"The Good, the Better, and the Best!"
Luke 10:38-42
Luke 10:38 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. 40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. 41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: 42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
Introduction: ILL: One day, a teacher was teaching her young class the story of Jesus visiting Mary and Martha. She carefully explained how Mary and Martha had hurried to clean the house and cook a special meal. Then she paused and asked, "What would you do if Jesus was going to visit your house today?" One little girl quickly responded, "I'd put the Bible on the table!"
I. The Laboring One
a. Her description
The home of Martha, Mary and Lazarus was an oasis for Jesus and His disciples and its nearness to Jerusalem made it a convenient and comfortable place to rest, relax and reload! Martha was probably a wealthy widow and the oldest of the three siblings. How they met we are not told but their friendship with the Lord was important to Him and we have several glimpses of their relationship, not the least of which is the record we have in John chapter 11 of the death and resurrection of Lazarus just six days before the last Passover that Jesus would observe.
b. Her distraction
Martha has invited Jesus into her home and she feels personally responsible for the needs of her guests. This would include all the normal things that we ourselves would do if we had company. There would be meals to prepare and serve and beds to make up, just to name a few. Hospitality would be high up on her list of things to do! I don't want a show of hands but how many of you have stayed home from church because you had company coming to get ready or because company was already there? I have always had a question about this practice and it goes something like this: What kind of a message does it send to your loved ones about the importance of church when you do this and then you ask your church to pray for those loved ones who may be outside side of the ark of safety?
DISTRACTED
ILL: One morning a farmer told his wife that he was going out to pluck the ripe fruits from his field. He got off to an early start so he could warm up the truck. He needed more petrol, so he went to the store to get it. On the way to the store he noticed the pigs weren't fed. So he proceeded to the corn crib, where he found some sacks of feed. Beside the sacks were potatoes that were sprouting. Then when he started for the potato pit, he passed the wood pile and remembered that his wife wanted wood in the house. As he picked up a few sticks, an ailing chicken passed by. He dropped the wood and picked up the chicken.
When noon arrived, the frustrated farmer had not even gotten to the truck, let alone to the field. By now, it was very hot. Some ripe fruits have dropped.
Have you ever intended to do something you knew was very important, but found yourself in a similar situation - distracted by many other seemingly important tasks, which kept you from accomplishing your main objective?
c. Her discontent
ILL: "Our culture also seems to bow down to the idol of busyness. In her book called, "Not So Fast: Slow-Down Solutions for Frenzied Families," Ann Kroeker writes this: "America, the land of the high-achieving, multitasking speedaholics. We're in perpetual motion, never resting, and never quite satisfied...American families are sucked into a vortex of activities and obligations. We pile on appointments, lessons, practices, games, performances, and clubs, and then shovel in fast food...western civilization's high-speed, fast-paced, goal-oriented life has propelled us into a state of minivan mania."
Kroeker also refers to a great book called, "The Life You've Always Wanted" by John Ortberg in which he tells about the time he asked a friend for some spiritual direction. Ortberg described the pace of life in Chicago, the rhythms of his family life, and the condition of his heart. He wanted to know what he could do in order to be spiritually healthy. After a long pause his mentor answered, "You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life." Ortberg wasn't satisfied with this answer so he asked what more he could do. "There is nothing else," the man said. As he reflected on that advice later, Ortberg made this observation: "Hurry is the great enemy of the spiritual life in our day. Hurry can destroy our souls. Hurry can keep us from living well...For most of us, the great danger is not that we will renounce our faith. It is that we will become so distracted and rushed and preoccupied that we will settle for a mediocre version of it. We will just skim our lives instead of actually living them."
II. The Listening One
I am referring to Mary as the "listening one" because of her position "at the feet of Jesus."
a. Her decision
The first part of verse 39 can be translated "...who for her part..." and indicates that Mary had made a choice which Jesus refers to in verse 42 as what Mary had "...chosen..."
Question: Do you think that Mary knew Martha well enough to know that Martha would not appreciate nor understand Mary's choice? That her choice to "sit at the feet of Jesus," would expose her to criticism?
b. Her decorum
It was common practice for disciples to sit beneath, literally right in front of, their instructor in the Lord's time. Paul refers to this practice in... Acts 22:3 I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.
c. Her discernment
As soon as he entered into the house, he began to preach to those that were in it, and that came along with him, and Mary heard him with great eagerness and diligence, affection, pleasure, and profit. John Gill's Exposition Notice what Jesus says about Mary's discernment in verse 42, "...Mary hath chosen that good part..." This choice is not one of choosing the good from the bad but that of choosing between two good ways of serving and pleasing the Lord and choosing the better of the two!
Contentment enables you to grow where God has planted you. David Roper
ILL: Some of us get so used to the adrenaline rush of handling crises that we become dependent on it for a sense of excitement and energy. How does urgency feel? Stressful? Pressured? Tense? Exhausting? Sure. But let's be honest. It's also sometimes exhilarating. We feel useful. We feel successful. We feel validated. And we get good at it. Whenever there's trouble, we ride into town, pull out the six shooter, do the varmit in, blow the smoke off the gun barrel, and ride into the sunset like a hero. It brings instant results and instant gratification.
