The Gospel reading is the story of Mary and Martha. You know it well.
It is important to remember that your life of faith should be balanced. You should be mindful that the world need’s your service, the church needs your time and help, your family needs your devotion. You should not be lazy. But, you should not neglect the quiet times. Part of your Christian life should also include times with our Lord’s Word, times when you study and learn, times when you get away from the hustle and bustle of a demanding world and times when you pray, when you restore your soul. The Lord Jesus expects that your life will be a balance of both – busy service and quiet contemplation.
That’s a good lesson. But, that is not what the story of Mary and Martha is about.
Here is what well meaning people have done with this text. They have imagined that Martha was trying to be a good host and that Mary was trying to be a good host. They both meant well. But, Martha did it by cooking and cleaning, and Mary did it by paying attention to the main guest. And, then they conclude that Jesus is giving a fine lesson about proper etiquette, that all other things being equal, it is better to pay attention to your guest than to ignore him with much serving. Of course, says the typical preacher when faced with this story, neither is bad; you just to have a good balance between both. Don’t get so busy that you forget about rest and relaxation. Not only is that precisely the opposite of what Jesus says, but more important, it misses the point altogether.
It is not as though Mary chose the better way to serve or as though both Mary and Martha had the right idea, but that Mary’s idea was a little better. At that moment, in Martha’s home, on that day, Mary and Martha had completely different ideas about how to relate to Jesus. Martha’s idea was wrong. Mary’s was right. The point is that Mary wasn’t trying to serve Jesus at all. She was not trying to give Him something, not trying even to praise Him or give Him honor. Rather, she was served by Jesus. She is not active; she is passive. She is not trying to be the host. When Jesus comes, He is the host. Mary is the guest. When God comes on the scene, He gives. We receive.
At one point, Jesus said, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” At one point, Jesus washed the feet of his disciples rather than the other way around. At one point, this religious leader did something no religious leader had ever done before or since – He gave up His life for the sake of his followers.
Now, this is the very heart of our life in Christ and it is the very heart of our worship. It wasn’t too long ago that we changed the designation this hour on Sunday from “worship” to “Divine Service”. Worship is not a bad term – just so often badly misunderstood, I believe. When you come to worship God, what is that you do? What is the main part of worshipping? Is it that you pray to God, say thank you to him, praise him, sing songs to him. Is it that God descends from his throne in Heaven down to a sort of imaginary throne right here in our sanctuary all to listen to our praises and prayers. We worship, He gets worshiped? We do something for Him, and He sits back and takes it all in? We give, He receives?
Well, not really. We certainly pray and sing and praise him, but that is all quite secondary. So, we call this hour “Divine Service.” That term in the German is “Gottesdienst.” It means God’s serving. God, during this hour, is serving. He is busy. He is host. He is giving something away. He is giving us His word, his forgiveness, his body and blood. We recline at the table, and receive. This isn’t work. This hour is, for us, the very best definition of rest.
You buy someone a gift. They need it. It’s the perfect thing for them and the timing is good. You tell them to meet you at a certain time and place so that you can give it to them. On their way to receive this gift from you, you overhear them telling someone else, “Say, guess where I’m going. I am on my way to say thank you to that person and praise him for his kindness.” No, they’re not. They are coming to get a gift. They might say thank you or not, they might praise you or not, but either way they are getting a gift and that is the reason for the meeting. That is the reason you came, and that should be the reason they came.
Now, since even civilly decent pagans know enough to say thank you when they receive a gift and to praise someone for a job well done, we certainly say thank you and praise God for all this serving that He does, but we’d have gotten it all backward if we thought that was the reason we woke up this morning and came here. We came to listen to God’s word and to get forgiveness.
Martha got confused and distracted about that. Jesus came to give her something and she was so very busy trying to give him something that she didn’t even notice. This is what Jesus says, He says “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed… I love your devotion to me, and there isn’t one second of your service to me which I don’t notice… BUT ONLY ONE THING is NEEDED. So sit down for a while, take a breath, and let me serve you. That is the one thing needed.”
You see, the same thing that is so often misunderstood when it comes to the Divine Service is also misunderstood when it comes to church in general… as though we all got together and built the church building to give us a place to get busy serving God. No, this church stands, services are held, Bible studies conducted, visits made, business meetings held, all so that Jesus would come and serve us with His gospel. That is why I just can’t stand it when people say that they’re trying to keep a church from dying. What is that supposed to mean? You mean, the resurrected and ascended Lord Jesus comes here, offers and gives his means of grace, the Gospel, the forgiveness of sins, indeed feeds sinners with His own body and blood, and all it takes is to miss budget a couple months and the place is dying? Not only is that just silly, there may be some justification calling it blasphemy.
Let Martha be your warning. You are not stronger than her. Martha is a Christian; she loves Jesus, and we shouldn’t feel sorry for her because she is in paradise today. But, for a while there, she got distracted. And the same could happen for you…. Especially for you who do a lot of work at the church. Your work is good. God is pleased with it. The church needs it.
But it you have found yourself thinking that you are the only one, that others don’t pull their weight, if you have despised those who come here on Sunday right before church and then leave right after and never seem to want to “get involved,” if you know that you’ve give more money into the plate than most everyone else even though you know you don’t make as much and you don’t really think its fair, if you have ever been guilty of thinking that if you were to leave, how would they ever survive without me, then beware. Repent. If you’ve found it difficult to hear Jesus’ words because you are busy with much serving – in the kitchen, in the office, on the Council, in the narthex during church – perhaps you should consider stepping back. That’s right. Stop serving. Leave the dishes in the sink for a while. Someone else can probably handle it, and even if they don’t, you have Jesus’ words, you are forgiven, you are going to Heaven and dirty dishes could never take that away from you.
One of you told me once, “I don’t come here to make friends. I have a busy life and I don’t need any extra things on my plate. That’s not why I come to church. I come because, here, I get something I need. I need to get right with God. That’s why I come. That’s the only thing I need.”
I heard you say that. And, I couldn’t argue with you. You come for the one thing needful, which will not be taken away from you.
So, clean the church, prepare the meals, pick the weeds, pay the bills, serve your spouse faithfully, work hard at your job… but remember this, there is only one thing needed, Jesus says, “And its what I do for you.” Amen.
Tags: trinity
