8 Sunday after Pentecost 07/22/07 Text: Luke 10: 38-42 Title: Mary and Martha

8 Sunday after Pentecost
07/22/07
Text: Luke10: 38-42
Title: Mary and Martha

My dear fellow missionaries, today we are going to look at our Gospel lesson. It is commonly titled, “Martha and Mary”. I am sure you know the story well. Jesus is visiting the home of Martha. Mary instead of helping Martha is sitting at the feet of Jesus while Martha is busy doing whatever it is that she is doing.
Rightfully so, she fusses at Jesus to make her sister Mary help her, for she was not paying any attention to her. I am sure Martha thought that by her telling Jesus to tell her sister to help her she would get her what she wanted, help.
Unfortunately for Martha that did not happen. Instead she gets fussed at by Jesus; of course I am sure he did it in a nice way. Jesus tells her that she is so distracted by what she is doing that she is missing what is important, that is listening to Jesus.
I would say that every time this narrative is read that all those who are more like Mary, you know sort of laid back, not very helpful around the house or office, are going, “You go Jesus, life is not all about doing things. Life is about taking it easy and enjoying oneself.
At the same time, I am sure that all of us type A people are going, wait a minute, someone has to do the work. What would happen if we acted like Mary, the world would grind to a halt. What the Lord needed to do is tell Mary that she can listen to him some other time. She needs to help her hardworking sister, but he does not and we are somewhat offended by his lack of action.
Both the Mary’s and Martha’s of the world have lost the meaning of this narrative for it is a teaching moment as is the entire Bible. What has happened is that we have focused on ourselves and not on Jesus, the focus of not only this narrative, but the entire Bible.
To help get a better understand of our Gospel reading for this morning we need to think back to last week’s Gospel reading, the “Good Samaritan” story. We found in that narrative that the meaning of being a true follower of God was to care for others, especially the less-fortunate. We are to do that because Jesus himself was and still is our Good Samaritan. He found us beaten up by Satan and his henchmen, restored us to life and then placed us in his church where we are to be cared for until his return.
Last week was about action, the doing of good deeds. Jesus wants us to do good deeds. This week’s lesson is just the opposite. It is about not working. It is about sitting at Jesus’ feet, as in reading his Word and attending worship services. Or is it? I think as we look at the text you will see that it is not about working or not working, but about our entire life as we walk with Jesus
This and the Good Samaritan narratives share something even though they appear to be opposites. The Samaritan was hated by the Jews and yet he cared for what more than likely was a Jew. Jesus in telling this story turned the world upside down.
In this story we see a woman owning or at least she is the head of a household, something pretty rare back in those days. We see Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus. Now this was just not done. Women were not allowed to sit at the feet of a teacher. Men only that is just the way it was. Here was Mary not doing women’s work, but man’s work. Jesus once more turned the world upside down with, first with his accepting an invitation from a woman, and second allowing one to sit at his feet as he taught.
So what is this narrative about then? It is about priorities. It is not about not working. And it is not about working. It is about balancing one’s life.
You see all that Martha is doing, as good, as it is, in the long haul has no real worth, that is if it does not include time for God’s Word.
Jesus is really not fussing at her for working. He is fussing at her for being distracted, or as the Greek word says it, being torn away from what she should have been doing, that is taking some time to listen to Jesus. She is not to sandwich him between trips to the kitchen and back. She is to sandwich her chores between listening to Jesus.
What is it that we are to learn from this? We, like Martha are to put Jesus at the top of our priorities, instead of sandwiching him in wherever and whenever we find room. Honestly, where is Jesus in your life? Do you make time for him only when you have some time between all the other things in your life?
I pray that you don’t, but knowing how hard it is for me to keep Jesus front and center in my life, most you probably squeeze him in wherever you can, as long as he doesn’t interfere with the games, sports, or sleeping late, or any of the other things we think that we must do.
Let me ask you a question. Do you think that God wants you to put him in second or third place in your lives? The First Commandment says that he does not. God wants us to have him front and center all the time. He wants our undivided attention for everything he says is of vital importance to our lives now and in the future.
Do you feel like you are being pulled in all directions? Do you feel like there just is not enough time to do everything that needs to be done? Do you feel overwhelmed at times? Do you sometimes just want to run and hide?
If you answered yes to any of those questions, I am going to make a bold statement. You do not have God front and center. You are not sitting at his feet. You are being a Martha, for you have let the things of the World tear you away from Jesus and his teachings.
I know of what I speak. For most of life I have worked at least 10 hours a day six days a week. Many of those years I worked 12 hour days. I know what it is to be busy. And I know what it is like to not have Jesus front and center in my life.
