In our culture today, the importance of nutrition is such a big issue that seems to be everywhere we turn. Almost every magazine that covers culture, like People, Cosmo Girl, or Entertainment Weekly, usually has some story inside about some celebrity who is too skinny. Images like these (on wall) fill the covers with the bold question “Too Skinny?” headlining the issues. There are more and more news reports about this person or that person being treated for an eating disorder and unhealthy nutrition.
On the other hand, another big news story as of late is the obesity of America. Everything from Time Magazine to movies like the documentary “Super Size Me” are raising this growing concern that Americans are not eating healthy and are getting too big and too unhealthy. I know school lunches around the country are being called into question and unhealthy snacks are being replaced with vegetables and fruit. Soda machines are being filled with waters and juices or just completely being removed.
From there though, the conversation is not over as we travel halfway around the globe to find poverty, hunger and famine as a major issue in many third world countries. Kids are going months with having only one meal a week. Brought on by a lack of resources, diseases, and famine, entire communities are not getting enough of the right things to eat and are getting sick and dying. For those of you who remember being at Monadnock two years ago, Todd, one of the Directors there, talked about some time he spent in Haiti. One of the things he showed us was a mud patty that the people there in the villages actually use for food. They would mix dirt and water, make a little patty and then let it dry out in the sun – and that was dinner.
All over the world, nutrition is a major issue and when our bodies are not taking in the right nutrients, our health, well being, and ultimately our lives are in danger.
Imagine something for a second; imagine that all you had to eat everyday was one cheez-it, that’s it. Everyday, you were given one cheez-it to eat for the entire day and nothing more. You could either eat that cheez-it or nothing else. What would your response to that kind of situation be? It would be ridiculous and you would end up getting very sick and eventually dying because of not eating right.
As none of us would ever choose to be in that kind of situation, the question we need to ask ourselves is why do we put ourselves in that kind of situation when it comes to taking in daily nutrition on a spiritual level? Many of us, who have a relationship with God, are satisfied with mediocre “spiritual meals” and are living off a mere “cheez-it” everyday. Spiritually, we have eating disorders, we are ingesting a lot of the wrong kinds of food, or we are simply just starving ourselves. I think all too often, a picture of our spiritual health looks very much like one of these children who is starving from food. We too are starving ourselves to a spiritual death that will not only have affects in this life but also for eternity in the next life.
In John 4:10, Jesus talks of having “living water” that will make us never thirst again. Later on, Jesus, in John 6:35, says this, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry.” Over and over again, this idea of food and nutrition is used to illustrate the importance of growing in Christ. The act of Christ’s body being broken for us is illustrated by breaking bread and His blood is represented by wine or grape juice during communion. This is no coincidence. If we are to grow in our relationships with Jesus, we need to have a heart, desire, and priority like Mary displays in the passage we will read tonight and feast on Christ. Let’s take a look at Luke 10:38-42.
***Have one of the youth read Luke 10:38-42***
In this simple but important passage, we have two main characters, Martha and Mary, and how they react to Jesus being in their home.
Martha, who seems to be the host of the home, immediately gets to work preparing a great feast and a number of dishes for Jesus and His disciples. Vs. 40 says that “Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing.” She was more focused on all the things that had to be done to make an impressive meal which drew her away from being with Jesus. Martha was doing all these things to earn Jesus’ favor and approval but, as we talked about last week, we can’t do enough to earn God’s love and grace.
Mary, on the other hand, instead of worrying about the things there were to do, took her place at the feet of Jesus and listened to what He was teaching. When I read this, I think of a little kid sitting at the feet of their grandparent, listening to some great story. Their mind is racing, their eyes are elated, and their heart is racing, as the story of love and adventure fill their minds. Nothing else matters but this story and the grandparent telling it. That is how I imagine Mary. All she cared about was knowing Jesus more, in the yāda’ (יָדַע) sense that we talked about last week. For those of you who weren’t here, yāda’ is a Hebrew word that meant knowing someone or something in both knowledge and experience but it was also highly sexual and meant to intimately know someone so well that they became one flesh.
