Sermon archive

This blog contains sermons listed by date, Bible passage and title

Name:
Location: Hattiesburg, Mississippi, United States

Sunday, July 18, 2010

8th Sunday after Pentecost 7/18/2010 Luke 10:38-41 Title Hearing Jesus speak.

Eighth Sunday after Pentecost
07/18/10
Text: Luke 10:38-41
Title: Hearing Jesus speak.
For the last several weeks our Gospel readings have been teaching us that being a Christian is no easy matter. Not only are there times when we will be rejected, but there are times when we will think that we have to rely on our own ability to do the work of God. There are going to be times when we will be called on to put our Christian faith to work. It really should come as no surprise to us that being a Christian can be hard, for Christ clearly taught that we are to pick up our cross, the cross being the burden placed on us for being Christian, and follow him. It is hard. I think, though, that we make it harder than it needs to be, for we are told in God’s Holy Word that he will give us what we need to do his work.
Today’s Gospel lesson is a familiar story of two sisters that believed Jesus is the Son of God. One is a hard worker and the other, well, how can I say it, appears to be a bit of a goof-off, at least to us type-A personalities. Those who have been raised in a large family know what I mean. The oldest child usually bears all the responsibility and the youngest gets to quite often slide by. At least, that is what the oldest thinks.
Martha was doing what a woman in the Jewish society was supposed to do. She took care of her guests putting their comfort ahead of her own. It would be dishonorable to do otherwise. And what did she get for her being a good hostess? At first glance it appears that all she got was a chewing out from Jesus, but that is not what took place. Jesus said to her after she fussed at him, “Martha, Martha.” To call her name out twice was not to chew her out, but was a way of saying in great love, “Martha, don’t get yourself all in an uproar over things of the world that really don’t matter. Come here. Put down the things that are burdening you. Sit at my feet with your sister and listen to my words, for what I am saying is the bread and water that is really needed.
We are not told what happened next. We assume that Martha stormed off back into the kitchen, for she had no time to hear Jesus’ life-giving words; someone has to get things done. That is what we assume, I think, because that is what we, at least those of us who have to be busy, would have done. But I wonder if Jesus’ words struck Martha so that she stopped what she was doing and sat down alongside her sister. It could be possible that she stopped, for the words of Jesus are powerful in accomplishing the purpose for which they are sent.
Today, if we were to be honest with ourselves, we would have to admit that our emphasis falls more heavily on the “active” life rather than the “sit at Jesus’ feet life.” We, as a people of God, focus so much on what Jesus did on the cross for our salvation that we forget that what he did also has to do with how we are to live our lives before we die.
We know that we need God for our eternal life. But, concerning our lives as we live them, I firmly believe that too many Christians really do believe that they must take care of themselves without counting on God’s help. We firmly believe, even though God’s Word does not teach it, that God will only help those who help themselves.
That is not what God’s Holy Word teaches, for it teaches throughout the Bible that God helps those who cannot help themselves. There are examples upon examples of that in the Bible. The problem is that we are so afraid to admit to our failures in living our own lives that we will not let God help us and thus, we live stress-filled lives as we fill up our lives with everything but the Word of God.
We are stressed because we would rather do something, in fact, anything, other than sit at the feet of Jesus. Too many times, even if we do it, we rush through our personal Bible studies so we don’t lose time in stuffing our lives with the things of the world. Too many times we just spit out a quick prayer for help instead of taking the time to have a personal conversation with God. And because of that, we live upside-down lives instead of the right-side-up lives that God wants us to live.
I truly believe, in looking back at my own life as a person who sat in the pews for so many years, that we just feel a lot more comfortable living in the kingdom of the world rather than the kingdom of God of which we are called to be a part. We suffer more in the kingdom of the world, but that is what we know, and so we are comfortable in it.
That is not what God wants for us. He calls us just like he did Martha, “Come, come sit down and listen to my words. Take some time and put away the things of the kingdom of the world that you think are so important, but really are not. Come sit down. Eat of my bread that lasts forever and drink the water that I offer, the water that will satisfy your thirst forever. Come let me teach you and carry your burdens.”

We, as the people of God, need to make a conscious effort to start spending some time sitting at the feet of Jesus. To be busy is not a sin, for God gives us things to do and there are things that just have to get done. To prepare for the future is not a sin, for God also wants us to do that. Neither of those things are sins unless they take you away from the Word of God, for you see, sitting at the feet of Jesus is obeying the First Commandment, putting God above all things.

Jesus wants each of you to sit at his feet. He wants you to learn from him, not just the salvation story, not just as it applies to our heavenly lives, but as it applies to our lives as we live them during our time on this earth. He wants his story to move from our head to our heart.

A couple of weeks ago I read a story about the great Leopold Stokowski which I am going to paraphrase. The author writes that Leopold was conducting a dress rehearsal of Bach's "St. Matthew's Passion” one day, when he suddenly stopped and tapped for silence. He waited for the players on the stage to become perfectly still, and then he said, "Well, I guess you know the notes well enough,but the spirit is lacking. I want each of you to sit down tonight with your Bible and read St. Matthew's account of the life of Christ. Try to grasp its meaning for us today, for who knows perhaps that message is just what our listeners need to hear tomorrow night in their time of doubt and despair. Read the gospel and then we will try through our music tomorrow night to show the meaning and inspiration of that story to those who attend our performance.” The author of the article does not say how many members of the orchestra read the Gospel of Matthew that night, but it was noted by the critics the following night that it was an inspired performance.

You see, just like those musicians who knew the notes of “St. Matthew’s Passion” and probably had them memorized, could not give the performance Leopold asked of them because they did not know the story and its meaning for all of human life, we too, cannot live the lives God desires us to live without sitting at the feet of Jesus.

That is why, in about a month-and-a-half we will, as a congregation, study the Gospel of John for 42 days. This is not studying the Gospel in order to get more head knowledge, but a study of the Gospel of John in order that each of you might better learn how to meditate on the Word of God as you sit at Jesus’ feet.

For it is in the Word of God that you, just like Mary and I think Martha after she listened to Jesus’ invitation, will receive the good portion, which will not be taken away from you. Amen