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S. Pentecost 6.25 Genesis 18:1-15; Luke 10:38-42

Martha is not… bossy. Nooo! She just knows what Jesus should be doing. She exemplifies what our Beloved Synod has been yammering away at pastors to be since the late ‘70s—a “Servant-Leader”.

Yes, this is a marvelous text! No one could model Servant-Leadership better than Martha! She is what every modern LCMS pastor should be, really—according to the current thinking. I see only one, tiny little fly in the ointment: Jesus rebukes Martha for her “Servant-Leadership”; says her sister Mary has chosen the better way. Hmm… what is the difference between Mary’s way and Martha’s in this text?

Well, we could contrast Abraham’s way of meeting the LORD with Martha’s, and perhaps this will help us… see?

The set-ups are nearly identical. Jesus appears at their doorstep. Food is prepared. But the Way of Abraham is glaringly different than Martha’s. You see it in the mood of the verbs. Abraham’s verbs are all subjunctive—questions, really; while Mary’s are indicative middle-deponents, orders, actually…

Abraham is sitting in the door of his tent, under the oaks of Mamre, in the heat of the day, looks up, and sees three men standing right in front of him, as if they’ve apparated like wizards from the Harry Potter books (an important clue, right there!).

When Abraham sees them standing there, he races to meet them, and bows himself to the earth and says: “My Lord! If I have found favor in your sight [subjunctive verb—maybe he has?, maybe he hasn’t?, not for Abraham to say; really—just questions, not making statements, certainly not giving orders!]

“…maybe don’t pass by your servant?, maybe let a little water be brought to wash your feet?, maybe you might want to rest yourselves under the tree? while I could, maybe? bring a morsel of bread? that you may refresh yourselves?, if you feel like it?, and after that you might pass on?, since you have come to your servant???” 😉

Simply put: Abraham is not a Servant-Leader (a Leader of servants—a Master, is what that amounts to 😉 He’s just a servant-follower. He’d never presume to tell the LORD what he should be doing! Just throws out some possibilities for the Lord to decide… 😉

Martha isn’t like Abraham! The ESV has her “welcome” Jesus into her house, mistranslating the Greek—an indicative middle deponent form of υποδεχομαι, literally: “under-receive”— to receive as an underling!

The lexicons make it sound nice: “receive as a guest”. But the Greek makes it clear Martha is treating Jesus as lower than she is, like her… servant, to show her lordly Leadership, rather than the other way ‘round—as it was for Abraham, bowing, scraping, wondering if maybe the Lord would like to order him to prepare a meal?, or serve him in some other way? Because it’s not for Abraham to say, not for him to “run the verbs”, only for the Master!

The ESV’s group of translators was committed to Calvin’s style of “Servant-Leadership” recalling here C.S. Lewis’s assessment of Calvin as being “Marx and Lenin in one person”—the ultimate tyrant!) And translating “under-receive” as “Welcome!” makes it sound all humble and nice and lowly instead of the tyranny that’s really on display!

Now: Mary’s quite different way of meeting Jesus, Luke shows us at once! Mary, Mary quite un-contrary, curls up like a puppy dog at the Master’s feet and, in Greek, “is hearing [Imperfect Active tense] the word of him” as a servant attending constantly to her Master’s bidding.

Mary isn’t shown as having “listened” [past tense] “to his teaching” as if Jesus were Calvin imposing ideology on the hapless masses. Einstein was not quite right that “God is in the details”. In holy scriptures, I would say, with my old teacher Paul Holmer, that God is in the grammar!

But Martha was distracted with “Servant-Leadership”. She is… confused. She thinks she’s serving, but cannot see how BOSSY she is—that even in “serving”, she is really taking the role of Master, Leader of God’s own Servant! Because… she cannot resist telling Jesus what he should be doing!—and let that sink down deep into your ears!

She went up to Jesus and goes: “Lord; do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her to help me!” Telling Jesus!? what he needs to tell the rest of us to do is making Jesus your servant who needs your LEADERSHIP!

I don’t know what else to call that but a blasphemous Category Error!—not seeing who the Master and who the servant really is!

Jesus shows his Mastery paradoxically—by serving, by refusing to be our “Dear Leader” as the Soviets had to call Lenin and Stalin. He won’t boss Martha or Mary. He simply says: “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, [being the Leader of Servants is exhausting, anxious WORK! “We tried to found a small, anarchist community. But no one would follow the rules.” ;-)]

“…but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen that Good Part which will not be taken from her.”

Turning back to Abraham… after voicing his subjunctive mood questions about what the Lord might want?: “maybe rest in the shade? Maybe a nice little picnic of veal and cake and curds and milk?” It is the LORD who says “Do as you have said.” Hey, “you read my mind!”. And only then is the meal prepared and served, without anxiety 😉

But, did you notice? Jesus never enters Abraham’s house! The meal is served al fresco, picnic style. Jesus, like my wife, seems to prefer picnics. And Abraham does not sit at the table like he is Lord, doesn’t even… eat—because he isn’t invited. He, maybe, has the scraps in the kitchen, later… 😉

The Lord says “I stopped by to tell you: Sarah shall have a son, this time next year—my treat.”

The only one who knows what we should be doing is the LORD!!! And it turns out what we should be doing is… NOTHING! Just be sitting at his feet, soaking up the Son…

He comes to our house today, showing his paradoxical Mastery by serving us the word of life, the bread of heaven, giving himself all away for any and all who will simply… RECEIVE!

Only two ways to go with Jesus: lead him, or follow him. Martha leads, takes charge, tells Jesus what he should be doing(!), caught up by troubles, anxieties. Mary follows, takes a seat, like Ransom at the end of Perelandra: no desires, neither lonely nor afraid, drawn to the place where she can just sit at her Master’s feet, ready for anything, really…

Ready to go even to dark Mt. Moriah with Abraham, ready to lose everything with Jesus on scary Golgotha. But, hey: all we have to lose is… our troubles, cares, and anxieties; and all Jesus offers in exchange is… forgiveness, life, salvation.

Under the shade trees of Mamre, in the house at Bethany, in this house today, is the Good Part Abraham and Mary find as servant-followers of Jesus. Here, there’s nothing to do just take a seat, at his feet, soaking up the Son as Peace, surpassing all understanding, guards your heart and mind in Christ Jesus. Amen.