Even today when I feel overwhelmed, if want to be honest with myself all I have to do is look at the time I have spent with Jesus to see why I am feeling overwhelmed.
I know, some of you are thinking, “You’re a pastor. You really don’t understand the pressures of making a living.” And to that I would say hogwash. Pastors have a large percentage of burnout, for it is really hard for a pastor to spend time sitting at the feet of Jesus. Way too many times they get all tied up in how important they are and how much work they have to do.
Pastors are no different than you are, as they try to sandwich in God between all the other commitments in their lives. Studying God’s word as you prepare for a sermon or Bible study is not the same as sitting at Jesus’ feet.
We all have a problem finding time to sit at Jesus’ feet and that is whey we are so stressed out. It is not the long hours at work, or the problems in raising children, or dealing with illness in the family. That is part of living. The problem is that we do not have Jesus front and center in our lives.
That is why I selected this text for today, for I could not think of a better text to make the point that our lives are for the most part a mess. We have gotten our priorities out of whack.
That is why next week I am going to talk to you about the Lord’s Prayer and its importance for our lives.
That is why starting the first Sunday of August, the start of the busy time as people try to cram their vacation time into the last few weeks of summer, the kids start school, and things start to pick up in your life.
By the way, do you realize that there are only 156 days until Christmas? If that put a knot in your stomach you have definitely gotten your priorities mixed up. Instead of getting all uptight there ought to be sense of joy as we get closer to celebrating our Savior’s birth.
I am going to have a sermon series titled, “Help for the hurried life.” For four Sundays we are going to look at Philippians to see how we can get our lives focused on what they should be focused on, Jesus Christ.
I am also going to have Bible study groups studying Philippians once a week for four weeks. I will lead one on Sunday morning in the fellowship hall. There will be one at Sally Hanson’s home on Mondays at 2:30 each week. Mary Gohlke will host a group at her home on Tuesday morning at 10:00 each Tuesday for four sessions. There will be another held in the church on Wednesday evenings at 7pm. If we can find a couple more hosts we will have as many as we need.
There is also a personal devotion series that goes along with the study. For 28 days, I would ask you to commit at least 20 minutes each day to read the devotion and reflect on it.
Can you imagine what it would be like to have our entire congregation and those we invite studying, praying, and doing daily devotions for a month? All I would say is stand back, for God is going to do powerful things in our midst.
If you have never done anything like this before, I urge you to take part in the series, for it will not be the same without you. I have given you fair warning. In two weeks we start. Clear out some time on your calendar to sit at the feet of Jesus and watch how you life changes. Amen.

7 Sunday after Pentecost July 15, 07 Text: Luke 10:25-37

7 Sunday after Pentecost
July 15, 2007
Text: Luke 10:25-37
Title:
Some years ago the latest rage among evangelical Christians was to have a bumper sticker put on their car that read, “Jesus is the answer.” I got to thinking if, “Jesus is the answer”, what’s the question?
Ask that question of people and one of two things will happen. Either the conversation will be ended or you will get all kinds of different answers, for is not much agreement about what question Jesus is the answer to.
There is a man in our gospel reading for today who asked Jesus a question, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Now that is a fair question. People still ask it today. The lawyer, he was not a lawyer like we know today. He was a highly educated person in the law of the Torah.
You see the Jewish people were not content with following the spirit of the law God had given them. They soon discovered that people were trying to get around the law. Asking question like, “what does it mean to honor God, or one’s parents?” By the time this meeting of Jesus and the lawyer was taking place there were over 650 laws on the temple books. They were very complex and needed specially trained people to know if a certain law or laws was broken.
It was just like it is today. Congress passes a law because there is a need for it and as soon as it is passed, if not sooner, people try to figure a way around it, so that they can do what they want without breaking the law.
Just like back in Jesus’ time people today put aside the issue of morality that caused the law to be passed in the first place for obeying the law, just because it is the law.
This lawyer had a reason to ask Jesus the question and we can tell by the word “test” in verse 25 that he was up to now good. This particular Greek word that we translate as “test” is the same word used when Satan tested Jesus.
It is not the same word we translate as “test” as when we are tested by God. That Greek word means to purify, to drive out the impurities. When God tests us, the only possible result will be spiritual strengthening.
Oh, you might not pass the test at the time, but in the end it will prove to be a good thing, for it will spiritually strengthen you. God cannot test you so that you can fail. That goes against who he is. It is just simply impossible.
The meaning of that one little word makes all the difference in our narrative this morning. But Jesus was not fooled. He knew the man’s heart. So Jesus asked him a question. “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?”
