(This is not an original message, some key points have come from other ministers)
TITLE: ONLY ONE THING IS NEEDFUL
SCRIPTURE: ST. LUKE 10:38-42
Today’s gospel is probably one of the shortest narratives in the Bible, but even though it is short, it still has a lot to say. In today’s gospel reading, we are introduced to Martha, who just might be the patron saint of this 21st century. Martha was “WORRIED AND DISTRACTED BY MANY THINGS,” -- and this was 2,000 years ago.
• Before TVs
• Before cell phones
• Before social media
• Before any of the things that distract us in our day and age
• Martha was worried and distracted by many things
• I can only imagine what it would be like for Martha in today’s environment!
We live in a time of never-ending worries and distractions. The distractions are obvious and include the ones I just mentioned. The worries, though, are equally obvious. And they seem to grow all the time. And trying to distract ourselves from our worries just seems to wear us out all the more. We can all relate to Martha, in other words, who was worried and distracted by many things.
Martha opened her home to offer hospitality to this traveling rabbi and his entourage. She did it as a public sign of her religious commitment. In welcoming Jesus and his followers, she was following the time-honored Middle-Eastern ritual of hospitality. while she was busy in the kitchen, Mary, her sister, chose to remain with Jesus in the living room, listening to his words of wisdom. Martha wanted everything in the kitchen to turn out just right. She wondered whether her sister appreciated the pressure she was under in the kitchen. In fact, she thought that if her sister had the decency and good sense to come and help, much of the burden could be eased. But her sister Mary was sitting at Jesus’ feet, hanging on his every word. Not helping her sister Martha with a thing!
Many of us have felt like coming to Martha’s defense when we’ve read this text. Poor thing. She only wanted to serve. We can’t all be like Mary, can we? But Jesus’s words ring in my ear every time I read this account -- “ONE THING IS NECESSARY/NEEDFUL.” I have to ask myself -
• Do I actually believe that?
• Is it reflected in the way that I view my time?
I’m not used to thinking about what’s necessary. When I look at my time management, I usually break it down into three categories -
1. Things I must do - such as paying bills or feeding the family
2. Things I should do - such as exercising or cleaning out the refrigerator
3. Things I want to do - such as going out to dinner or shopping around town
But Jesus, our Lord, said only one thing is needful. If this were a suggestion from a friend or an idea from a great book, I might be able to dismiss it as simplistic.
• But this is Jesus
• He’s not simplistic
• He’s speaking to a woman’s heart and cutting right through her every defense
As I was studying and preparing for this message, I ran across a new word - ‘Hyperliving.’ It was new to me, and I found out that, not only are most of us Hyperliving, but the University of Houston actually offers a Master’s Degree in Studies of the Future, centering around the phenomena of ‘Hyperliving.’ Who would have thought?
So what is ‘Hyperliving?’
• We want to do more and more things in less and less time
• Some of us carry around planners with lots of scraps of paper attached and rubber bands holding it all together
• We buy time-saving gadgets and don’t have the time to read the instructions to figure out how to use them
• We do the ‘multi-tasking’ thing, especially in the car. We drive, eat, drink coffee, listen to the radio, talk on the cell phone, and make gestures – all at the same time!
• Before we come to a stop light, if there are two lanes and each contains one car, we find ourselves trying to guess which one will pull away first so we can get in that lane
• At a grocery store, if we have a choice between two checkout lines, we find ourselves counting how many people are in each line, multiplying this number by the number of items per cart. After we get in line, we keep track of the other person who would have been us in the other line. If we finish checking out and the person who would have been us is still waiting you feel like we’ve won! But if the person who would have been us is walking out of the store and we’re still in line, we feel depressed
• When we are driving, especially long distances, we push the posted speed limit by six miles an hour (the police won’t pull you over for 6 miles over the limit). We just have to get there sooner
Do I see heads nodding out there in agreement? Well, my brothers and sisters, that is ‘Hyperliving.’
and hyperliving is a very good word to describe living in a ‘Martha’ world. A world in which one is so busy planning – organizing – perfecting - controlling and maximizing our time that we never have time to ‘stop and smell the roses’ or take a deep breath, or listen to the words of Jesus. "Martha, Martha," he says, "you are anxious and troubled about many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which shall not be taken away from her.”
• There is Need of Only One Thing
• Mary had chosen that ‘One Thing’
Martha had been scurrying around to see that everything was ‘perfect’ yet all she was doing was transient; very soon –
• All the food would be eaten
• The guests would have left
• The dishes done
• The house restored to order
• It would be as if no one had ever been there
Just like that - Jesus’ visit would only be a faint memory and Martha had missed it! But for her sister Mary, His words and being near Jesus would have a lasting impact.
• In fact, it is thought that this Mary is the Mary who anointed Jesus’ head and feet with precious oil a few days before His death
• Whatever she heard at His feet caused her to follow Jesus, to be one of the women at his crucifixion
• Something touched her faith down to the core of her being
So, should we become more like Mary and less like Martha?
• Is there no place for the busy service of Martha?
