Well we did it. We officially went past the mid-way point of summer this past week… July 15. That date is my gauge of the mid-point of summer. Well so now some of us can start getting excited for school is coming soon, or fall sports. OR some of us are getting sad because the summer is half over and it just felt like it’s only begun. And you folks are now going to try “cramming” in loads of stuff for the remaining weeks….(talking quickly) let’s do this and do that, let’s go here and go here.
Well this homily is for you. I need some volunteers up here to help me with it.
[Set up pairs of people to balance the end of yardstick(s) on two fingers as set a glasses of water on the ends of the yardstick.]
You see life is all about balance, even if you try to do it all, or to get lots done…there needs to be a balanced approach to everything. Without a balance there is usually a mess.
I’ve always said that if three things are in place in my life then I can feel good about hardships or obstacles. I need good sleep, good prayer and good exercise. [Explain how I strive for each . . . for example do a bit of exercise each day, like pushups when I cannot get to the gym.] When I have all three the world could fall apart, but I won’t.
The reading tries to present some balance ideas. Abraham extends hospitality. The three men who visit him are actually angels and Abraham does the balance act of “doing” to be hospitable and he’s rewarded by having a son, remember Abraham and Sarah are old…in their eighties and finally they’ll conceive.
Jesus talks about the balance of “not doing” to Martha. She’s probably a workaholic who’s getting all her stokes from all that she does. I think that it’s bad interpretation to think that we should ONLY be like Mary. Sit, do nothing, listen to Jesus….but it’s just as bad to always be doing something without any relaxation.
(STORY) It’s like the story from the desert mystics. Once a visiting monk came to visit the Abbey on Mount Sinai. When we saw the brothers working hard, he said to the old Abbot (that’s the head of the Monastery), “Do not work for the food that perishes, for Mary has chosen the better part.” The old abbot called one of the monks over and said, give this man a good book and show him to our guest room. Now as the day progressed, it was 12 noon, then one o’clock, then two then three . . . the visiting monk kept looking for someone to call him for the meal. He was getting hungry. But no one did. Then he went looking for the Abbot and asked him, “Didn’t the brothers eat today?” “Of course we did.” “Why didn’t someone call me?” The Abbot replied, “You are a spiritual person and do not need this kind of food, but since we are earthy, we want to eat, and that’s why we work. Indeed, you have chosen the good part, reading all day long and not wanting to eat earthy food.” When the visiting monk heard this, he repented and said, “Forgive me Abbot.” Then the Abbot said to him, “Mary certainly needed Martha, and it is really by Martha’s help that Mary is praised.”
Balance is one of Paul's key themes throughout his writing. He understood it well.
Whenever someone is “overboard” about ANYTHING, it is usually a turn off to the rest of the people. And it is usually not long enduring. For example, when I run, I never run too strenuous . . . because I want to keep running into my 90’s.
If you are planning a big event, don’t stress over it (as Martha did). Yes, put in the time and commitment and then let go. I love the image that Jesus uses in a different part of the gospel. He says, “Don’t worry so much. Consider the lilies of the field, or the birds of the air. They don’t toil or worry.” Good point, buy also consider that a bird doesn’t just sit around and wait for a worm to magically appear on its mouth. It needs to go out and look for it . . . it does its part and then lets God do God’s part.
Same with you and me. Let us do our work, and then trust God for the rest. So here is your challenge for the week. Think about what you need to do (or stop doing) to get you into balance. I told of my three “balance points” . . . sleep, exercise, prayer. Come up with your own, or copy mine.
Summer is a wonderful time to “get back into balance.” To figure out what is missing, or what has been too pre-occupying in our lives. We can’t become like Mary (in the gospel) until we also develop our Martha side as well. Ultimately, how do you want to be? (i.e. what is God calling you to become?) And what can you do to get into balance?