July 13, 2016

Ours is an associated worship: there cannot, therefore, be a more erroneous opinion than that upon which the practice of some seems to be founded, that the people are to be only hearers or spectators during the service of the Church.  Our excellent Liturgy is so constructed, that it can neither have meaning nor effect in some of its parts, unless the people join in it with interest and devotion.
Pastoral Letter to the Diocese of Maryland by Bishops Claggett and Kemp, 1816

This coming Sunday we will hear the gospel story of Mary and Martha.  If you need a refresher, Jesus comes to visit the two sisters and Martha, distracted by her many tasks, asks Jesus to intercede for her and have Mary get to work because she has been quietly listening to Jesus.  This story has, through the ages, prompted people to ask, “Are you a Mary or are you a Martha?”  The implication, of course, is that you are either one who chooses to listen to Jesus above all else (thereby being a “good” disciple) or you are one who chooses to push Jesus aside in favor of listening the the cares and distractions of the world.

But that binary thinking, that either/or way of presenting Mary and Martha, is problematic.  It presents the question as having only one right answer.  It requires us to make a choice between this and that.  It can lead people to begin seeing everything in this either/or way that can be detrimental in the long run.  Think, for instance, of the current state of affairs in our political parties – the ability and willingness to negotiate and compromise is hindered on all levels by a demand for “either this or that.”  This either/or way of thinking can also have a negative aspect on our worship and spiritual lives, as Bishops Clagget and Kemp wrote.

Two hundred years ago these two bishops wrote to the people of the Diocese of Maryland in response to what they saw as an either/or theology of worship.  Two hundred years ago these two bishops wrote to the people of the Diocese of Maryland in an attempt to get people beyond binary worship.  Apparently the good people of Maryland had come to see themselves as Mary worshipers; not worshipers of the Blessed Virgin Mary, but worshipers in the style of the above Mary, sitting quietly and passively listening to the words being spoken by the teacher.

But this has never been the goal of our liturgy.  Our liturgy is not something that we “attend.”  Our liturgy is not a performance for your entertainment.  Our liturgy is not passive.

Our liturgy is, properly, “the work of the people.”  It is something that we work at.  It is something we strive to perfect each time we participate in it.  Our liturgy is active.  It is a corporate performance where we are all the actors, having specific roles to play, with God as our audience.  In our liturgy, we are both Mary and Martha; we are both hearers and doers.  It is something where we should actively listen at times, and join in with interest and devotion at other times.

And here you thought that when I said, “Let's do that again” I was being cynical when, in fact, I was actually channeling my inner bishop from 200 years ago.

This Sunday when you come to church to sit, listen, and pray, also remember that there is work to be done.

Amen.