10th Sunday after Pentecost
July 24, 2016
Luke 10:38-42
(Or watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEfCJBj8emE)
The Oscar for the best animated movie of 2009 went to the
Pixar movie, “Up.” Up is the story of 78 year old Carl Fredricksen, who is
recently widowed, and decides to take the trip he and his wife had always
dreamed of, to Paradise Falls, somewhere in South America. Developers are encroaching on his house, the
rest of his neighbors have already sold out and moved away, and so he blows up
enough helium balloons to lift his house up off its foundation and flies in it
to South America. The only problem is
that he inadvertently takes along a young stowaway, 8 year old Russell, who had
come knocking on his door to see if he could help Carl. In their adventures in
South America seeking Paradise Falls, they meet a talking dog who Russell names
Dug. Dug belongs to a pack of dogs who all have special collars that translate
the dog’s thoughts into speech. As you might imagine from a dog, one of Dug’s
first lines is: “My name is Dug. I have just met you, and I love you.” Then he
explains how he can talk: “My master made me this collar. He is a good and
smart master and he made me this collar so that I may speak. Squirrel!” [Looks
to distance for a few seconds] “My master is good and smart.”[1]
The distraction of a squirrel becomes a running joke throughout the rest of the
movie as the dogs are periodically distracted by a squirrel sighting.
Part of why this is funny is because that’s how dogs are.
Our dog will calmly lie in our yard enjoying the sunbeam until she suddenly
sees or smells a squirrel, or a rabbit, or the neighbor's dogs come out, and then
she will bound up and run faster than you’d think an old dog could run to that
animal. Squirrel! The other reason it’s funny is because it’s become how we
human beings are, too. For better or worse, we have become a very distracted
people, and anything can be a distraction – a noise, a phone call, news, TV,
something else catches our attention other than what we were paying attention
to to start with. There is even a name for this now, “continuous partial
attention,” which was coined in 1998 by author and computer consultant, Linda
Stone. She says it is “the process of paying simultaneous attention to a number
of sources of incoming information, but at a superficial level.”[2]
We live in a time of such continuous change, that we’ve started watching and
waiting for the next thing to come along and only partly paying attention to
what’s here now. It’s like we’re living on edge, constantly.
Martha, in our Gospel lesson, isn’t on edge because she’s
waiting for the next thing to come. Jesus is already there, sitting in her
living room. She’s on edge and can’t pay attention to him because she’s working
on all the preparations for having guests. Everything’s not ready! The food’s
not ready, the beds don’t have clean sheets on them yet, the table hasn’t been
set, the bread hasn’t gone in the oven to bake, there’s still sweeping and
dusting and vacuuming that needs to happen. Martha is so overwhelmed by all
this that she’s even rude to her guest. “Jesus, I know you just got here, but
can’t you make my sister help me? I want this all to be great for you, Jesus,
so make Mary help me!” And Jesus says, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and
distracted by many things.”[3]
To be distracted means to be “unable to concentrate because one's mind is
preoccupied.”[4]
Martha cannot focus on her guest, on the main event, because she is so
preoccupied by the preparations. How many times has that happened to us? So
overwhelmed by everything that needs to be done for vacation that we don’t
enjoy the vacation? So worried that we want everything to be just right for a
special visitor that we have a hard time stopping being worried in order to
enjoy that visitor’s company? And if we are distracted as people, if our
attention spans are dwindling and we’re having more trouble concentrating on
one thing because we’re preoccupied, what are we preoccupied by? Why are we
preoccupied? Gadgets, technology, bad news, declining health. If our attention
is not fully here, then where else is it? In the doctor’s office? With your
family? In the past? Daydreaming? Y’all know that if I’m distracted, it’s most
likely because of my kids. When you’re distracted, where else is your
attention? I find that I’m also distracted more when I’m more tired. When I am
more worn out, then I am more likely to get distracted because I’m having
trouble focusing in the first place because I just need rest. When we don’t get
enough sleep and when we deal with chronic pain we are more irritable, more
grouchy, and more distracted.