This educated lawyer answered Jesus question without skipping a beat. He had the answer and he knew it, for every good Jew was suppose to recite these laws twice a day, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”
He had it down pat, and I would bet that he was congratulating himself for his great answer, when Jesus threw him a curve ball as he told him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”
I bet there was a long silence, for this is not what he expected. He was there to trap Jesus and here Jesus was telling him that he agreed with him.
The lawyer wanted to make sure that he and Jesus were on the same page concerning his answer, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?
He should have stopped while he was ahead by not asking the question, but he wanted to justify his present understanding and behavior so he asked the question and got a parable.
Now parables are teaching tools. Every Rabbi worth his salt used them to teach. Parables always used common things that the people would understand the workings of and then, especially in Jesus’ case turn the expected answer upside down.
This parable is no different. I believe that if Jesus were alive today and he walked into our church he would still use the same parable, for it is just as meaningful today as it was then.
What is your attitude toward your neighbor? Do you just like those who can help you or are like you? Do you consider your neighbor to be only the people living next door to you, or maybe those living in your neighborhood?
If you do Jesus would be speaking to you, for what he was trying to get the man to understand is that when you ask the question you have already shown your lack of understanding.
To ask the question is to give oneself away. To ask God the question of who your neighbor is shows that you are lacking in the understanding of what it means to be a follower of Jesus.
Now, I understand some of you might disagree with that statement, for there is only so much time and money, but you see I am not talking about the actual doing of good, no more than Jesus was. He was doing a heart check, just as he would do today if he were to come in among us and tell us the same story.
Now we are not told what the man did after Jesus told him what to do, but that really is not important. What is important is how we respond to Jesus command to go and do likewise.
Maybe you would jump right up and say, “Okay, Lord, that’s exactly what I’ll do.” That sounds like a good answer doesn’t it, but I would put forth that that answer would be arrogant, for such an answer would mean that I can do it. I can do it on my own Lord. Jesus turn me loose and you will see.
What if you said, “Lord I will do what you want me to do. Help me to fulfill your will.” Now that is better. It is only semi-arrogant. I would say that the proper response to Jesus command would be to throw oneself down at the feet of Jesus and cry out, “Lord, I cannot fulfill your will. Have mercy on me.”
You see, I believe that we get so caught up in the story that we completely overlook the actual question that the lawyer asks, “What must I do?” His question assumes that he is capable of doing something to earn his salvation. His question assumes that all he needs is some help, some direction from God, a little help and I can do it Lord.
When you understand the question, then you understand the answer Jesus gave him. You understand that without Jesus dying on that bloody cross, freely obeying God’s desire, that you do not have a snowball’s chance in hell of being saved.
Jesus saves those who cannot be saved. This is really hard for most people to accept, but you really do not have a snowball’s chance in hell of doing anything that will save you more than Jesus’ gift to you.
What Jesus is saying is that if we want our salvation to depend in any part upon us, then it must depend totally upon us. Or, to put the matter in the reverse, either Jesus saves us completely or He doesn’t save us at all.
I think that most of us would like to see us as the Good Samaritan, but I would say that we more closely fit the role of the one beaten up and laying there naked and half-dead. That’s not very attractive at all, is it? Certainly not a role we would choose. And yet, it’s true. We are the one who has fallen among robbers.
We have been robbed by Satan. We have been left half dead. And what’s more, we didn’t even know it happened. The beating took place a long time ago in the Garden of Eden. We do not know we have been spiritually beaten to death, for we were born spiritually dead.
We think that we are normal and doing well, not realizing that we have been robbed and beaten, beaten almost to death. Yes, this parable is about us – but not in the way we might think. We like to think of ourselves as strong and capable. We think deep down in our little black hearts that somehow God must take something we do into account.
We surely are not destitute before God, be we are. We are not only destitute; we are totally dependent on God’s mercy toward us. I would say that Jesus is the Samaritan. He is the outcast, the despised one. He, who was killed for your sake, came down to be one of us. He carried us to the cross. He bound us up with him through our baptism.
Anyone want to hazard a guess as to what that “inn” might be? It’s not heaven. It is right here, God’s church of which I pray that we are a part of. It is here that we are cared for. It is hear that we are nursed along, as we are fed his very body and blood in the bread and wine.
The payment has been made and it is complete. We don’t make a decision for Jesus. He made the decision before the world even came into existence.
It’s all mercy. Salvation from beginning to end is pure undeserved mercy, undeserved, unmerited, nattainable by any human effort. You have heard and will continue to hear from me what God’s Word tells us. As far as our salvation is concerned salvation comes to us from outside of us. Jesus work on our behalf is so amazing that we would not even know where to look for it if it were not shown to us in his Word, poured out on us in our baptism, and fed to us in his holy supper, all through his holy church.
Sometimes I just tremble at the wonder of it all. Amen.
LBS 456 Were You There
Text and Music: Public domain