The first is a story that engages our Christian acts of service and charity. A person is found in distress. Three persons pass by, the first two are religious leaders, the third is a Samaritan. Jesus was telling a story to answer the question, who actually lived out what it means to be "neighborly". This was an answer to the original question of "Who will inherit eternal life?" Most Christians understand that the relationship between Samaritans and Jews is a complicated relationship. They often didn't get along and saw the other as being theologically in the wrong. Yet in this case, it is clear, that the Samaritan lived out their faith.
Now, we come to second passage, the story of Mary and Martha. If the first passage questions who will be saved with an example of the "outsider" Samaritan, and example of living faith, this story is the exact opposite. Martha is busying "doing". Mary is sitting in learning at the feet of Jesus. This is still a subversive act as women were not allowed to sit at the feet of a religious leader to learn.
A good example of this is the film Yentl. In this film, a young Jewish woman earns to learn theology. Yentl's father is a rabbi, and her father secretly instructs her in the Talmud despite the fact she is a woman. When her father dies, she cuts her hair short like a man, takes on her brother's name Anshel, and enters a Yeshiva, a Jewish seminary. She falls in love with a seminary student, and in one theological debate, she asks if there was some reason that her friend would not be allowed to study Torah, (something like people with brown eyes or brown hair weren't allowed) would he still pursue learning. Eventually, he agrees, that if there was a prohibition against studying Torah, and he was forbidden he would do so anyway.
This is the same as Mary. Mary and Yentl remind us of the same truth. That these are both people with a passion and a calling that transcend societies limitations when they pursue God's call in their lives. But where Martha was busy doing, Mary was busy sitting and learning. These are very different activities. Helping the injured man on the road to Damascus is heavy on action. Sitting and learning is using our minds and thinking. If the first passage encourages us to do, the second encourages us to learn. Finally, we come to the third. It's Jesus teaching on prayer. It's a classic, where we read the "Lord's Prayer". Jesus speaks about persistence, and God's care and concern for us.
So what is the theme that connects all three. Imagine a three or four legged chair. This chair is our spiritual lives. Each of these passages adds an important aspect of our spiritual lives that all keep us upright. Our faith has to be an active faith. A faith that is lived out in deeds. A faith like that of the Samaritan that is lived without discrimination. But we also must rely on the second leg of the chair. Our learning, reflection and study is important for us to be thoughtful Christians. To ensure that our actions are rooted in good theology and belief. That we understand why we do what we do.
Lastly, prayer and contemplation is essential. Prayer allows us to spend the time we need on unpacking what we learn, and evaluating how we act. It draws us back into the scriptures, worship, liturgy and supplication. It allows us to be realigned with God's word. All four legs (action/charity, study/learning, prayer and contemplation/reflection) form essential tasks for our spiritual life.
How about you this week. Is there one of these four that comes easier? Is there one that is harder? How well have we done not ignoring or neglecting completely one or all of these 'legs'. As we journey in the next three weeks through these passages, ask God to reveal to you which of these needs to be engaged, so that we might grow in our spiritual lives and how we might engage these in our life in the coming days.
