Arriving in New Orleans a few of weeks ago, I knew things would be different, I just didn’t realize how different. I had come to this place for fun in past times, but this time, I was with a group of people who had a different purpose. We were on a mission bring hope to people whose lives had been torn apart by Hurricane Katrina nearly two years ago. Yet as the week went on we realized this experience was going to be different than we first expected, it didn’t only involve gutting and rebuilding structures and houses, we had been sent to help people rebuild, restore and renew their lives and witness to the hope that is for them through the love of Christ. What we discovered is that hope had already come and we were but companions on their journey of rebuilding, restoring and renewing what was theirs to begin with.
The 14 people who traveled to New Orleans were messengers and workers who represented People of Hope and ultimately were faithful representatives of Jesus Christ to those we met and befriended there. We were a bunch of Marys and Marthas and Pauls, and throughout the week, we learned more deeply the value of each of these gifts, to serve, to sit at the feet of Jesus and to suffer for the sake of others.
Anytime we serve beyond ourselves, it can be easily overwhelming. As the mission trip group drove through the streets of the now infamous lower 9th ward, where the water rose high above the houses right after the storm, we saw twisted trees and overgrown grasses that now covered what remained of dilapidated houses. We couldn’t help but think that something was missing, some things were missing…above all else, in this neighborhood the most prominent thing missing seemed to be real hope of rebuilding, restoring or renewing.
We had questions like:
“How, in heaven’s name, is it possible that two years after Katrina, there is no hope in some parts of this once vibrant city? Why wouldn’t people return? On the other hand, how could they return? And how is it possible that the families that we are working with have the strength and vision to believe they can rebuild?”
The rhythm of the week was to pray, work, question, work, and pray some more. Most of the time, these things were happening all at the same time.
As we come into Martha’s house with Jesus, in Luke’s gospel, we see a dispute break out as to what is best to do, serve or sit at the feet of Jesus. Martha is the dutiful host to Jesus, serving her hardest, and her sister Mary appears to be the doting listener of Jesus, unconcerned with the work of the household. When Martha asks Jesus if it’s right that Mary isn’t helping, Jesus’ response is that Mary has chosen the better decision.
Although this story seems simple and to the point, there seems to be much more to this story than a simple right or wrong answer. The answer is not as clear as it seems because right before this story is the better known story of the Good Samaritan.
The order of these stories is not an accident, the scholar of Moses’ Teachings asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life, and the man answers his own question by saying that we must love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength and with all our mind and our neighbor as our selves. Jesus responds to him by telling the story of the Samaritan who went out of his way to serve the abused stranger; and at the end tells the scholar to go and do the same.
So how is it possible that Mary has chosen the better option?
Given the way these stories flow, one from the other, Luke seems to be making the point that living as God wants us to live is not an either/or choice; either service or devotion, but rather a both/and kind of life. We both devote ourselves to God through Jesus, and live to help our neighbor.
Now the group from People of Hope spent the week in New Orleans in two different work teams. Equipped with fresh energy and a desire to do good work, one team met Kevin and his family, they worked side by side all week long. Kevin worked 11 PM to 7 AM, fixing other people’s homes so that he could fix his own, yet he was faithful to his family in making this house a home for them again. He had the work ethic of Martha.
The other team worked most of the week at Miss Rosetta’s 130 yr old duplex. She was living next door with her son and working 2 jobs as a social worker and elder care provider while working on her master’s degree at almost 60 years of age. She was trying to get the house back together so that her daughter and family could live next door to her. She was dedicated to having family close. She seemed to have the work ethic of Martha as well.
Although we came to help and to bring hope to these families by working on rebuilding their homes, we found ourselves listening like Mary in the midst of our working like Martha.
I talked to Miss Rosetta one afternoon and asked her where her strength has come from to make it through the last two years, and she just looked me in the eye and said, “God will get me through…God will get me through.” It seemed too simple to me, yet, we were standing on the porch, looking at the guts of her house sitting on the curbside, and her response was, “God will get me through.” In that moment she pointed me to Jesus and to the trust that is ours through faith in all life’s circumstances.
Her mind was not full of anxiety or worry, but it was on the goodness and mercy of God who blesses us with hope. She understood in the core of her being and through the power of her experience that Christ was her source of hope and that a big ol’ nasty storm may change her, but it will not shake her from the presence of God.
In that moment, I was sitting at the feet of Jesus, or at least sitting at the feet of someone who knew Jesus well, being reminded that all material things wither and die, but God has been here from the beginning and God will be here to see us through to the very end. Nothing in our lives has the right, nor the power to separate us from God, who restores, rebuilds and renews us everyday. When we live in this promise we can’t help but recognize Jesus in those that we serve. AMEN
