Kahu's Manao

Keawala‘i Congregational Church
United Church of Christ (USA)

Eighth Sunday After Pentecost
Sunday, July 18, 2010

The Rev. Kealahou C. Alika

“Word and Work”
Colossians 1:15-28 & Luke 10:38-42

My week began with the blessing of a home in Wailuku. The occasion required a bit of preparation, including making certain I had the lau kï or ti leaves and pï kai or ocean water that would be used as a part of the blessing.

A few days later I had to secure more ti leaves and ocean water for another blessing – this time for land here in Mäkena. And a few days after that I needed more of the same for the blessing of an art center in Makawao.

The week also included a committee meeting, several appointments, a memorial service and a wedding. Each task required a degree of attention that could have easily been overwrought with distraction and worry.

As the memorial service began none of the crew members for our canoe had yet arrived here at the church. It was their responsibility to transport the canoe to Mäkena Landing. I made a frantic telephone call and discovered at least one person was about ten minutes away from arriving. In the end they did show up and whatever worries I may have had quickly dissipated.

We launched the canoe from the landing, paddled out down the coastline and into the bay. The ashes were scattered along with flowers.

As we approached the Landing on our return we noticed a couple rolling about in the shore break. We called out to them – “Hüi!” – both as a greeting and to signal to them that they needed to move to the side in order for us to bring the canoe safely to shore.

The first call was ignored and then the second. By that point we were on the crest of a swell. When I made the third call the man saw us approaching but instead of getting himself and his companion out of the path of the canoe, he decided he was going to take a photograph of our approach.

Within a second after he had taken the photograph there was a look of recognition on his face that was unmistakable. He knew there was no way for us to stop the forward momentum of the canoe. It was too late. Time had run out.

The canoe hurtled itself forward as the crest of the swell dropped down onto the shoreline. They were not able to get up and out of the water. We barely missed running over both of them. As we went passed we watched as the man sought to deflect the canoe away from them by pushing against the side of the hull with his legs.

The swell broke to the left and that made all the difference. I was too upset to say anything to them afterwards. Others from our crew went over and apologized. I don’t know if anyone conveyed to them that there is a protocol as to how the ocean is shared and that a reciprocal apology was in order.

Whether or not they understood that I don’t know. But I realized soon enough that what mattered most was that no one had been hurt.

A couple of hours later our office staff began to prepare for eighty guests who were due to arrive for a wedding. The morning began with overcast skies.

A light drizzle began to fall about an hour before the wedding was scheduled to begin. Over the next half hour the light drizzle turned into a downpour. The only thought I had was it was better that it was raining at that moment. The rain subsided minutes before the start of the wedding and everyone was spared from getting drenched.

After a long week of starts and stops; worries and distractions, everything turned out okay. I guess you could say I felt like I was Martha this week. Like Martha who became preoccupied with her preparations for welcoming Jesus into her home, so it was that I found myself preoccupied with preparations for numerous tasks of my own.

Some say the story of Jesus’ visit to the home of Martha and Mary is about “the call to ground our daily living in the word of God.” (Seasons of the Spirit, Congregational Life/Pentecost 1, Wood Lake Publishing, Inc., Kelowna, BC, Canada, 2009, page 72) In other words, whatever our daily tasks may be, we are called to listen to God’s word of grace and to let it shape our lives each day. (Op. cit.)

We may be tempted to fault Martha for her outburst and reaction to Mary’s decision to sit and listen to Jesus. Our impulse is to say that whatever Martha was doing had no value in light of what Jesus said to her.

It is tempting for us to judge Martha for her choice. However, Jesus’ words to her are focused not on what she was doing but on her “worry.” Such worrying, Jesus cautions, can easily become an obstacle to living in God’s kingdom. (Luke 8:14; 12:12-29) He calls on Martha to account for her worrying while still honoring her choice to be a good host.

Jesus affirms Mary’s choice to sit and listen. In many ways Mary’s decision is a surprising one. She does not assume the traditional role of a woman being a good host as Martha did. Instead she counters the societal norms of her day and establishes the expectation that women are also to be disciples.

