I like worship. You would hope your pastor might say that and I suspect it's true of most clergy. The fact you are here this morning suggests you too like the "time out" from everyday living in order to worship the God who created us ... a God who commanded "time out" on the seventh day of Creation. If God recognizes the need for a day of rest, by God, we should also!

I was upstate this past Memorial Weekend; my daughter, her fiancé and I drove to church in a nearby town. Sara and Cesar went in while I parked the car. When I entered the building through a side door, Sara and Cesar were already talking with Pastor Richard, who then greeted me, "Tim, Sara tells me you're a pastor." I could have written the script for what he said next. "If I knew there was going to be a pastor in the pew, I would have spent more time preparing the sermon." He was too modest; his sermon was right on the mark. That being said, Pastor Richard would never preach the sermon I'm about to preach. Here's why.

When Sara, Cesar and I, went into the sanctuary, it was relatively quiet and relatively empty. Just a few people chitchatting about this and that; otherwise, it was kind of peaceful. The peacefulness that many people want and expect as they enter a sanctuary prior to worship. "Be still and know that I am God,' writes the Psalmist, and many people enter the sanctuary, looking for a ... well, sanctuary; hoping for a time of reflection and personal prayer.

The service was to begin at 10:00am and promptly - at the stroke of 10:08 - Richard entered the sanctuary. I didn't see him, but I heard him as he greeted the worshippers behind me. He asked how they were doing, joked with an elderly couple just home from vacation, and he greeted and small talked his way forward. He stopped by our pew and said, "Hey, did you hear the one about ...?" He then told a joke before finally making his way to the chancel for the beginning of worship. He was a real people parson, and the congregation really seemed to like him. I know we did.

But nevertheless, I was disappointed. I was disappointed in the way some of you are disappointed as you arrive here on a Sunday morning. You are greeted by the greeters, handed a worship program by the usher, you walk past the sign in the narthex and you - wait, you do know the sign I'm talking about? The one requesting people to be silent and to respect the quiet time of those preparing for worship. Then, you enter the sanctuary and you are assaulted by the buzz. The conversation. The noise. It's like a baseball stadium - the House that Grace Built. But get this: on Friday evening, even Yankee Stadium observed a moment of silence. To be sure, just a moment of silence, but that's sometimes more than we encounter here!

The moment of silence was in memory of George Steinbrenner and Bob Sheppard. What an upside down world where in a crowded stadium you can get a moment of silence for Bob Sheppard - but here it's almost impossible to get a moment of silence for the Good Shepherd.

After thirty plus years as your pastor I realize that it goes against the grain of Grace - this attempt at quiet time prior to worship. I get the feeling it would be easier for me to heal the sick and raise the dead, than for me to quiet the noisy. Just a few moments of silence for the Good Shepherd. I think to myself, "God can't get a word in edgewise; what chance do I have?" And yet, I think the issue is important enough for our community life together to give it another try. Even at Yankee Stadium you get three strikes; I figure, on this issue, I have at least two.

Whatever else is going on in the household of Mary and Martha that long ago day in Bethany, the contrast between two sisters is stark. One thing going on is that sister Mary is listening to Jesus trying to get a word in edgewise. Sister Martha is just edgy. It is not the fact Martha is playing the hostess that places her on the hot seat. Rather, it is the question of what matters most to Martha that causes a gentle rebuke from Jesus. There is, so they say, a time and a place for everything. When Jesus is in the house - priorities change.

First-century Martha, worried and distracted, could be a cover story about the busyness and noisiness of twenty-first century America. Verse 40 of our text begins, "But Martha was distracted by her many tasks," could be updated, "But Martha was distracted by her multitasks." The first century Martha may be baking a blueberry pie; twenty-first century Martha may also be baking a blueberry pie ... while at the same time checking her Blackberry, or her iPhone, or her iPad, or doing any one of a number of things simultaneously. And just so I don't seem gender-biased - Martins multitask just as often as the Marthas.

Gosh, we ought to be grateful when we can take a bit of a breather - God's mandated "time out." If it is true that we like worship, part of the reason surely is the fact in worship we can find a sanctuary from the business and busy-ness of the world. And thanks to the generosity of this congregation, we have such a sanctuary - the House that Grace Built. Yet, even as Martha found it difficult to take a few minutes away from K.P. for Jesus to get a word in edgewise, with our chitchatting and lack of respect for those seeking a quiet place, we forget Jesus is in the house. Mary is seeking quiet time with Jesus; Martha is missing it, due to her kitchen clatter.

Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling, "C'mon 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." Far more than Jesus needs to be fed at the table of Martha, in that moment of time, Martha needs to be fed by the presence of Jesus.

I hate to speak for Jesus - but then again, that is the preacher's role. If Jesus were in our house at this time of worship (and I trust he is), What Would Jesus Say? Surely he would say, "People, people, you are chatty about so many things; there is one thing needful. Be still, and know that I am God."

With that in mind I make another plea for courtesy and quiet before (and during) worship. It is the gift of our God at the time of Creation - this "time out" we are offered. Our opportunity to worship is a gift. Our opportunity for conversation with good friends also - a gift. Each has its place. There is a reason this sacred space is called the sanctuary; a reason that the space for coffee and conversation is called the Fellowship Hall. There is nothing so important to share with those whom you share a pew - nothing so important that it cannot wait. A moment of silence in the sanctuary; then go in peace, serve the Lord, drink the coffee, and raise holy heaven - a mere thirty-five yards to your left!