Scripture: Luke 10:38-42 and Psalms 46
Theme: Living a Balanced Life – Doing and Being
Title: Living a Center Bubbled Life
Learning through Jesus’ conversation with Martha and Mary how to live a more balanced life between doing and being.
INTRO:
Grace and peace from God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit!
Thank the LORD for busy people.
From sometime early on Sunday morning until Tuesday afternoon there are people all over our church driving, delivering, packing and repacking, assembling, washing and doing all kinds of other things to get ready for our Food Pantry Day.
It is amazing how much work is put into our being able to help others. If you have never seen it in action, you would be amazed. There are trips into town to get some of the items that are given to us. There are others that come to the Church and deliver goods. There are eggs that need to be washed and packaged. There is bread and other items that are packaged, repackaged and put into boxes so people can pick them up and use them.
It takes a whole team of people who are willing to put in some hard work, sweat and love into this ministry. It takes a whole team of people who donate and pray for this ministry.
And it all feels good.
+There is something wonderful about being a part of an active ministry that helps people of all races, creeds, backgrounds and circumstances.
+There is something good about being able to give some money, to feel the sweat drop down our faces or to hold the phone as we make a needed phone call.
+There is something good about opening a Sunday School book and to start teaching a class.
+There is something good about opening a door for people while at the same time greeting them with a warm smile and telling them how good it is to see them.
+There is something good about being able to lead a song, play an instrument and make sure that the overhead screens work.
+There is something good about going around the church checking the doors to make sure that we have done our due diligence in making sure everything is safe and secure.
+There is something good about sweeping a floor, cleaning a bathroom or dusting a shelf or two making sure that the Church feels good, smells good and looks good.
+There is something good about turning on the facet, picking up a cloth and washing a few dishes.
+There is something good about setting up some tables and chairs knowing that the people sitting in them will be sharing a meal and life.
+There is something good in being able to bring part of a meal to share with others.
+There is something good about making a prayer quilt, tying a knot or two while you pray for the person knowing that over the weeks and months it will be a constantly reminder of love and prayer.
+There is something good about being able to put some monies in the plate knowing that it will not only help the local church but be used to help people all over the world.
+There is something good about joining together in prayer asking the LORD to be with people not only a few feet away from us but all over the world.
+There is something good about helping one another and being a part of other people’s lives.
It is good to put our faith into action. It is good to be doing something for others in the name of Jesus. There is something about all those things that brings us a sense of joy, peace, comfort and contentment.
All of those are things are things that we could call “Martha Ministries” this morning.
It’s the kind of things that denominations and businesses want on their final reports. They want to see how many things we have done and how many people have been involved in all the different projects.
In a few weeks, we will have a Charge Conference where we will see all kinds of reports given. Reports that concern how much is given, how many different ministries are in operation and how many people come to this event or that event.
All the numbers, all the figures – all of them will be looked at – measured and examined, critiqued and evaluated – to see how they can be improved upon this upcoming year.
And there is nothing wrong with that at all – there is nothing wrong with any of that.
We live in a Martha world – a world of service, a world of action, a world of doing and doing and doing.
Look at Jesus’ Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) – It is a Martha type Ministry if there ever was one:
GO MAKE BAPTIZE TEACH
So, we would be amiss this morning if from our passage that we thought in some way that all our Martha moments, our Martha service and our Martha ways of ministering were somehow wrong or less important. They are vital. They are more than necessary. They are essential.
I think what Jesus was trying to teach those that day in that room and to us in this room is that we are to strive for a much-needed balance – a Balance between what we could call our Martha ministries and then our Mary Ministries.
Mary Ministries would be doing things as well. Things like:
+Being Quiet +Active Listening +Open Hand Receiving
This morning, let’s take a few moments and look at what Jesus sharing this morning from this passage:
I. Do your best to find a life of balance
Jesus wasn’t implying that doing service is wrong. After all, as you read the Gospels Jesus does a great deal of what we could call Martha service –
+He teaches in the synagogue, along the shorelines and on the hillsides
+He physically touches people and brings healing into their lives – blind people, deaf people, lame people and those suffering from devastating diseases like leprosy.
+He feeds people with loaves and fishes
+He goes to parties, weddings, water wells and even sycamore trees
As you read the New Testament you see page after page of Jesus doing Martha ministries.
But at the same time, you see Jesus also doing Mary Ministries –
+Jesus goes to the mountain to spend time alone in prayer.
+Jesus goes to the wilderness to spend time in prayer.
+Jesus listens as His disciples asks question after question after question.
+Jesus sees the Woman at the Well, the Woman caught in adultery along with Zacchaeus and Blind Bartimaeus.
+Jesus spends a great deal of time being quiet, being alone with God and actively listening to God and others.
+Jesus spends a great deal of time sharing how one can be One with God and others.
The only complaint that Jesus had with Martha that day is she was a little out of balance. She had allowed all her doing and activity to get out of balance with her being. And as a result, she began to fuss with Jesus about someone else’s spiritual walk.
I don’t think Martha would have gotten into trouble if she had asked Jesus to help Mary instead of asking Jesus to fuss at Mary.
It’s easy to get so busy DOING that we forget the BEING part –
+Truly being with God – Reading His Word, Reflecting, Praying, Meditating and leaning into the Holy Spirit.
+Truly being with Another Person – Putting aside the activity and sitting down and just actively listening.
+Truly being with Ourselves – Allowing the Holy Spirit to bring His Presence, His Joy and Peace into our hearts and lives.
At times it gets easy for us to get into a spiritual rat race of living:
+We work at home – we work at the job – we come to the church to work some more – we tend to think that doing is more important than being.
+We do this and we do that – we like to be doing, we like to be active.
