Balancing Reflection and Action | Song: Chop Wood, Carry Water

I'm at music camp this week. Performing music is not my gift, but I love to sing, love to listen, and love to support my husband who is a musician.

One of the things I do at camp is take songwriting classes and use the time to hone my skills. Songs require a story to be told succinctly, and to involve all of our senses. Songs encourage me to find the poetic language for my prose writing. I love the challenge to use my existing skills in new ways.

-Liz

Mary, Martha, and care of each other

My mom tells about her mother-in-law commenting to her, early in her marriage, that no one cares if you polish the bottom of your pans. This was not a critique of using clean pots for cooking, but rather that some tasks, like the outside of the pan, simply aren't as important as others. In our world, unlike at Jesus' time, we have so much stuff to clean, organize, and store. The chaos of leaving it out can disrupt your peace, but getting it all perfectly clean and organized can waste precious time.

We don't know exactly what Martha was doing when she complained to Jesus about her sister in Luke 10:38-42. If she was making dinner, or making space for a guest to sleep, that seems important. If she was straightening the doilies or preparing an over-the-top complicated meal, that does not. How to evaluate the many chores between these two extremes, I do not know. But I don't polish the bottoms of my pans.

I'll admit Martha sounds like an eight-year-old when she asked Jesus to get Mary to help her. Perhaps she sees Jesus as a big brother?

Feminists have long argued that Jesus' reprimand of Martha and encouragement of Mary is treating Mary as a disciple. Disciples are students, sitting at the feet of their teacher. Some feminists instead see an anti-feminist story: Martha, preparing the eucharistic table, is told to sit down and listen, to stop trying to lead. Be obedient!

This leads to the realization that Mary's role is just as unclear as Martha's. Is she a full-on learner, engaged in conversation, or simply "permitted" to listen to what the men are learning? Is sitting at Jesus' feet a promotion or subservience?

Each time I preach this I feel the need to create a background narrative for the story to make it's point. The text does not tell us much.

But this is what I know about our work of resistance: we need all types of people. There are all types of roles. There isn't one thing that everyone should be doing. We need people to cook, and to clean, to plan, and to show up. We need people who make phone calls, and others to do emails. We need musicians and writers and artists. We need protestors and stay-at-homers. We need politicians and anti-politics people.

For our church work we need people who are searching for theological meaning and explanations and arguments, and others who simply declare "I care for all neighbors". When we gather as a congregation to take action, someone might stay behind to be sure there are clean bathrooms when we return.

Different people must do different tasks based on their interests and their skills.

In addition, each of us must take time for different ways of engaging. I was asked as a child if I was more Mary or more Martha. Today I will say that there are times to sit and learn, and times to get up and prepare dinner. There are times to pray fervently and times to shout slogans. We gather for worship together to refresh our bodies and our spirits and our community, and we gather for protests to make a point. We keep at bible study to strengthen our minds, and at prayer groups to strengthen our faith.

Work on your internal life while engaging in external actions. Share the work with others who have varying skills and passions. It takes both Mary and Martha to stand up for justice.

What is your church working on to care for the least of these? Reply to this email to let me know what's happening. ​
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Beth DeSombre's song "Chop Wood, Carry Water" makes the point that the ordinary things that keep us going are essential to the work of self-awareness. I'd add they are essential to the work of resistance.

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A story from Sojourner's Magazine on how a church is making a difference in these times.

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