Down in Rolesville: “go and do likewise.”

Good morning, I’m Bill Pike, and it is my honor to be with you this Sunday as the pinch hitter for Enon’s pastor, Michael Dettmer.

No matter if you are with us in the Sanctuary or watching on-line, we are glad to have you with us this morning.

Before we start, I need to share some disclaimers.

First, I’m not a Biblical scholar, nor a degreed theologian, but I do have a certification as a lay speaker from the Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church.

My wife and I were traveling with dear friends from college when I listened to Michael’s voice mail. We had a good conversation when I called him back, but he said something dangerous to me.

Michael told me by phone and later in a follow-up email that I could preach on any topic of my liking.

That’s not a good offer to a person like me, who has what American writer, Dave Barry calls “brain sludge.” Mr. Barry defines “brain sludge” as useless information in the minds of men.

However, with Michael’s offer, my “brain sludge cells” started tossing out ideas.

Knowing that we are in Hanover County, home of the famous Hanover tomatoes, maybe, I should speak about the fruits and vegetables that are listed in the Bible.

In light of the recent water crisis that impacted the Richmond region, maybe I should talk about water. After all the Bible references water over 500 times.

Or since it is baseball season, maybe I should talk about the movie Moneyball, and offer suggestions to what churches might learn from characters Billy Beane and Peter Brand and their statistical thinking about baseball.

Or maybe, I can tell you some stories about my thirty one years of work in public schools, or my last fourteen years of work at Trinity, or maybe I should just let my heart do the talking.

Who knows, maybe I’ll be lucky, and something from my old heart might resonate with your hearts.

How about we start with a prayer: Father of us all, forgive my old heart. Amen.

The gospel reading this morning comes from Luke Chapter 10 verses 38-42. Let’s take another look at those four verses:

“As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

I’m sorry, but I think Martha has a point.
She has opened her home to Jesus and his disciples. Including Martha and Mary, that’s at least fifteen mouths to feed.

I can see Martha scurrying around her home, prepping food, finding serving pieces, and while she is burning all this energy, it suddenly dawns on her, I need some help.

Look at my sister, she is sitting at the feet of Jesus hanging on every word that he is saying. Why isn’t she helping me?

In our own kitchens with our families, we’ve seen similar scenes play out when we have special guests in our homes. We want the meal and the fellowship to go well. For that meal and fellowship to go well, we are probably going to need some extra hands.

But, Jesus, doesn’t see it that way. I think he can see and feel Martha’s sense of urgency in this moment.

While his reply to Martha acknowledges that she is worried and upset about many things, he offers no real relief—other than basically— hey, Martha, cool your jets.

By this time, Martha might be headed toward a nuclear meltdown.

Maybe she is thinking to herself: “I’m trying to be a good host, no one is helping me, sounds like Jesus told me to trim the menu down, and that Mary has chosen more wisely than me and that her choice will not be altered. I guess, I’ll just keep plugging along.”

In the May 23 edition of the news magazine The Week, I read an obituary about Joseph Nye. Dr. Nye was a political scientist who had a distinguished career in academia and politics.

The Washington Post reported that the future Dr. Nye grew up on a farm. He attended Princeton University. It was at Princeton that “he briefly considered studying for the ministry—until he read the Bible all the way through.”

I’ll be honest with you— I have days like that with the Bible. Days when I have no earthly idea how I can understand or rationalize what is written.

And I’ll take that honesty a bit further, these four verses about Martha and Mary are difficult for me to understand.

My vision, my practical thinking sees this home visit by Jesus from Martha’s perspective. I hear and understand her plea.

But in the footnotes of the 1973 edition of the The Oxford Annotated Bible, the Revised Standard Version, I’ll give you a bit more to ponder: “With delicate ambiguity Jesus rebuked Martha’s choice of values; a simple meal (one dish) is sufficient for hospitality. Jesus approved Mary’s preference for listening to his teachings as contrasted with Martha’s unneeded acts of hospitality.”

“Unneeded acts of hospitality” sorry, but I need to think about that comment for a while, maybe longer than you want to be here this morning.

On the evening of Thursday, July 10, my wife and I were on a redeye flight from Fairbanks, Alaska to Minneapolis-St. Paul to Raleigh.

We experienced a brief delay for our flight to Raleigh, but other than that all went well.

Even though I grew up in North Carolina, I have never figured out the roads in Raleigh.

This is despite many trips to Raleigh to visit our youngest daughter.

We were on US 1 north headed out of the city into Wake County.

And I have no idea why on this Friday afternoon, my eyes were drawn to an exit sign for Rolesville.

But, my brain locked on to that name— Rolesville.

I’ve never been to Rolesville, don’t know if I will ever go to Rolesville, but the town was founded in 1837 by William H. Roles. Today, it is the second largest city in Wake County with a population of 9,745. (Wikipedia)

Luckily, my jet lag did not impact my driving, and we made it back to Richmond safely.

Yet, my old brain would not let go of Rolesville.

Late on Saturday evening, I started doing some preliminary prep for this morning, and when I consulted the lectionary for the gospel reading, Rolesville nudged me again.

And that’s when it hit me, what is my ‘role’ in this cantankerous, weary, and worn out old world?

Mary and Martha both have roles in this scripture.

What is your role in this world?

How do you impact your family, your friends, your community, your work environment, and how do you impact Enon?

What is our role, our responsibility?

How can we use our role, our responsibility to make a positive impact?

