Are You a Human Being, or a Human Doing?

Are You a Human Being, or a Human Doing? John 12:1-8 Think about that sermon title for a moment: Are You a Human Being, or a Human Doing? Today’s Scripture tells about another tale of the Mary and Martha saga. But before we get to Mary and Martha, let’s look a little closer to home. Our society is given to what some sociologists call, the norm of work devotion; in other words, it’s our norm to be devoted to our work. Devotion to work is a good thing, usually, but what some families cry for is a more balanced approach to work - and the rest of life. For many folks today, and maybe ourselves in our more productive years, the philosophy of our families was "work should be the central part of our existence." Sociologists call this "the norm of work devotion." That's how we prove ourselves worthy of our job, by making it the "uncontested central focus of our lives. Our very identity and sense of value have become tied to our productivity," one sociologist says. To some degree or another, our gainful labors are or were a top priority in our lives, by necessity. But to what degree? The norm of work devotion, though, can also be a negative thing. It may take too much time away from family, or the work or job wears one down and loses its joy, reward, or satisfaction. But, if you substitute other words for "work," you get some thought-provoking forms of devotion to think about, some of which can be positive, or can go either way, depending on how the devotion plays out. For example, how about "the norm of parenting devotion”? Probably a positive, unless it becomes smothering. Helicopter parents hovering over their children’s every move, or tiger moms, renowned for pushing their children too hard and interfering with a child’s normal development, depending on what normal is, are common devotions in today’s society. Or what about the norm of golfing or fishing or hunting or having a devotion to any other favorite activity? Or the norm of bar-hopping devotion, or sports-betting devotion or social media devotion? That’s a big one for today. We are all devoted to something. What are you most devoted to? Devotion to whatever could go either way, depending on what we're willing to spend, sacrifice and ignore in order to engage in it regularly. Now, how about this one: "The norm of Jesus devotion"? Got a story… Ebenezer Bryce was a legendary Utah cattle rancher who used to pasture his herds on land that is now Bryce Canyon National Park. The canyon is famous for its spectacular sandstone rock formations, carved over the centuries by wind and water into shapes that resemble castles and cathedrals. Few visitors can stand on the canyon's rim, gazing out over the Creator's work below, without feeling a sense of awe. 2 Bryce was one of those people who could; who could see the vistas without a sense of awe. Someone asked him, once, what it was like to have spent his working life in a setting of such overwhelming natural beauty. The cattleman looked out over that awe-inspiring scenery and replied, "It's one heck of a place to lose a cow." When we focus too much on work, we lose our capacity for wonder, for inspiration, for pause to contemplate what is really important, for the moment. Now, consider our gospel for the day, in which Mary, the sister of Lazarus and Martha, during a dinner in their home with Jesus and the disciples as guests, anoints Jesus' feet with "a pound of costly perfume," and then wipes them with her hair. That sounds like Jesus devotion. What's more, it's in line with Mary's behavior during another visit from Jesus. Luke 10:38-42 tells that during that time, Martha, busy with hospitality tasks, complained to Jesus because Mary, instead of helping her sister with the work, was sitting at Jesus' feet, listening to what He was saying. Martha’s norm is work and hospitality, Mary’s norm is devotion to Jesus; she’ll get to the work later. In both that incident and this one, Jesus defends Mary's choice. In Luke’s story, Jesus says to Martha that Mary "has chosen the better part" (Luke 10:42). And here in John, after Judas says that the perfume should have been sold and the money given to the poor, Jesus says to him, "Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of My burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me." So in both of these cases, with Jesus putting His stamp of approval on Mary's behavior, we'd have to conclude that her Jesus devotion is a positive thing. Now here is a troubling question? Is every effort we make, that is encouraged by our devotion to Jesus, a positive? Many pastors, myself included, have heard from married parishioners, who complain that their spouse is so involved with what's going on in the church that they are "never home." In some cases, such spouses have thrown themselves into work for the church, not only at the expense of home life, but also to avoid home life. The stay-at-home spouses might argue that their mates could use a bit more marital devotion and a bit less Jesus devotion. Frankly, many pastors have the same problem; too much devotion to church unravels their home and their marriages. So, if Jesus devotion is not just participating in the necessary and many church endeavors, what is it? In recent years, some Christians have defined Christianity as "a practice," usually involving a set of disciplines, 3 including prayer, Bible reading, meditation, Sabbath keeping, tithing, hospitality, deeds of charity and other acts of discipleship. Those are good things to be sure. Yet, anytime we reduce faith to actions alone, we're flirting with the notion that we must do something for God, before God will do anything for us. And what kind of a relationship is that? Certainly not the kind described by the apostle John when he says, "We love God because God first loved us" (1 John 4:19). United Methodist Bishop Will Willimon, who has written extensively about Christianity as practice, more recently concluded that the spiritual disciplines by themselves are not the core of discipleship. Willimon says that many of our practices are attempts to take time for God, on our own terms, when, in fact, God "takes time for us throughout the day, if we have the eyes of faith to see it.” God takes time for us and from us, interrupting our day, if you will, to let us know, “I’m here, I hear you, and I’m here for you.” God does not wait for us to fine-tune the spiritual disciplines. God grants us the freedom to be about our vocations in the world, doing what we have to do in this life. But God also just suddenly shows up, sometimes, unexpectedly becoming an event in our lives. So maybe Jesus devotion, indeed, the norm of Jesus devotion, is a willingness to respond positively when Jesus interrupts us, when He places before us or within us some opportunity to express our loyalty to Him by loving our neighbor as we love our self, or by, like Mary in our text, worshiping in some self-humbling way. But if our response to Jesus' interruptions, His being there for us in a special way, is going to resemble devotion, more than simply coincidence, or twist of fate or answer to pray; if it is going to resemble genuine devotion, it must arise out of an awareness, on our part, that Jesus is in the here and now. Then we can respond to those moments, and react positively to the occasion of His appearing. Mary did that more than or better than Martha. Surely Martha is to be appreciated for her devotion to care for the needs of everyone, but there comes those times when we just need to pause and see the Lord in our midst and to stop and be in His presence. At times, work will necessarily be the central part of our existence. But we can't let that be the whole story. For most of us, the demands and perplexities of life make the central part of our existence a moving target, hour by hour. We can, however, have a larger identity as a disciple, being a person living the norm of being devoted to Jesus, on His terms. So, Are You a Human Be-ing, or a Human Doing? Are you defined and fulfilled fully by what you do or might you need to just be in human contact and communion with the Lord?