Preparing a Home for Jesus

Preparing a Home for Jesus [Mother's Day]

May 13, 2007

Text: Luke 10:38-42

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. 39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he was saying. 40 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." 41 But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; 42 there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her."

NRSV

Mother's Day is the perfect opportunity to explore how everyday family life teaches us about faith.

A woman named Joan Ryan described it very well.

"Religious students travel the globe to find tests of will, patience, deprivation, and selflessness. Parents live them every day. Anyone looking for a mysterious, contradictory, and fulfilling religion couldn't do much better than child-rearing. All the components are there: rituals, generosity, penance, guilt and desperate prayer, all punctuated by moments of transcendent clarity and unmatched joy.

"I'm just thinking out loud here," she concludes, "but I'm wondering if we can get tax-exempt status."

--"Why Monks Sit in the Snow," Chicken Soup Six

Indeed, family life is the crucial, critical place where faith is formed-for both child and parent. So today, I want to take a closer look at it. Specifically, I want to look at one aspect of it-how you welcome your child into your home.

Those of you who have children, don't you remember how you prepared your home for your brand-new baby?

For Barb and me, we prepared the spare room in our house-the room that had the last of my personal possessions in it. We put most of what I owned out on the curb, and put what was left in the bottom of the closet, all so we could prepare for bringing our child home.

We re-painted the room, hung up cheery paintings and pictures. We put in a crib with a matching chest of drawers. We arranged the changing tray and the diaper genie and the bouncy chair. We plugged in one of those delicate little nightlights that had the gently spinning paper cover with cut-outs of stars and moons. When it was time to bring Cameron home from the hospital, we carefully strapped his little 6 pound 7 ounce body into the carseat, and I drove the 1990 Maxima 3 miles an hour all the way home, looking both ways twice at intersections. [I might add that after several years of parenting, we drove 70 when we took Emma home from the hospital, but that's another story...]

Then we carried our child into the nursery, laid him down on the pressed sheets, pulled up the bars of the crib, and looked at him-thanking God for this little miracle nestled in the warm safety of the place we'd prepared for him.

How neat it was to re-live this experience recently by talking with Mark as he and Yanela prepared for their son.

Of course, our stories were so similar as they carefully prepared for little Alejandro. A unique way they prepared for him was creating a blog site on the internet. You could see pictures and read stories of his first days and weeks of life. It was like inviting friends and family into the nursery, to share in the welcoming of the boy Mark will play ball with and take camping.

BUT... there is an inherent danger in parenting.

You want to make the best home possible for your child. You want to provide the best environment for growing up. Week after week, month after month, year after year: you prepare your child for school, for activities, for relationships. You work on giving your child the right information and advice about things, even about "birds and bees." You coach your child in homework, in after school opportunities. You provide for camps and other learning/play experiences.

YOU'RE CONSTANTLY DOING, DOING, DOING THINGS TO PREPARE YOUR CHLD FOR THE BEST LIFE POSSIBLE. CONSEQUENTLY, IT'S AWFULLY DIFFICULT TO STOP "PREPARING" YOUR CHILD, AND JUST SIT AND ENJOY YOUR CHILD.

A mother was frying eggs for breakfast when suddenly her teenage son bursts into the kitchen. "Careful! CAREFUL! Put in some more butter! Oh my goodness! You're cooking too many at once. TOO MANY! Turn them! TURN THEM NOW! We need more butter. Oh my! WHERE are we going to get MORE BUTTER? They're going to STICK! Careful! ... CAREFUL! I said be CAREFUL! You NEVER listen to me when you're cooking! Never! Turn them! Hurry up! Are you CRAZY? Have you LOST your mind? Don't forget to salt them. You know you always forget to salt them. Use the salt. USE THE SALT! THE SALT!"

The mother stared at him. "What's wrong with you? You think I don't know how to fry a couple of eggs?"

The son replied calmly, "I just wanted to show you what it feels like when I'm trying to play soccer."

It is so very difficult for us parents to stop the coaching, barking orders from the stands, and simply enjoy the beauty of that miracle of God running up and down the field.

I guess you could say that this is the lesson we learn from the story of the sisters Mary and Martha. Both of them prepared to welcome Jesus into their home, but they prepared in different ways.

Martha prepared like an obsessive-compulsive parent. Worked up over the details. House spotless. Glasses filled. Guests greeted. You know the story.

Mary no doubt joined her sister in these preparations. Hey, you have to put in your time, or there's no dinner. BUT UNLIKE HER SISTER, MARY KNEW WHEN TO STOP.

