Grace and peace to you from God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ.

I think that everybody has a friend, acquaintance, or family member that you just know is going to do something that draws unwelcome attention when in public. Let's face it some are better at the social graces than others. I can't count how many times that something has left my lips that in thought seemed well-meaning but didn't quite pass muster.

I used to work with a fellow we nicknamed Radar. Nice likeable guy always well-intentioned. The problem was that we were in an office environment where people were busy concentrating on their tasks and Radar was not quiet. In fact he had a loud voice that pierced the silence like a wounded moose. As you may have guessed we called him Radar because he had the uncanny knack of speaking what you were thinking just like the character in the TV show MASH. Unfortunately, his sparks of inspiration were usually from the opposite side of the office. As you might imagine there were a few awkward moments in Radar's presence.

In our gospel reading we find one of those awkward moments when peoples' actions don't fit the social norms.

A little bit of history is in order here. We read that Martha opened her home to Jesus. In the beginning of Luke 8 we read about women that were supporting Jesus out of their own means. Mary and Martha were apparently part of that group. It is thought that in the ancient world men of means often travelled. Marriages were really political and economic alliances as much as relationships of love and mutual care, although those marriages probably existed as well. Often wealthy individuals would own more than one home and their wife might live in one, with slaves and servants of her own. The husband may rarely have been seen by the wife. It is thought that such women were often the ones who opened their homes to the early Christian movement and hosted the house churches.

Another important point is that religious education was almost exclusively the realm of men. In this reading Mary takes a seat at the feet of Jesus. This is the disciples' place; the place were religious instruction took place.

Martha may have been flustered over all of the preparations for hosting Jesus and the disciples but possibly more so over Mary sitting in the place of the disciples. Mary is causing a sensation so to speak by taking on a role that only men were allowed to have. Jesus seems to confirm this telling Martha; Mary is doing the one thing needful.

I suspect that Martha was also the type of person that was constantly fretting over one thing or another. And I may be taking quite a leap here but she probably had a tendency to be critical of other people's actions and not see her own flaws. I read this and can't help think she is openly rebuking Jesus for not shooing Mary away to perform tasks suitable to her gender. Her expectations of Mary and Jesus don't fit the social norms she of her life.

If we were in Jesus' shoes for many of us it would be a moment of anger. Possibly even retaliation. However Jesus is always doing things we don't expect.

The answer is not what Martha expected. Rather than commanding Mary to help He says, "Martha, Martha". You can picture a parent gently and lovingly speaking to a child that has misguided notions. Jesus continues, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." Jesus is reading her heart she is worried about many things not just this one incident but perhaps everything in Martha's life is a similar challenge of anxiety.

On the flip side Martha has done a very good thing in serving her guests and caring for their needs. No one can argue with that. As for Mary she is also did a good thing. She was intently listening to the Word. However Jesus is contrasting the many worries of Martha with the one thing needed that Mary has done listened to the Word of God.

When Jesus was tempted by Satan to turn the stones into bread, He told Satan: "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." (Matt 4:4). Jesus did not say it was wrong to eat. It is necessary for us to eat, and it is God-pleasing. What Jesus was saying is that we must realize that all things we receive even food is a gift from God. A right relationship with God is recognizing that fact. If Jesus had turned the stones into bread He would have put Himself first. Nothing should interfere with the right relationship with God.

Our reading is boiling down to a lesson on priorities. Mary and Martha were both doing good but their approach was different. Martha's priority was caring for her guests, but in doing so she set that service above her relationship with God. We have no indication that Mary refused to help all we know is that her priority was the Word of God came first.

Martha is not alone don't we often set our activities above our relationship with God. We worry and fret about things we can do or things we think should happen or expect to happen.

An average person's anxiety is focused on:

40% - things that will never happen 30% - things about the past that can't be changed 12% - things about criticism by others, mostly untrue 10% - about health, which gets worse with stress 8% - about real problems that will be faced

So much time and energy expended on making ourselves miserable. If we are doing the one needed thing, living on every word that comes from the mouth of God, He will take care of the rest.

In the Name of Our Risen Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.