After a little bit, Martha comes to Jesus and begins to complain. “Jesus, I am doing all the work. Can you tell my sister to help me?” Jesus response to Martha is very interesting. He tells her that she is worried about all these details and that there is only one thing to be concerned with. Now, there are two takes on this. First, some people believe that Jesus is telling Martha that the huge, impressive meal with all the different dishes is too much and that instead, only one dish is needed. That way she would have more time to focus on her guest, and like her sister, sit at Jesus’ feet and listen. In other words, Jesus is saying, “You don’t need to impress me or earn my favor. Keep it simple and come and sit with us as Mary has chosen what is better.”
The second take on this is that Jesus is telling Martha that she is putting too much of a focus on all the things to be done that she is neglecting spending time with Jesus himself. Therefore, the one thing to be concerned about is Jesus and not in reference to making only one dish. That is why the NLT translates the last part saying that Mary has discovered it, meaning the one thing that is important. Either way, which ever take you look at, the importance is that of priorities and making the effort to sit at Jesus’ feet and hang out with Him and get to yāda’ Him before anything else.
We must have a heart like Mary and put in the effort to fill our bodies with the spiritual nutrition of Jesus and a relationship with God. We can not continue living on a spiritual “cheez-it” everyday, but must eat a healthy spiritual meal as often as we are. Nothing will quench our hunger like the Bread of Life and nothing will quench our thirst like the Living Water from Christ. That is what we need to make the time and effort to sit down to everyday and feast on so that we will not continue to be living in spiritual malnutrition. Using again the words of Paul we looked at last week in his letter to the Philippians, we need to “press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Jesus Christ, is calling us.” That prize, is a perfect relationship with Jesus where we become one with Him for eternity.
What I want to close with tonight, is talking about how we can hang out at the feet of Jesus and I want to look at a book called Sacred Pathways by a guy named Gary Thomas to help our understanding of what hanging at the feet of Jesus really means. Because Jesus isn’t here physically, when we talk about hanging at Jesus’ feet what comes to your mind? A lot of the times we think of sitting and reading our Bibles, which can be difficult to understand, we think of praying, and maybe we even think about art, music, or some other things that we have been around at church or in the prayer room. Hanging out at Jesus’ feet goes so much deeper than that and there are so many ways for people of many different personalities and backgrounds. In his book, Thomas looks at 9 different paths to God that I want to very briefly explain to you, but then I have a survey that will help each of you understand how you can hangout at Jesus’ feet the way you were created to. I wan tot be clear that this is not about finding your one path but which one or ones will connect with who you are. These are all great things, and we should give them all a try, but some will work better for others.
So here we go, 9 pathways to God…
1. The first is called a “naturalist” which pretty simply is someone who connects best to God in relation to nature and creation. Being outside in the midst of God’s creation makes God more real than any other place.
2. The second is a “Sensate” and that is someone who uses all their senses – sight, smell, touch, sound, and taste to experience God. This would include music, incense, candles, communion, and other things that bring alive the senses.
3. The third path is a “Traditionalist” and that is someone who connects with God through repetition and ritual. Maybe saying the same prayer every night, reading your Bible at the same time every day, or reserving the church calendar.
4. The fourth path is “Ascetics” and they are people who connect with God best in solitude and simplicity. Times by themselves to think and pray are very important.
5. Fifth, is what is called an “Activist” and they are people who connect with God through confrontation and standing up for God. This could mean writing a book, preaching or taking political action.
6. The sixth are the “Caregivers” and they connect with God best as they are loving and caring for others. This could mean going on a mission trip, helping at a soup kitchen or shelter, or volunteering with the elderly.
7. The seventh path is called the “Enthusiasts.” They connect with God through mystery and celebration. They want to experience worship not just be part of it by singing, dancing, clapping, etc. They are motivated by excitement and awe.
8. The eight path are the “Contemplatives” and they connect with God through lot’s of adoration. The idea is sitting and “holding hands with God” and thinking about his love and prayers or carrying or wearing something to keep reminding yourself about Jesus.
9. The ninth and last path is the “Intellectual” and quite simply connects with God by stimulating the mind with studying, reading, or listening to sermons on CD.
