The Jars

Luke 10:38-42

Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”

There once was a professor with a giant, glass jar which sat mysteriously on the demonstration table in the lecture hall. As the students filed into the hall you could hear the bewildered whispering race around the room. Along with the jar there were also three other containers. One, filled with sand, the second with pebbles and the last with large stones. The professor began without words. He first picked up the container of sand and poured it in the jar. After the sand, he began adding the pebbles but they would not all fit. The professor asked, and the class agreed… the jar was now full.

The professor poured out the jar and began again… this time beginning with the large stones. When the stones reached the top, the professor asked, and the class agreed… the jar was now full. But then the professor picked up the container of pebbles and began to pour them into the jar and they flowed in and around all the big rocks. The professor asked, and the class agreed… NOW the jar really was full. Then he picked up the container of sand and began to pour in the sand which again worked its way in and around and under the large stones and even the pebbles until the contents of all three containers were in the jar.

The lesson of the jar is that when we put the important things into our lives first, there still ends up being room for less important things and there even becomes room for us to be able to handle the crazy, sandy things that just get into our jars, whether we want them there or not. But, if we allow our lives to fill first with the sandy stuff that blows around all the time… the sand of busyness, twitter-tirades, insane schedules and the 24 hour- 7 day a week sandstorm of wack-a-doodle-land that constantly blows around us every moment these days… if we allow that sand to fill up our lives first, then there won’t be room for the large stones of relationship, community, compassion, generosity and love… or even the pebbles of laughter, relaxation, or a pointless, trashy novel!

Paul tells the Colossians that he wants to present them to the world as “mature in Christ.” What I think that means (at least in part) is having both the understanding AND the practice of placing the rock of the Body of Christ into our jars first. With Christ in us, the raging sandstorms of life simply can NEVER fill us completely with the sandy stuff, like twitter-tirades, injustice, horror and fear. With Christ in us, there is always a part of our jar that is filled with rock-solid hope, in spite of how the winds of injustice and terror blow in the sand. With Christ in us, all of the rest of what goes into our jar, both the things we add to the jar on purpose and the things the world throws in there when we’re not looking… ALL the rest of that stuff, regardless of how it gets into our jar, is touched, and transformed by Christ.

This is also what was happening with Mary and Martha in the Gospel lesson. It’s not that caring for a guest, feeding the hungry and giving drink to the thirsty and all the rest is something we should reject in favor of just lying on the floor soaking in the wisdom of Jesus. Jesus isn’t telling Martha to abandon the tradition or our sacred calling of showing hospitality to others that goes back to Abraham! What Jesus is saying is that when Martha STARTS with the busyness parts of hospitality, there will never be room for the relationship parts… the parts of love, compassion and being present with the other. When you start with busyness, there just isn’t room for the important things like tending relationships and that inevitably leads to being grouchy like Martha.

BUT, Jesus wants Martha to understand, if she were to start with Jesus… if she was to start with the Body of Christ… the community… the relationships… THEN the necessary busy work she did to provide that hospitality would flow from that rock of the Body of Christ and she would find that there is not only ROOM for Jesus… for the body of Christ… the community and relationships BUT THERE IS ALSO then room for the wonderful tradition of hospitality as well! When we START with the Body of Christ… the community… the relationships… the hospitality that flows out of that is empowered and expanded and made alive with the Christ within us and it grows and blossoms into something greater than the sum of its parts.

By asking Martha (and us) to start everything we do first with the relationships, Jesus is not asking us to pile on one more piece to an already overwhelming life. Jesus is telling us that when we start with God, the rest of life will flow from that place with the peace that passes all understanding. Jesus does not ask us to give up family, career or even good hospitality. Instead Jesus wants you to live your life with your family, in your career and even within the twitter-storm… but to do it all in Christ, with Christ and through Christ.

Martha got mad at Jesus because she saw Jesus’ demand for total, undivided attention as an impossible additional rock to add to her already overfilled jar of a life. If that’s the way you see God’s desire to be in your life, you need to know that is not the way God intends it. The Body of Christ, the Church, Jesus… they are here to show you the path toward an abundant life, not suck what little life you have right out of you!

As you look to fill your jar, first, start with the stones of relationship, love, gratitude, sabbath, and community. Then add in the pebbles of your calling, the hospitality you show others, your passions and things like dinner plans and believe me, there will still be plenty of room for the sand that blows constantly around this wackadoodle world of ours. Amen.