Jack, a popular conference speaker, confessed that Sunday mornings had become family “chaos” time. Much of the problem involved the tug-of-war that ensued when he tried to get his long-haired, shoddily dressed teenage son to dress up for Church. Filled with frustration, anxiety, and anger Jack would eventually “cave in” and let his son have his way.
When John shared this issue with a friend, the friend asked Jack, “Why are so anxious about your son’s appearance?” “Because he represents our family and I want to have church members think highly of us; after all I am a Christian conference speaker.” His friend continued: “Jack, are you afraid that people in the church might think you are not much of a parent if you let your son dress for church that way?” Reluctantly, Jack answered: “Yes, I think that’s it.” “So, Jack, it sounds like fear is what’s underneath your frustration. What about Jesus? Do you think he minds the way your son looks when he comes to church?” “Hmm, I haven’t given that any thought,” admitted Jack.
It is estimated that about 33% of Americans suffer with anxiety disorders during their lives. That means that one of three of us can identify with Jack. What are things you get anxious about?
Today we meet a patron saint of anxiety. Her name is Martha; and, yes, she is a canonized saint in the Catholic Church (Luke 10:38-42).
“Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.”
Can anyone identify with Martha? She is a hero! She welcomes Jesus even when many rejected him. Martha wanted to honor Jesus with a super dinner and a sparkling-clean house. Do you think this was the first time that her younger sister didn’t want to help her with her ambitious plans? My guess this had happened before. We can see Martha trying to make her little sister carry her share of the load. We can also imagine Martha going overboard when a guest was coming for dinner, and that Mary didn’t care too much about impressing visitors. Instead of going through her usual tug-of-war with Mary, Martha tried a new tactic. She would use Jesus to get Mary into the kitchen. Can you imagine someone telling the Son of God what to do? Would it not have been better to discuss the issue with Jesus and get his advice?
Though Martha did not ask Jesus’ advice, he gave it to her anyway.
“The Lord said to her in reply, ‘Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken from her.”
Ouch! Can you see Martha angrily stomping out of the room. All the trouble she was going through to honor Jesus, and he didn’t appreciate it. Worse than that, he defended Mary!
Jesus wants our hearts more than our hands. He is thrilled when a long-haired, unkempt teenager shows up for Mass. He is not driven, as we are, by the fear of what people might think.
So what are our anxiety issues? What triggers our “worry machine” into motion? When we trace it down, can we identify the fear that drives our behavior? In our prayers do we “tell” Jesus what to do to resolve our situation, or do we seek his opinion on it? Do we ask him to free us from our deepest fears?
Isn’t it all about trust? We don’t worry about having an accident in our car because we know we have a “higher power,” the insurance company, taking care of us. Is there anything in our lives that God is not taking care of? When we surrender everything to him, we know that things will work out just as he has planned. Worry is replaced by trust.