So, how do we move past our squirrels, I mean, our
distractions? First, if you are
preoccupied with something, then deal with it. Occupy yourself with
whatever you’re dealing with and take care of it so that you can move on. Being
occupied is good. Work is good. Martha’s problem isn’t that she’s busy; her
problem is that she’s preoccupied by her busyness to the point of being overwhelmed
and lashing out at others, like her sister and Jesus, her guest![5]
Martha’s at the point where she needs to decide just how much more absolutely
has to get done, do it, and then sit down and join Mary at Jesus’ feet. You’ve
been thinking about calling the doctor about something? Like the Nike slogan,
just do it, and quit thinking about it. If you don’t wake up feeling refreshed,
figure out how to sleep better. Your chronic pain is making you angry with the
world? Call your doctor and get better pain management. You’re worried about
your family? Call them, visit them, do something nice for them, pray for them,
and then decide you’re going to quit worrying. Once you’ve done all you can do,
let it go. That song from the movie “Frozen” is actually about Elsa turning her
back on her family and friends and letting her ice powers run wild. I’m not
talking about turning away from and ignoring your family or your health or
anything like that. I’m talking about ignoring your worries, once you’ve dealt
with them. If you have your grocery list going thru your head during church, by
all means, please write it down on your bulletin so that you can stop thinking
about it and then refocus your attention on God. Deal with your worries, so that
you’re occupied by them now and not preoccupied by them later.
Second, occupying
yourself with something means that you are focusing your attention and not
being distracted. It means you’re present in the moment. You’re not
thinking about the past or the future, but being present now. For most of us,
this has to be a conscious choice, especially when we’re by ourselves. The
easiest, quickest way for me to make myself be present is to get down on the
floor and play with the kids. However, that’s not always an option for all of
us, and so we have to figure out sometimes how to make ourselves focus on
what’s before us. Put away or minimize your distractions, whether that means
turning off the TV, intentionally not reaching for another screen or book or
other item, and focusing your eyes on one particular object only, or focus your
ears on one particular sound, or touch one particular object to bring your
attention to just one thing. I’m a visual person and during worship, when I
can, I like to focus on the flame on the candle. Being present is a conscious
choice. Contrary to the media and the internet and New York City, the city that
never sleeps, we don’t have to be
available 24/7. I put my cell phone on silent or on vibrate overnight, starting
when the kids go to bed, and I don’t
turn the volume back up until everyone is awake in the morning. I still try to
check it from time to time before I go to bed, and when it’s on vibrate it
still sometimes wakes me up. But we don’t actually have to be available to the
world 24/7. If you’re having trouble and are easily distracted, then
intentionally limit your distractions and figure out how to intentionally make
yourself present where you are.
Finally, Jesus tells Martha that “only one thing is
needed.” Only one thing, out of all your preoccupations and distractions and
worries, only one thing is needed. And what is that one thing? The one
thing we need, the only thing we need, is Jesus. Martha had him right there in
her house, and she wasn’t paying any attention to him. She knew he was there,
but she thought all those preparations were what was needed, when really all
she needed was to come and sit at his feet. The one thing needed wasn’t cooking
or cleaning or doing good works; the one thing needed is nurturing your
relationship with God. Not just having a relationship with Jesus, but spending
time with him, listening to him, making him your first priority and first in
your life, before anything or anyone else. In other words, worship comes before
work. Time with Jesus is more important than anyone else you can spend time
with. If you need to start scheduling time, which is often how it happens, I’d
suggest when you first wake up and make it part of your morning routine. If
every day is too often to start, come to our weekly prayer time,
Cowenton – Wednesday evenings at 7 p.m.
Piney
Grove – Tuesday afternoons at 3 p.m.
We meet here in the
sanctuary, usually with the lights off and there’s enough sunlight coming
through the windows to just sit and be still and calm our souls and know that
God is God.
That
is the one thing needed. Spend time with God. Listen to him. That’s part of the
thing about prayer, is that it’s a conversation, it’s a two-way street. It’s
not just us talking to God, but also listening to what God has to say to us.
All those other distractions and worries, it’s time to put them in their place
and say no more, no more are they going to keep me from God, going to keep me
from church, going to keep me from listening to my maker. Deal with the worries
that are serious and need dealing with. Focus on one thing at a time. You know,
there are slowly studies coming out saying that multitasking is not usually a
good thing. We get more done, but we don’t do it as well as if we just did one
thing at a time. Make your first thing time with God, and then the rest of your
day you can present in each activity, not distracted, not always keeping one
eye out for squirrels. Put all your attention, where you are. And where we are
now is worship. You are distracted and preoccupied by many things. Write down
your grocery list, trust you will see the squirrel when it is important to do
so, and come, let us worship our Lord.