You may never visit Rolesville, but I hope you will revisit everyday what your ‘role’ is in this world. Never stop evaluating how your ‘role’ can bring about change.

A few years ago, I stumbled upon this quote from E. B. White: “The only sense that is common in the long run, is the sense of change and we all instinctively avoid it.”

How about in your ‘role’ in this life, do you “instinctively avoid change?”

When I read a book, an article in a magazine, or the daily devotional in the Upper Room, I use a highlighter. If I come upon wisdom that resonates with me I will highlight it and that includes highlighting the page number.

I recently read The Secret World Of Weather by Tristan Gooley. In the book, Mr. Gooley shares with readers how to read weather signs ‘in every cloud, breeze, hill, street, plant, animal, and dew drop.’

If you are intrigued by our daily weather, you might want to read this book.

Now, I haven’t gone back in the book and counted how may times the word ‘change’ is used by the author to make his points, but ‘change’ is used a lot.

Our seasons and their weather force us to change our routines. Yes, we might complain about the weather, but do we really ever consider how it initiates change?

These weather changes force us to adapt.

In the New Testament isn’t that Jesus’ role? Isn’t he nudging us to change?

With every interaction with every parable, isn’t he working to initiate change, to make us think, to make us uneasy, to nudge us out of our comfort zones? Doesn’t he want us to take on a different ‘role’ in the reality of our own Rolesville?

Who in your Rolesville needs you?

Is it an aging parent, a student who needs a mentor, a struggling co-worker, a church member, a stressed out neighbor, or a stranger rummaging through a dumpster in the back of a fast food restaurant?

You, me, we, us have a ‘role’ to fill in our communities.

And, I’m not sure about your thinking, but I sense God and Jesus are not much different from Martha. Maybe they don’t want to admit it, but they need us to take more of an active ‘role’ in this raging old world.

We are at a point in all of the Rolesvilles across the world where we can no longer “instinctively avoid change.”

Perhaps you are aware that in Luke Chapter 10, just before the story of Mary and Martha is the story of the Good Samaritan.

What a ‘role’ this man played in saving a stranger’s life.

The last four words that Jesus speaks in that parable are “go and do likewise.”

I wonder if I’d be able to offer the same type of assistance to a stranger today like the Good Samaritan did?

I love music.

I have a deep appreciation for musicians.

I can’t sing or play any instrument.

At home, if I were to attempt to sing in the solitary confinement of our shower, I’m certain all of the dogs in our neighborhood would howl in anguish.

The Steep Canyon Rangers are a bluegrass/Americana band from Asheville, North Carolina.

Unlike me, they are gifted songwriters, musicians, and singers.

The lyrics from their song “Down That Road Again” made me pause and think:

“Don’t let me go down that road again
I know where it leads and how it ends
Right now I need the kind of friend
Who won’t let me go down that road again”
(Written by Graham Paul Sharp of The Steep Canyon Rangers from their album Radio on Rounder Records 2015)

At this very moment, there is someone in your life who doesn’t want to go down that road again. This individual needs someone from Rolesville to be the ‘role’ of a friend ‘who won’t let them go down that road again.’

Jesus was honest in his assessment of Mary and Martha, and I’ll be honest with you.

Each of us has a ‘role’ to play in this world full of hurting people.

It is time for us to put into action the words from Jesus: ‘go and do likewise.’

Near the end of June, I turned 72.

There is a little voice inside of me that whispers, “Bill, you don’t have much time left, you need to get busy.”

That whispering voice is correct, I don’t have much time left, I need to get busy.

How about you?

In the time that you have left, how are you going to get busy?

What ‘role’ are you going to play?

Maybe you know the name Dr. Mae Jemison. Dr. Jemison was the first African American woman to travel in space. She was a mission specialist in 1992 on the space shuttle Endeavour.

This wisdom from Dr. Jemison makes me think a lot about the time I have left: “Never limit yourself because of others’ limited imagination; never limit others because of your own limited imagination.”

I told you earlier this morning—I’m not a Biblical scholar or a degreed theologian, but I’ll tell you what I think about Mary and Martha.

My old heart tells me that God and Jesus both need Mary and Martha, and we do too.

We need to hear the words from Jesus, but we also must put those words into action, and we must not think about our limitations.

Dr. Jemison never allowed limits to slow the pursuit of her goals.

Nor should we, as we position ourselves to “go and do likewise.”

Mary and Martha had limits in offering hospitality to Jesus and his disciples. But, I suspect that Mary and Martha came away from that experience a little wiser.

The Good Samaritan set no limits for himself to ensure that the robbed and injured traveler received the care he needed.

The person in the Steep Canyon Rangers’ song “Down That Road Again,” requested the help of a friend to keep them from making the same mistakes again. Tomorrow, you might be that friend who keeps a friend on the right road.

And grounded in the each of these examples is the E. B. White quote about change.

At this stage in my life, I can no longer “instinctively avoid change.”

If I avoid ‘change,’ then I will be incapable of playing the ‘role’ that Jesus charged me with— “now go and do likewise.”

Doesn’t matter if we are down in Rolesville or at Enon United Methodist Church— it is time for our hearts to “go and do likewise” in our communities.

Time isn’t on our side.

We need to get busy.

Talk to your heart.

“Go and do likewise.”

Author’s note: Today, I had the privilege of “pinch hitting” in the pulpit at Enon United Methodist Church in Hanover County, Virginia. A special thanks to the church staff and congregation for their hospitality and patience.