July18, 2010
Genesis 18: 1-10 + Psalm 15 + Colossians 1: 24-28 + Luke 10: 38-42
Luke the great story teller gives us one of his best today. On his way to Jerusalem, there is a stop at Bethany. Perhaps there was an invitation extended. Perhaps it was just a casual stop unannounced. None the less in a home where he is welcome, there is Jesus who always draws a crowd. Suddenly it starts. I cannot image anyone in this church who has not been there. Imagine yourself in the car with your children. It’s hot. It’s a long day. And then an angry voice from the back seat says: “He touched me!” “Mom, make him stop!”
Imagine yourself in the house. There are chores and it’s time. An angry young voice cries out: “She won’t help me!” “I’m not picking up your stuff.” Imagine a few years later. The teen ager has left a wet towel on the bathroom floor again. You know script by heart. You are at work. Something you need is not ready because someone else has not done their part of the project so everything comes to halt and you want to tell the boss, but you don’t because you don’t want the trouble.
So here we are at Bethany which could be anywhere, and a perfectly good evening comes apart when the two hosting the party get in a fight! Can you use your imagination a little more? I can. I do. First of all, I wonder where is the brother, Lazarus? I have an idea that he saw it coming and was already out of there. He was probably tired of the two sisters bickering and was out with his buddies. It’s a good thing God did not choose me to be Jesus in this story because when the shout came from the kitchen: “Tell her to help me.” my response would not have been: “Mary has chosen the better part.” I would have said: “Tell her yourself.” “Leave me out of this.” Poor Jesus, caught in a triangle. If he didn’t love this family so much, he probably would have hit the road. But he doesn’t. He stays, and it probably worked out just fine because we know that he comes back at least one more time.
This wonderful story that is so human and so real to us speaks truthfully about us: about our relationships and struggles to get along to share the work and share the space. It speaks about our response to the presence of Christ and the demand to be hospitable. It speaks about how we avoid confrontation; about how we expect God in Christ to fix things between us when we do not speak to one another. It speaks about how we take advantage of each other too; about how often we sit around and expect someone else to take care of things and never lift a finger to help.
But Luke did not write a Gospel to tell us stories about family life. We already know that. There is nothing to be “revealed” in this Gospel about us. I do not think Luke told this story to reveal something about a family in Bethany or any family in Norman, Oklahoma. If this is Gospel, it is about Jesus Christ. In a somewhat tender and human story something about the divine is being revealed, and it is this for which we just listen. Herein lies the secret of this story. In a strange sort of twist, the guest becomes the host. The one who comes to be fed ends up feeding the others. It happens all the time with Jesus. Remember that wedding in Cana? It seemed that he was the guest, but he ends up being the host serving the best wine. Think about that.
The truth of the matter is; we are the guests here invited by the Lord. He wants to feed us with his presence, His word, His Spirit, His flesh. The Gospel simply asks if we can sit down long enough to eat; or if we’re too busy and have to eat and run, or maybe not accept the invitation at all today.