The Holiness of Clanging Pots and a Girl who Prays

Beloved of God, grace to you and peace from God our Creator and the Savior of the world Jesus the Christ. Amen.

When our day at the village of Kijota and our time with the students, faculty, and headmasters of Hull High School had come to a close, we were ushered into a small room with a table and chairs, with benches lining the walls. Behind us the sounds of students eager to begin their weeklong break became hushed as the door was shut and our group was invited to sit down alongside the headmasters. The teachers of the school sat on the benches surrounding us, and together we joined in a meal traditional of northern Tanzanian communities: chicken, rice, ugali, stewed greens and bottled water. The meal was served by young girls, who were advanced-form students at the school, who were picking up dishes and scooping generous portions onto our plates in near silence. Once everyone was served, we were about to begin eating when one of the girls stepped forward into the center of the room. Immediately the headmasters motioned for us to stop and the girl took command of the room. She began to pray, and the room fell silent as we heard Swahili fill the space. I could recognize Mungu, “God”, and Asante, “Thank You”, but beyond that I wasn’t certain what was being prayed for – I only knew that we were in the presence of and witness to a profoundly holy moment. Here we all witnessed the connection between hospitality and divine presence, and we saw God in this young girl who recognized a rich ownership of her faith that could not be taken away.

I believe that the connection between hospitality and dwelling in God’s presence are part and parcel of an experience that brings us together in unity. In our Gospel text for today, we hear the story of Mary and Martha. Jesus and his companions are welcomed into the home of Martha. Traditional hospitality, at least in ancient Middle Eastern cultures, would have most likely included a meal to feed the guests of the household. Think of this for a moment – Martha and Mary have invited Jesus and his companions to stay for awhile, and so this involves preparing a rather large meal in terms of quantity of food. And rather than help her sister Martha with all of the various tasks, Mary goes to sit at the feet of Jesus and listens intently to his teaching. At this, Martha is perplexed, distracted, and probably angry. She comes to Jesus and asks him, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me!” Oh, boy. How many of us have heard a version of that before in our lives? Whether child to parent or sibling to sibling, it is easy to become vexed and angry when someone doesn’t seem to hold up their end of the deal to make the meal or gathering go well. Mary, in Martha’s eyes, has left her with many unfinished tasks, all to sit and listen to Jesus. How aggravating!

Yet, Jesus tells Martha that which she already knew: “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.” Now, many of us hear this story and we have probably already decided that we are Mary or we are Martha in our respective lives in how we choose to show hospitality. Notice, however, one important piece: Jesus does not condemn Mary for her worry. He doesn’t tell her to drop everything and come to listen, because I believe Jesus recognizes the holiness of this type of hospitality: creating a meal for others with probably meager resources, in a time and day when you had to give of your own livestock or grain to feed the many. Jesus knows that Martha is also fulfilling an important role: because without a meal, or some form of nourishment, they will go hungry, and will be ineffective in their ministry and work. I wonder how Jesus would have responded if Mary had said this: “Lord, I am overwhelmed with all that I have to do, and I, too, want to listen to you. Can you ask some of your disciples and maybe my sister to help me?” I imagine Jesus’ response would have been markedly different. As it stands, though, Jesus invites Martha to think of what Mary benefits from in this case. The busy-ness of hospitality is indeed holy and necessary to caring for one another well, but Mary also has the privilege of sitting in the presence of Jesus the Christ, savior of the world, the one who promises to overturn the world. Mary gets to listen to him and take in all that he will say – not unlike our moment in the board room at Hull High School where the busy-ness of hospitality was stopped and the prayer of a young girl overtook the room.

We see here a call for balance and a call for clarity as to what are the important things in our lives spiritually, materially, and otherwise. How often do we become consumed with the way “things are supposed to be”? How often do we become preoccupied with another person’s behavior that it begins to affect our own wellbeing? How often do we let the noise of this world and its demands interrupt our communion with God? Our Gospel text proclaims hospitality in itself necessary and holy. But also, I think, we see the importance of taking the time to contemplate, observe, and simply listen. I would invite everyone this week to take up this challenge. I think it would be awesome if each of you were to take an extra five or ten minutes with your morning coffee or beverage of choice each morning and engage in the exercise of contemplation. Be silent. Note what is happening around you. Describe your surroundings. Talk with God – what are you anxious about in this moment? What are you joyful for? Read a Scripture passage that has meaning for you. What is God calling you to do and be in this day? Let us recognize the sacredness of our daily lives and the feelings of chaos that can accompany our days, but let us also be even more aware of the reality that in the midst of our days God calls us to listen and to be attentive to our inner selves and how our relationships, thoughts, and commitments affect our world.

My friends, this day and always, I give thanks for the ways in which we share hospitality with our community, our neighbors, and our world. We express it in rich and bountiful ways through community gatherings, meals, and our presence in times of need. Let us also be aware of the state of our own spirits – that in sitting and listening to Jesus, we have chosen that which cannot be taken away from us: the promise that we are beloved of God, freed to be community and freed to serve one another. Let us each day work to believe that truth for ourselves, because God has called us to bear the markers of love, peace, hope, and reconciliation – begun in the fruit of hospitality – for those around us. Thanks be to God. Amen.