+We don’t like to slow down. We don’t like to rest – we tell people that we will be doing enough resting after we are dead.
Again, none of that is wrong. That is unless we start pushing people, fussing at Jesus and fussing at them for not keeping up with us or doing as much as we think that they should be doing.
The reason Jesus talked to Martha the way that he did was not to put one sister above the other. He wanted Martha to take a time out and learn some very important things. Things like:
A. Women are just as important as men are when it comes to the Kingdom of God
Jesus was seen as an odd rabbi. In fact, Jesus was seen as a very odd rabbi. He not only allowed women to be a part of the greater group, he took the time to uplift them, encourage them, teach them and include them as much as possible.
Now, for us living today we might just say – Well, sure – what would you expect.
But in that day, most women were not given that opportunity. Most women were looked down on and most of the were considered to be unfit to learn the Law and the Prophets. Listen to the word of one of the rabbis that lived during that time:
“Better to burn the Torah (The Word of God) than to teach it to a woman.” – Enswiller, 1977:22
In our passage, Jesus is inviting both Mary and Martha to be listeners. He is inviting them to be a part of His Bible Study Group. Jesus was saying in effect there is to be no difference between men and women learning about God. They are just human beings that I have created and that now I want to pour myself into their lives.
What Jesus was doing was revolutionary. But for Martha to be a part of it she had to put down her Martha ministry for a few minutes and join the Mary Ministry of learning how to be quiet, listen, receive and reflect.
All of this should cause us to pause and think.
+Is it possible that we may miss some of the greatest blessings that God has to give us when we get to busy doing the Kingdom of God, rather than just being the Kingdom of God?
+Is it possible that we could grow more by taking a time out and be quiet, sit at Jesus feet rather than just doing what we could do to wash Jesus’ feet?
Again, let me say it very clear – Jesus is not putting down any Martha Ministry – He is only saying balance that ministry with a Mary Ministry.
We need to be active in both doing and being. We need to be getting our hands busy doing the Kingdom of God and also in listening and receiving the Kingdom of God.
B. Martha would have also experienced some extra needed peace
Jesus tells Martha that she is distracted. Her mind is on the biscuits and on her sister. Here she is in this wonderful moment of having Jesus in the home and she is not focusing on Jesus but on work and trying to boss/manage her sister.
When Jesus is in the house the best thing we can do is focus on him.
When Jesus is in the house we need to let everything else go for a bit.
If Martha had just come into the room and sat down, she would have enjoyed some much-needed peace. She would have listened to Jesus’ talk and seen the faces of everyone around her.
They didn’t come for a Martha meal. Even though Martha meals were great meals, the reason the people came that day wasn’t to have a sumptuous meal. They came to be with Jesus, to hear Jesus and to share life with Jesus.
Some years ago, one of our Youth Groups went out on an adventure where they did a lot of Martha ministry. They cleaned up areas, painted areas and did a lot of hard work for people that were in need. It was an amazing time of doing something good for others.
At the same time the people that they were working under made our team do what they called TAG time – TIME ALONE WITH GOD.
They didn’t want our teens to just do Martha things without doing Mary things. They wanted them to work hard but also spend some quality time with God. They wanted them to connect with hard work, with others and also with themselves and with God.
I believe there are probably more of us here this morning that are better at doing Martha ministries than being a Mary Ministry. Part of that I think is because we are raised in a culture of doing more than being. Part of that is because over the years we have been taught more what to do rather than how to be.
Think of a Mary Ministry this way:
M – Meditate and Muse
A – Actively sit apart a time of Quietness and Reflection
R – Relax and rest in the LORD – take a pause in life
Y – Yearn for More Oneness with God
I don’t have to spell out a Martha Ministry because I think we all know how to help other people with our hands, with our feet and with our mouths. We know how to push a broom, fill a box, make a phone call, buy a gift card, open a door, send a text or an email and a thousand other things.
If we think about it we have learned all our lives how to do Martha ministries.
Doing Mary Ministries, not so much.
So, this morning – what should we take from all of this?
I think we should understand:
+The LORD is pleased with us in our Martha ministries – God likes to see us help others. He loves it when we fulfill the Great Commission of Going, Making, Baptizing and Teaching. He loves it when we feed the poor, share with those around us and be the hands and feet of Jesus.
+That the LORD is inviting us to have more Mary Ministry moments – those times when we take our shoes off, when we sit down with Him and His Word and we allow Jesus to feed us. He is inviting us to have those moments when we can be quiet so that He can share some love with us. He is inviting us to have those moments with Him so He can fill us with His love, His peace and with His joy.
This morning, for some of us we need to find a balance
+It may be a 70/30 split or a 60/40 split – where we find ourselves being Martha’s 70% and then 60% of the time and learn how to be a Mary ministry 30% growing to a 40% of the time.
+It could be that we already lean more to Mary Ministries than to Martha Ministries and need to wake up our Martha ministry – where we must get up from the floor and go to making biscuits again. It may mean that need to start once again using our hands and feet to help others.
I do think that after giving His lesson that morning, Jesus looked at Mary and said – Hey, let’s both go and help your sister finish making the biscuits.
As we take communion this morning, we see that it too is a balance –
+The Bread which symbolizes the body of Christ – the healing of our physical bodies, minds and emotions
+The Wine which symbolizes the blood of Christ – reflects the spiritual part of our being – the more God in us ministry of redemption and salvation
We need both – both the Bread and the Wine – we need both the Martha’s and the Mary’s.
We need both – The Bread and the Wine this morning.
Holy Communion/Prayer/Blessing
NOTE:
I ordered a number of small bubble levels and handed them out to help remind those in our congregation that we need to focus on having a balanced life. You can order them through Amazon for about 50 cents a piece or you can use a picture of them on your overhead or on your worship folder.