It is tempting for us to judge Mary and insist that her choice is preferable to Martha’s choice. But the focus is not on what Martha does preparing food in the kitchen or what Mary does listening at the foot of Jesus, but that their devotion ultimately is to Jesus as Lord, a devotion free from worries and distractions.

We may be tempted to see ourselves as Martha or as Mary. But if the truth be told we know that there is a bit of Martha and Mary in all of us. There are moments when we are busy like Martha running about with things to do. But there are also moments when we find ourselves sitting down like Mary and listening.

I had an opportunity in June while attending the 188th ‘Aha Pae‘aina or annual meeting of the Hawai‘i Conference of the United Church of Christ in Lïhu‘e, Kaua‘i to sit down and listen. I essentially had the chance to be Mary. I was able to set aside the worries and distractions of my own work and to be strengthened and renewed.

Dr. Kent Keith, a graduate of Roosevelt High School in Honolulu, was the keynote speaker. Dr. Keith wrote and published a booklet for student leaders in 1968 that became the basis for his book Anyway: The Paradoxical Commandments. Since then he has published three more books: Do It Anyway, Jesus Did It Anyway, and Have Faith Anyway.

While his educational accomplishments are impressive – a B.A. in Government from Harvard University; an M.A. in Philosophy & Politics from Oxford University; a Certificate in Japanese from Waseda University; a J.D. from the University of Hawaii and an Ed.D from the University of Southern California – what is equally impressive is his gift with the written and spoken word. His presentation on “Keeping the Commandments of Jesus” was thoughtful and thorough.

He spoke for an hour from a printed text of almost twenty pages of single space type. Some remarked the next day that what he had to say took too long. In retrospect I became aware that Dr. Keith was laying the foundation for the presentation that he made the next day.

We were invited to engage one another in conversation about our faith and about our own thoughts and feelings. As we made our way to our seats the next morning we found a bookmark with quotations from his book Anyway: The Paradoxical Commandments.

During the session that followed he asked us to consider two questions based on the quotations printed on the bookmarks. First, what was the easiest commandment to keep and second, what was the most difficult.

They may sound like “sound bites” and as such there is a temptation to think that they are clichés with very little substance. Such a conclusion could not be further from the truth.

These are the ten paradoxical commandments:

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds. Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs. Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them. Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you have anyway.

Dr. Keith concluded his time with us by sharing the following:

“Love is the key. There are more than 20 verses in the New Testament that urge us to love each other – including our enemies. It is a core message of the gospels. I think we are designed to run on love.

When we love, we are at our best. We are who God intends us to be. We are who God calls us to be.

So why don’t we just go out and love people? Love can change our own lives, as well as the lives of those we love. Loving others is meaningful, and meaning is a key to being deeply happy. The happiest people I know are busy loving and helping others.

So Jesus is demanding, but when we follow his teachings we discover a new kind of inner peace. He said that his yoke is easy and his burden light. Perhaps he said that because when you follow him there are so many things you don’t have to worry about anymore. You don’t have to worry about being rich, famous, or powerful. You don’t have to worry about your social status. You don’t have to worry about doctrinal purity.

You don’t have to worry about putting up walls to keep out people you don’t like. You don’t have to worry about being saved. That’s up to God, and if you believe in Christ, it’s already been decided in your favor. And you don’t have to worry about what to do.

The parable of the sheep and goats is an obvious place to start. Feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, provide hospitality to the stranger, give clothes to the naked, look after the sick, and visit those in prison. There’s plenty of work there for all of us.

I have met many, many Christians who are really uptight. I know it’s not nice to say that but it’s true. They are worried about their worldly success, their social position, their doctrinal purity, and their exclusiveness. They live nerve-wracking lives filled with insecurity and even fear. They frown a lot and use lots of energy looking down on others.

This is not what Jesus wants for us. He wants us to be spiritually free. He wants us to live joyfully.” (Keeping the Commandments of Jesus, Presented by Dr. Kent K. Keith to the Hawai‘i Conference – United Church of Christ ‘Aha Pae‘aina, Lïhu‘e United Church, Lïhu‘e, Kaua‘i, Hawai‘i, June 10, 2010 © Copyright Kent M. Keith 2010, page 18)

Thanks be to God. Amen.

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