Inappropriate Responses

Sermon Notes Proper 11, 2022 Gen 18:13,14 The LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?' Is anything too hard for the LORD?" This morning I'd like to consider some inappropriate responses with you. Inappropriate responses have become volatile triggers for career ending actions in our Woke age. A speaker who forgets that he's still miced up says something snide after his speech, and the next thing he knows is he's having to defend himself against an attack by an angry television audience. Trolls plunder the internet just looking for some quote that is false, or worse, foolish, to destroy the author's reputation. One ill chosen word and all the good and true things one says or does are cancelled out. It's risky to say anything in public these days. In our reading from Genesis, poor Sarah thought she was out of the public eye when she hung behind the tent door to listen in on Abraham's conversation with the three guests who suddenly appeared before them. But these were no ordinary guests. So when they told her husband that she would bear him a son, she had confidence her little laugh of disbelief would be a private moment. She did not know of their super-powers, that her hidden laugh was anything but. It was an inappropriate response and, God forbid, God heard it. That's not the only inappropriate response we read about this morning. Martha's response to her sister Mary's neglect of duty was also deemed inappropriate by Jesus. Unlike Sarah, Martha wanted Jesus to hear what she had to say. She wanted Jesus to judge her as wrongfully slighted and reprimand Mary. But Jesus doesn't do that. Instead, he lovingly and gently corrects her. "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her." What should we learn from these instances? Our Christian walk is not always a difficult uphill trek. Sometimes we are on a path through a peaceful valley when suddenly a stone trips us up and down we go. Our pleasant walk is interrupted. We take a moment to consider what happened, and why. We haven't broken anything, but we have a bruise where we fell and we do feel pain. Not mortal pain, but the pain of being less than we should be. Today we consider stumbles, not failures. Sarah's stumble was that she thought she was on her own. And why shouldn't she think that? She and Abraham had grown old together and while their life had its share of adventures, she was childless. She had no sons or daughters, much less grandchildren. Nothing had come of the Lord's promise to make of Abraham's seed a multitude of heirs, as many as the stars of the sky and the grains on the seashore. Her maid, Hagar, and Abraham's son by her, Ishmael, were also gone, the result of a bitter anger that flared up from somewhere deep inside her. So she was resigned that whatever was left of her life was at least hers to make. And now three strangers came to say that the Lord had other plans. Sarah laughs because she thinks she knows better. The impossibility of her bearing a son at her age is the practical reality getting in the way of God's plan for her. It's not a humorous laugh. It's a cynical laugh. It's a laugh of defeat and resignation. Let's compare Sarah's response to Mary's when the angel Gabriel came to her with a similar message. Luke 1: 34-38 34 And Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?" 35 And the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy--the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God." 38 And Mary said, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her. In both cases the impossibility of the promise is overwhelming. Sarah bows to the obstacles in her way. Mary bows to the power of God and offers herself as the vessel for God's possibilities. Sarah's laugh is not big enough to deflect God's intention. She will conceive and bear a son despite her laughter. But the event, really the highlight of her life, is blemished by her reluctance to believe. Is that our response at times? Do we bow to the impossibility rather than the promise? When Jesus offers us life in abundance do we dare to believe he really means it? When we pray do we expect to be overwhelmed by the answer? I think often we pray for one thing and expect something less. A little cynical laugh gets attached to our prayer and we're at heart trying to protect ourselves. We don't want to be hurt if the answer comes up short. And we certainly don't want to have our faith shaken. So we pray for A, expect B, and will be content with C. But God knows our heart. He knows our A and B and C. Our misgivings are open to him, just as Sarah's laugh was heard. How much more blessed we would be if our heart was filled with enthusiasm instead of skepticism. So, to Mary and Martha. What is Martha's inappropriate response that caused Jesus to lovingly correct her instead of Mary? It's not that she was a worker and Mary a contemplative. They had different personalities, but that's not the issue. The Bible is full of examples where both are necessary to accomplish God's purpose. Nehemiah rebuilt the temple while Ezra prayed and studied God's word. God needed both to accomplish his purpose for Jerusalem. Martha's busyness is not in itself a less fragrant offering than Mary's attentiveness at Jesus' feet. It's not her hands, but her heart that matters. In her heart she bore a resentment that corrupted her offering. Let's flip the roles and see what happens. Suppose Martha was so overjoyed at being able to provide for Jesus that nothing else mattered to her. And suppose Mary ducked into the room to sit at Jesus' feet because she was trying to avoid the work in the kitchen. Who do you think Jesus would lift up then? When Jesus tells Martha that Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her, he is speaking about the state of her heart. Martha's heart was clouded by resentment. Her offering is blemished. Mary's heart was bent to Jesus and openly receptive to him. Jesus' rebuke to Martha is lovingly compassionate. But it is clear. If offered with Mary's heart, Martha's gift of service would be just as welcomed. Here again we see a stumble not a fall. Martha's faith is not in question, nor is her love of Jesus. Our stumbles are like that too. We let little things get in the way of God's love. Resentments, slights, feelings of being put upon and underappreciated. They are inappropriate responses to the love of God offered to us in Jesus Christ. The effect is that we don't receive the fullness God intends for us. Mary, Martha, and Sarah hold a light up to us showing us how to better love God. They show us the futility in thinking we can hide anything from God. And they show the compassionate nature of God to forgive and correct us when we error. Let's be thankful that his grace is bigger than our stumbles. Amen.