministered?

Indeed, Jesus calls his disciples to a life of service, a life of action, a life of justice. But all our good deeds will deplete us. All our service will exhaust us. All our ministry will tire us out. Without the one thing.

Before the pandemic I would have identified the one un-thing, the one big problem for many of us, is that we are too busy. Crazy busy. And we brag about how busy we are and how much we work.

These days we are still busy, but as one article puts it: “we are exhausted, too wiped at the end of the day to do more than stress-eat, binge-watch and doomscroll.”2 There’s the so-called Great Resignation. And there’s the growing lack of trust in institutions. And there’s stand-up comedian Kath Barbadoro’s tweet on the state of our planet: “It’s pretty funny that the world is ending and we all just have to keep going to our little jobs lol.”

The author of the article added. People would love to be engaged in something that mattered—I’ll call it the “one thing”—“instead of forfeiting their limited hours on Earth to make a little more money for men they’d rather throw fruit at as they pass by in tumbrels.”3 In case you need the definition of tumbrels: farmer’s carts, especially for hauling manure.

What is the one thing? Well, in a children’s sermon the answer is always Jesus. The one thing in our Colossians reading is an ancient Christ hymn. Christ, the fullness of God. Christ, the mystery of God. Christ, the one who holds all things together. Christ, the one who reconciles all things.

But there is more. There is always more than one thing in scripture, in theology, in spirituality. It’s the great Lutheran dialectic of seeing things from different perspectives. Abraham and Sarah provide hospitality to the three mysterious guests—strangers—that arrive seeking sustenance. Jesus provides hospitality at our table. The guest, Jesus, becomes the host. And we become Christ’s body. We become bearers of the hospitality we receive.

There are many things to ponder in the story of Mary and Martha. Reflect on what the one thing is for you these days. Even as Holy Trinity will consider our priorities for the future.

Thank goodness we know the one thing that will always be there for us: God’s grace. And a few more. Forgiveness. And mercy. And compassion. So listen up! Even when we whine and when we worry. Even when we are distracted. The one thing there for us . . . is always grace.

1Casey Schwartz, “The Age of Districti-pression.” New York Times. July 10, 2022.

2Tim Kreider, “It’s Time to Stop Living the Great Scam,” New York Times. July 7, 2022.

3Tim Kreider, “Stop living the Great Scam.”