Worried and Distracted (Sixth Sunday after Pentecost)

Sermons on YouTube…

Sometimes, as we read about the problems and issues faced by people Jesus encounters, we need to do a bit of “translating” if you will, to relate them to modern life.  After all, most of us aren’t fishermen or shepherds.  Most of us don’t even understand some of the cultural and religious debates of first century Judaism.  And thankfully, we don’t live under Roman occupation.  And so it’s often important for preachers especially to relate these conditions to modern life.

But not today!  Today is easy!  Jesus says to Martha, “you are worried and distracted by many things!”  Worried and distracted by many things.  That sounds like many of us most of the time.

Sometimes, like Martha, we’re worried and distracted by essential things we need to do in our lives – the things that are mission critical for our work and our families and our communities.  Certainly, it seems Martha was doing these things, because she had a whole houseful of people who needed to eat and be cared for.  And notice that Jesus never tells her that these things aren’t mission critical, or even that she shouldn’t be doing them

But sometimes, we’re also worried and distracted by all kinds of things going on in the world around us – and they’re often things that we can’t do much about.  There are political decisions we worry will make life worse for us or those we love.  There are natural disasters near and far that we watch in horror.  And there are wars and conflicts that, even if they’re not immediately affecting us, often affect those we know and love.

Our 24/7 news cycle – and the fact that so many of us are constantly digitally connected – can exacerbate this problem in ways that we couldn’t even image just a couple of decades ago.  But even back then, “worried and distracted” was a common way we might have described ourselves.  In many ways, Martha should be considered the patron saint of our age!

And the big problem with “worry and distraction” is that it’s not just annoying.  It’s emotionally draining and often can be dangerous if those things keep us from paying attention to things that are mission critical at the moment.

And that’s actually Jesus’ critique of Martha’s “worry and distraction.”  It’s not that Martha is doing something wrong, or even that she shouldn’t be doing it, but that she’s missing the one needful thing – the opportunity to listen to Jesus – and perhaps also that she’s trying to “share the joy” of worry and distraction with her sister!

And while there’s no easy way to keep from being worried and distracted, it can help to be alert to the fact that worry and distraction are often most problematic when:

• They’re the trivial things that get in the way of important stuff … (do you ever begin work thinking that you’ll focus on some really big picture stuff today, and then get buried in email about trivial stuff…?)  Martha probably had a lot of that going on, too.  She was trying to put on a big event, and people probably kept distracting her with little stuff …

• They’re the important things that get in the way of even more important stuff … (some of that email really does need to get answered right now; but it’s not the most important thing I need to do…); Martha had a lot of that going on, too.  She wasn’t just putting on a dinner for 4 or 5 people, and big things needed to happen …

• The thing that you might have thought was a distraction was really the crucial thing – the one needful thing – that you needed to pay attention to … (there are days for me, and probably for you, when the phone rings, and I’m annoyed at the distraction; but then, in the course of the conversation, I realize that I need to drop everything else; this is the one thing that matters most …)  And that’s finally what Jesus points out to Martha – she’s “distracted” by her sister listening to Jesus; and yet, that “distraction” is the one needful thing that she really also needs to be focused on.  There was one needful thing.  But at the time, that one needful thing seemed like a distraction …

So like Martha, how do we figure out the one needful thing that God wants us to be focusing on at any given moment?  Where is God calling our attention?  How is it that we can put aside some of the worry and distraction so that we can be open to what God is doing in our lives?

There is no easy answer to those questions.  But the story of Martha and Jesus gives us some insight into how we can be more open to the needful thing that God is doing in our lives.  And as with Martha, that openness often begins with:

• Recognizing the worry and distractions in our lives – sometimes, like Martha, we get so used to worry and distraction that we cease to even notice them; and sometimes, we get tempted to want to “share the joy” by projecting worry and distraction on others (I have some friends on social media who do this all the time!)  But that just multiplies worry and distraction.  I’m not sure some of my social media friends are trying to do this, and probably Martha did realize it either.  But sometimes the best antidote to worry and distraction is to stop “feeding the beast” for a while…

• Actively listening for the voice of Jesus in our lives – Martha couldn’t help hearing Jesus talk; but it wasn’t until she actually got into an argument with him that she really was able to listen … ; often for us, actively wrestling with God – whether it’s time spent in prayer, reading or even arguing with God – is the a way to find focus and clarity …

• Being open to the possibility that sometimes what seems like a distraction is the one needful thing that God is calling us to focus on – Martha came to realize that having Jesus teaching in her home was a unique opportunity and it mattered more than anything else; and sometimes for us, too, being open to unique opportunities God gives us, and being willing to stop what we’re doing – even the “important” stuff – is the key to living into what God is offering us in our lives …

Things that cause worry and distraction are all around us, and they always will be.  But God is present for us too, even in the midst of our worry and distractions.  And so Jesus’ call to us, as it was to Martha, is to be people who are alert to how worry and distraction can keep us from noticing what God is doing right under our noses.  Jesus’ call to us, as it was to Martha, is to be people who actively listen for God instead of letting the noise drown out the voice of God.  And Jesus’ call to us, as it was to Martha, is to be people who are constantly looking for what God is doing in our lives, so that we can be open to the needful thing that God is doing each and every day.

Amen.