We get a temporary high from solving urgent and important crises. Then when the importance isn't there, the urgency fix is so powerful we are drawn to do anything urgent, just to stay in motion. People expect us to be busy, overworked. It's become a status symbol in our society - if we're busy, we're important; if we're not busy, we're almost embarrassed to admit it. Busyness is where we get our security. It's validating, popular and pleasing. It's also a good excuse for not dealing with the first things in our lives.
"I'd love to spend quality time with you, but I have to work. There's this deadline. It's urgent. Of course you understand."
"I just don't have time to exercise. I know it's important, but there are so many pressing things right now, maybe when things slow down a little."
Stephen Covey, First Things First, pp. 33, 35
III. The Loving One
a. How Jesus speaks to the worried one
Jesus speaks Martha's name twice for emphasis and declares that she is "...careful..." (Worried) which speaks to her inward anxiety and "...troubled..." (Agitation), which refers to her outward expression. She was anxious and irritated and you could see it! It was written all over her face. Her body language spoke loud and clear and she was telegraphing her mood! Martha is multi-tasking, (she is troubled about many things), and like many of us she is operating in the flesh.
Matthew 6:25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
We need to call worry what it is and not sidestep the issue. The root of worry is fear and whatsoever is of fear is not of faith! Worry therefore is a faith issue and we need to own it for what it is.
b. How Jesus speaks to the worshipper
The choice to be a worshipper is the single most important decision we will ever make. God is seeking for worshippers and those who worship Him find a reward.
Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Eugene Peterson describes, "Sabbath as that uncluttered time and space in which we can distance ourselves from our own activities enough to see what God is doing" (pg. 134, The Pastors Guide to Personal Spiritual Formation).
c. How Jesus speaks to the world
You may be asking yourself what Jesus has to say to the world and although there is no clear message there is an important one if we have eyes to see and ears to hear. Listen to what Jesus says, "...Mary hath chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her." Just what does he mean by this last clause? I believe that He is saying that there would be many meals to prepare and beds to make and all the other things that we do in life but we only have one opportunity to effect time and eternity. "Only one life, twill soon be past, only what's done for Christ will last."
Conclusion: I would like to close this message with some gleanings from an article by Tammy Whitehurst: "I easily become overloaded, overburdened, and go overboard with busyness. I've often thought to myself that life would be perfect if bad times had fast forward buttons and good times had pause buttons. I'd also like to clone myself to get more done and never have to sit back and wait for anything. But is that really what I want?
Wait is a tough word to deal with in today's busy world. Being too busy can distract us from the really important things in our lives--people. Do I really like being so busy that I'm worn out by noon? No. I know deep within my heart that being overloaded is a way for the enemy to distract me from those most precious to me. If I'm really honest, I would have to admit I learn more during those calm and peaceful times when my heart, soul, and mind all unite to seek God's will than I do when I'm stretching my mind to hold more and more while I'm falling apart. One thing I have to remember on a daily basis is that wait is not an ugly word and "busy" is not a spiritual gift. After all, God says in Psalm 46:10, "Be still, and know that I am God." Isn't being still waiting? When you have a personality like mine, it's hard to be still, but it is only during those moments alone with God that I can truly feel a peace that surpasses all understanding. Busy is the enemy of peace. Busy steals precious time. Busy robs my blessings.
Waiting Time Is Never Wasting Time. In this fast paced, jungle-like world we build for ourselves, we rarely have "waiting" time anymore. We expect instant gratification and instant results--at lightning fast speed! We become so engrossed in paperwork that we delete all the "people" work in our lives. We become so busy that we can't remember the last time we took a full day off or sat at the dinner table with the family.
Life can bring about big storms and the waves hit hard if we don't slow down. Busy can beat upon us like a drum. When those closest to us have stopped asking for our time, it's because they know we are too busy for them. That's crushing to the heart. We all need "waiting" time, whether we think we do or not. Waiting time is when we say adamantly, "It can wait!" and we step back and do what is really important.
I discovered this after I found myself when my three year old daughter grabbed both of my cheeks in her little hands, turned my face to hers and said daddy listen me. I knew then that I had to back up and take a good look at my priorities. The world would momentarily stop if something ever happened to her, so why can't I stop when she wants me to have a conversation with me? It's amazing how busy I allow myself to be. To actually clear my schedule for a day or two feels impossible. I feel as if everything would fall apart if I said, "No, I'm sorry. I can't do that task," or if I refuse to answer my phone. God puts his healing hand under my chin and assures me of one thing--he will never leave me and he wants me to trust him as he helps me clear my overloaded plate to a manageable amount.
The storm that rages inside me is shouting, "Slow Down!" and demands my attention. But if I heed that call, the Creator of peace will shower me with a peace that surpasses all understanding if I just trust him. The fragrance of grace and mercy will overflow in me when I come to peace with being less busy. Breaking old patterns is hard, but God reminds me that I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. Tammy Whitehurst
