“Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her." May I speak in the name of the one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

I thought I would take this opportunity to talk with you about my time at the B-SAFE program this week.  Since the last time I spoke with you, I have worked full time as a chaplain for the program.  For those who do not know, the B-SAFE program, run by our partner parish, St. Stephen’s Church in the South End, offers a place for children to go during their summer breaks, safe from criminal gang elements that exist in many of their neighborhoods.  As you are surely aware, an appalling number of young people have been shot this year in Boston.   

Before I became the Curate at the Redeemer, I worked at St. Rafael’s hospital in New Haven, CT.  It is a terrific hospital in a troubled part of the city.  Unfortunately, young victims of violence were far too common there.  Watching a teenager nurse his wounds in the emergency room certainly made an impression on me.   

The B-Safe program helps prevent these sad scenes.  The program does excellent work at a reasonable cost.  The volunteers, the city support, and most importantly, the money, work, and prayers offered by partnership parishes like the Church of the Redeemer, are invaluable to a successful program.  The program keeps kids off the streets away from the temptation to make a quick buck by being a gang lookout.  The kids are also out of the way of stray bullets that have too often rained down on their neighborhoods.  The B-SAFE program also provides much needed enrichment and team building exercises for the kids.  The program offers vocabulary, reading, spelling training, and an opportunity to work on arithmetic.  

I had several jobs at the camp.  I was technically the chaplain, though there are complications adding Christianity to a program that receives public support.  I could not do a bible study, but I could talk to the kids, which I did in a number of ways.  I was the Frisbee man.  I taught classes in Frisbee throwing, and I taught different Frisbee games.  Some classes even worked up to playing Ultimate Frisbee.  I was hoping Frisbee would be a good opportunity to teach teambuilding.  I also served in art classes.  A Christian brother who was also trying to bring the children the good news led these classes.  He had the children draw what peace and love looked like.  I suggested also adding a class on hope, which we also did.  During these classes, I had the opportunity to talk with the children about their lives as they were experiencing it through their art.  I had some fascinating conversations with the children.  I also had the opportunity to lead a meditation, and earlier in the week, I led a story time session.   

I have to admit by Tuesday evening, after only the second day of work, I was exhausted.  My back was killing me (bending over all day to talk to the young kids was taking its toll), and I was beginning to get a little frustrated.  I was working very hard, and yet I did not seem to have anything to show for it.  I was teaching Frisbee, which was working well on occasion, but just as easily could end in rather vicious arguments.  I was frustrated by one group especially that would rather yell at each other than learn how to play.  It was also difficult to talk with some of the students about their art projects.  Several of the students drew big dollar signs when asked what they hoped for.  When I asked some of them how they were going to get the money, if they had an occupation in mind they might want to work toward, I once received the answer, “Any way I can, money is the most important thing.  Money makes me happy.”  After only two days, this had gotten to me.  I was working hard, but I was unsatisfied.  I didn’t know what to do.  By Wednesday morning, I was dreading going in as I prayed Morning Prayer.  I prayed to God to help me get through the week, and I asked God for help: direct petition, the last refuge for the sinner.  I asked God to help me figure out what to do.  While waiting for God’s answer, I turned to the Bible, and read today’s Gospel passage.  “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing.  Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.” 

I guess I have always sympathized with Martha, so it was fitting that I should find myself in her shoes.  I also was distracted by many things.  I was trying to accomplish something; I was trying to be a doer.  There is a time and place for doers, but there is also a time and place to be like Mary.  Mary just sits at the feet of Jesus.  She really doesn’t do anything.  She doesn’t have to.  She is just as she was created to be, in a loving relationship with God. 

For people who are doers like Martha and me, it can be very difficult for us at times, when we don’t seem to be getting anything out of our efforts.  What I need to learn, like all us Martha’s out there, is that success for God is not like how human beings define success.  Often we look at success as what we can put on a resume or on a college application.  I went into my week at St. Stephen’s with high hopes of what I could achieve with the kids.  I was hoping to talk about the Bible, morality, and values.  I wanted to teach cooperation, and how we should love one another.  Two days in, I already saw that this approach was not going to work, so I changed my strategy.  I decided that I would let God do the work.  I had to give up the Martha in me for a little while, and try just sitting at the feet of God. 

I would say that this passage from Luke does not rank as one my favorites from the scriptures.  The passages that we most need to listen too often are not the ones we like or easily understand.  I am a Martha, I am a doer, and that is not always a good thing, so on Wednesday, I stopped.  I stopped trying to teach, or instill lessons about God or morality.  I stopped expecting that I could teach good team skills in an hour.  I stopped, and I just listened.  When I stopped trying to figure out a way to get the kids to strive for something greater than money, was when I noticed that a young girl was drawing a picture of herself playing with some friends.  It was a sweet enough picture, and a nice thing for which to hope.  Earlier in the week, I would have congratulated her on being so deep, and would have moved on to try to convince another student to draw something other than money.  This time, however, I stopped, and I asked the girl what made playing with her friends so important to her.  She said that she didn’t get to play with her friends as much any more.  I asked if there was a reason, and she said she wasn’t allowed to play outside anymore because a boy got shot in the neighborhood.  She said she missed playing outside, and she said she hoped and prayed for peace in her neighborhood.  I told her, “So do I.” 

I pray for peace in the city of Boston every day at prayer, and in one moment, in the glimpse of a girl’s eyes, it was made very concrete as to why.  I finally stopped working for a moment, and was being taught a lesson by God.  God was at work in this girl’s life.  Her playground may have been taken away, but God is the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”

Amen.