Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

Finding our balance
​Rev. Jennifer Masada - St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church - Kapa’au, Hawai'i
July 20, 2025 - Sixth  Sunday after Pentecost, Year C
Amos 8:1-12, Psalm 52, Colossians 1:15-28, Luke 10:38-42

When company is coming, what do we do? We swing into action—cleaning the house, tidying up, preparing food. We get the guest room ready, we shop for food and make plans to entertain our guests. We want them to feel welcome and comfortable. 

In today’s gospel story, Jesus is coming for dinner. The story centers on two sisters, Martha and Mary. Martha bustles about, tending to the details of hospitality. Meanwhile, Mary sits at Jesus’ feet and listens.

We often read this text as a tale of opposite choices: one sister chooses work, the other chooses worship. One decides to serve, the other decides to be still. But rather than judging one as better than the other, maybe the lesson is about balance.
Jesus isn’t scolding Martha for serving. He’s inviting her to stop just long enough to remember why it matters, encouraging her to let her service be rooted in love, not resentment.

Perhaps Martha is thinking, “If I don’t do it, it won’t get done.”
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And maybe that’s true. But is it the only truth? I wonder if it’s true that both Martha and Mary were showing off for Jesus – signalling their virtue to impress the esteemed teacher. Perhaps it’s true that the gathering would still be lovely if Martha stopped working and sat next to Mary. Maybe it’s true that Martha could quietly ask others to help her. It is certainly true that Martha could choose to do the work with joy. 

What if we let joy into our work and made time to pause? What if we stopped framing life as either/or—and embraced it as both/and? What if we stopped virtue signaling, and started soul listening? What if the deepest form of hospitality isn’t just what we do for others, but how open we are to the Divine presence in our midst? Can we find the Divine in every task we do?
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Spirit reminds us to live in balance: meeting ourselves where we are—with grace—while also staying open to how the Spirit wants to stretch us.

Years ago, our boys had a toy designed to teach balance. It had a skateboard deck with a giant wheel underneath. The wheel was on a track, allowing it to slide under the deck from end to end. Riding it was harder than it looked! It required focus and constant adjustments. Moving too much or overcorrecting would cause you to fall off. Standing still didn't work, either. The best way to keep balance was to pay attention and make tiny little adjustments — a small shift here and a tiny movement there. Staying engaged with the activity was the key.

Living in balance isn’t about standing still—it’s about staying centered even as life moves around us. When we resist the flow, constant change can feel like disruption when actually it is Spirit’s gentle hand guiding us to grow. 

We are creatures of habit. We live out old patterns because they are comfortable; we tend to resist change even when it’s for our highest good. Depending on the day, perhaps we might say something like: “There’s no need for me to change. I’m doing just fine. I follow the path of success and I don’t question it.” In a different moment, we might say: “Why bother trying to change? I’ll never measure up. I’ve gone off course too many times. The world has nothing for me, and I have nothing to give.” 

These are two extremes — one rooted in the comfort of status quo and the distraction of daily duties. The other may come from a sense of despair. Both extremes come from a place of fear, which can cut off the possibility of spiritual growth. 

Between the extremes lies a deeper truth: we are called to embrace spiritual growth in balance with what's possible in each moment. We are loved exactly as we are and we are invited to grow into something more. 

Balancing our inner Martha and inner Mary, we can change from moment to moment, flowing between the work of our hands and the stillness of our hearts.
May we welcome the sacred rhythm of doing and being—of working hard with love and joy to prepare Divine space and then sitting fully in it.
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Growth in Spirit doesn’t always feel easy or safe. But it always leads us deeper into love. And that is the truest path we can follow! Amen.

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