• What we need to do is find ourselves in an environment that nurtures and encourages us
• We do not live "BY BREAD ALONE"
• Here was Jesus, the bread of life, present and available, but Martha had her mind on other bread
• So Martha missed out hearing the stimulating words of Jesus
Now is the time to sit and listen, just as Mary sat at Jesus’ feet and listened to Him.
• Listen to the pain of our neighbors; their demands for justice
• Listen so that we can move beyond our own fears and prejudices
• Listen for the words that will convince us to act with more mercy than judgement
• Mary knew who to listen to
• Surely, we can do the same
What else did Jesus say about Mary? Not only was she doing the one necessary thing, but she had chosen the good portion. The good portion was necessary, but it also was a choice. Our bodies won’t survive more than a few days without water. It is necessary for life, especially during this brutal heat we have been experiencing this Summer. But you and I still make the choice every day to drink from a cup that literally sustains our life. The same is true of your spiritual cup - “MY FLESH AND MY HEART MAY FAIL, BUT GOD IS THE STRENGTH OF MY HEART AND MY PORTION FOREVER” - PSALM 73:26.
• Jesus was Mary’s portion
• Is he yours?
Jesus said - “I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE; WHOEVER COMES TO ME SHALL NOT HUNGER, AND WHOEVER BELIEVES IN ME SHALL NEVER THIRST.”
• Is your hunger and thirst satisfied in Christ?
• Do you love being in his presence?
• If you are binging on junk food, you will not have an appetite for a fresh, healthy meal
• And in the same way, your soul cannot crave the bread of life if, like Martha, you are “DISTRACTED WITH MUCH SERVING” or “ANXIOUS AND TROUBLED ABOUT MANY THINGS”
Jesus comes to us in Love and Authority. Don’t discount his authority because of his love for you. It is Christ himself who tells us what is truly necessary. The next time you are tempted to think that there are many earthly things that you must do, remember what he said.
• As the world careens on, in all its frenetic madness, and many demands insist on our attention, we can become people who choose to be still, sit at the Lord’s feet, and listen to his voice
• For it’s in his Word that we will receive the good portion we need most
As I move closer to a close this morning as we prepare for Communion, let me unequivocally state -
the bad news is that there are some extremely unpleasant side-effects to cumberedness (yes, I just made up that word) such as Exhaustion – Resentment - Envy - Anxiety. The good news is there is a cure for this affliction - strive to be a Mary.
Let me close by reiterating Four things that we must take from this message this morning. FIRST - MARY HAD PRIORITIES. After Jesus and His probable entourage arrived at her home, Martha energetically attacked her unachievable “To-Do List.” At some point, she looked up and saw her sister, Mary, just sitting there.
• The good dishes needed to be dusted off
• The potatoes needed to be peeled, and who was going to do that while Martha fried the chicken?
• Martha complained - “LORD, DOST THOU NOT CARE THAT MY SISTER HATH LEFT ME TO SERVE ALONE?”
• Martha expected the Lord to chastise her sister
• Instead, He gently reminded her that there was a task more important than a clean house or a hot meal
• “ONE THING IS NEEDFUL AND MARY HATH CHOSEN THAT GOOD PART”
SECOND - MARY WAS PREPARED. No matter how many times He warned people, Christ’s death came as a surprise to nearly everyone. Because she had spent as much time as she could with her Lord, Mary was ready for His death. St. John 12 records that she poured a pound of “Ointment of Spikenard” possibly the equivalent of a year’s salary, on the feet of Jesus a few days before His crucifixion in preparation of His burial.
• You don’t need a year’s salary to be always prepared to entertain unexpectedly
• You do need to have a walk with God and keep your house in an acceptable order every day and have a supply of nonperishables on hand for a quick meal or two
THIRD - MARY WAS PRAGMATIC. If Martha’s sister were alive today, her response to the flawless displays on social media would probably be something like - “really? As if we didn’t know that pose took dozens of shots before it was photoshopped and filtered beyond all recognition!” Go ahead and admire the work of someone trying to prove how wonderful his or her life is, but don’t forget to praise God “FOR HIS GOODNESS, AND FOR HIS WONDERFUL WORKS TO THE CHILDREN OF MEN.”
FORTH - MARY PRESUMED THAT ALL THINGS WERE POSSIBLE. Do you ever get very anxious over something that turns out to be nothing or try to solve a problem that didn’t need a solution? Me too. So, why did Martha waste time and energy being cumbered about with the task of feeding 13 men in when in the previous chapter, Christ fed five thousand men plus women and children?
• Because her focus was on what she had to Do and not what Christ had already Done
• She may have missed a miracle
• Her sister, Mary, could relax because she had faith that the Lord would supply all her needs “ACCORDING TO HIS RICHES IN GLORY”
--You can choose to be a Complainer
--You can choose to be Anxious
--You can choose to be Resentful
--You can choose to be an Envious Host
--Or you can make Mary your mentor and multiply the miracles and answered prayers in your life
--I advise that you and I also choose the “GOOD PART”
--Because “ONLY ONE THING IS NEEDFUL”