Let's take a moment and look at exactly what she did. We'll discover that you prepare a home for Jesus by doing two things:

LIVE your faith at home.

"Mary SAT AT JESUS' FEET..."

Isn't that the perfect description of how a Christian should live with another person? "Sitting" at the "feet" of someone. In the Gospels when you sit at the feet of someone, or wash someone's feet, or put sandals on someone's feet, or do anything with feet-it's all a way of showing humility, showing respect, showing a willingness to learn, and showing an eagerness to serve.

Mary was the perfect "model" of how we are to relate to one another.

So...How do you model your faith for your child?

You know as well as I how easy this is to do...when things are calm, time is plentiful, energy is on the "full" mark, and things go your way at work. But if you're like me, 75% of the time life isn't like that.

You have a fitful night. Things come at you from all sides at the office. Many things on your "do" list are left unchecked. You come home late, tired, hungry. You throw open the door and announce "I have had the worst day of my life; it's been bad news, bad news...Can you share some good news with me?" And your wife, a thoughtful and loving person, considers your request and says, "Of course I can. You know we have four beautiful children, right? Well, three of them didn't break a leg today."

When bad news comes at you from all sides, can you still proclaim the "good news" in your home, to your children? Can you proclaim it, not so much by what you say in times like that, but in how you live? It's tough-and I fail more often than I care to admit.

I enjoy this piece that was written by an older child-it sort of says it all:

WHEN YOU THOUGHT I WASN'T LOOKING

"When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you hang my first painting on the refrigerator, and I immediately wanted to paint another one.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you feed a stray cat, and I learned that it was good to be kind to animals.

When you thought I wasn't looking I heard you say a prayer, and I knew there is a God I could always talk to and I learned to trust in God.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you make a meal and take it to someone who was sick, and I learned that we all have to help take care of each other.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you give your time and money to help people who had nothing, and I learned that those who have something should give to those who don't.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I felt you kiss me good night and I felt loved and safe.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw tears come from your eyes and I learned that sometimes things hurt, and it's all right to cry.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I looked at you and wanted to say, "Thanks for all the things I saw when you thought I wasn't looking." --Mary Rita Schilke Korzan

Sort of says it all, doesn't it?

A writer once spent time in an Amish village, preparing to do an article on this religious community. During the time he spent in the playground of the Amish school, he noticed that the children never screamed or yelled. This amazed him.

He spoke to the schoolmaster. He said he hadn't once heard an Amish child yell, and asked why.

The schoolmaster replied, "Well, have you ever heard an Amish adult yell?"

--Homiletics, 4/30/06

You welcome Jesus into your home when you live your faith at home...

...And when you listen to those in your home.

"Mary sat at Jesus' feet and listened to what he was saying."

I don't think she interrupted him. She didn't finish his sentences. She didn't respond, "Yes, BUT..." She didn't say, "I heard that one before." She didn't say, "I disagree..." She simply "listened."

Can you listen?

Can you willingly, openly, without prejudice, look at life through someone else's eyes?

Maybe we can think of the people in your home as little Hubble telescopes. Look at life through their eyes, and you peer more deeply into the vast universe of absolutely astounding life; you see new sights, new colors, new visions.

Just imagine how life opens up to you if you...

...sit at the feet of your child, and see life through eyes unfazed by disappointment. Or if you sit at the feet of your spouse, and see life through eyes of one whose personality and experiences are so different from yours. Or if you sit at the feet of an aging parent, who shares wisdom from decades ago, or from silent moments today.

You know what happens to you when you listen? You know what happens to the other person when you listen? For both of you, life broadens, deepens, grows more colorful.

I don't know how it is or was for you in your family, but for me, the golden time with my children is when we talk as they're in bed, just before they fall asleep. There, in the shadows, when chores are finished, homework done, activities completed. There, in the silence, when the television is off and when Mom and Dad have said for the last time: "Who made this mess?" There, in the shadows and silence, small hearts open up. They tell you about their feelings, they ask you their questions, and they show you how beautiful life is.

Isn't it a shame that that such time is just a few short minutes each day?

I know what I'll be doing more of.

How about you?

The story of Mary and Martha shows the temptation to get sidetracked by details, and shows the opportunity to get back on track with what-with who-is important.

Whoever you're with this afternoon, tomorrow, whenever: imagine that person is Jesus, a guest in your house.

How will you respond?

"I'm so busy preparing dinner for you-sit over there, and I'll get to you in a moment."

Or,

"I'm so glad you're here. Please-I'd like to sit with you. You talk-I'll listen."