Pastor Michael Harman,
St. Peter LCMS - Newell, IA
vacancies at ...
Immanuel, Pomeroy
First Evangelical, Fonda
Take these as "sermon starters"...
August 1, 2004.
English is a funny language. There are many words that sound alike, but
have different meanings.
Take the words necessity and nicety. They sound similar. But one means
you NEED it, the other implies you can do without it - but it makes life better.
I want you to think of pleasant aromas like freshly baked bread, Christmas
trees, roses, and so on. The world would be poorer if God had not given us a
sense of smell!
Take a deep breath; let it out; take another and hold it. Hold it.
(pause 10 seconds). Okay, let it out. Breathing is a necessity; fragrances
are a nicety.
Sometimes as Christians, we get these confused. There are things we think
are important, even crucial. So it takes the power of God's Holy Word to
reorder our priorities to see: One Thing is Needful.
Last Sunday, Jesus told us about a certain man who showed great
compassion, ending the discourse with "go and do likewise." Today, we hear how
our certain Savior came to a certain village and entered a certain woman's home.
The traditional pericope from Genesis lesson talks about Abram's and
Sarai's compassion and hospitality given to 3 men shown by the quick, lavish
meal. The parable of the Good Samaritan was just before this. Food! Could
Martha do any less than prepare a meal for the Lord Jesus???
You can imagine Martha, in the place of Abram, telling Mary to knead 3
seahs of sifted flour and prepare other food for the Lord Jesus and His
companions. It wasn't just God and two angels; this was Jesus and perhaps 12
or more disciples! But it SEEMS that Mary is neglecting her responsibilities.
She goes to listen to Jesus in stead of getting flour.
Abram showed compassion and hospitality; the Good Samaritan did likewise.
Should Mary do less?
Mary listened at Jesus' feet. Mary was at the place of an honored
disciple! "A woman's place is in the kitchen", the old saw goes. To say the
least, her position seemed a bit shocking. It appeared she was disgracing
other men by being closer to Jesus and dishonoring her sister by not serving
with compassion.
At this point I must interject that anti-Christian wackos use passages
like this in the fictional book The Divinci Code to prop up the idea Jesus was
not God, wasn't crucified, got married, etc. Authentic scholarship reveals
that book is a lie (as well as his latest one). Rest your souls in faith.
Pray for that poor, deluded man.
While there are MANY ways to apply this little story, there is ONE place I
want you to focus on. Remember: there are niceties and necessities.
This story takes place perhaps four months before the Passion of the
Christ. All of history revolves around God's compassion for our fallen world.
Here, from the lips of our Lord, came a thrilling message: straight from the
heart of God and into that home. Folks wistfully speak of us "getting closer
to God", but the truth is that it is always God who seeks to be closer to us;
and He moves us nearer by His love.
God's Word had so moved Mary that she forgot her "place". She was more
interested in what Christ had to feed her soul than in what Martha was doing to
feed their bodies.
What does the Holy Spirit say right before Martha rudely interrupts Jesus?
"But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that HAD to be made." It
seems Martha was not only finding fault with her sister, Mary, but she was
finding fault with Jesus for allowing this to continue!
When we try to serve God without realizing He must always serve US and be
our Ransom first, for that is what He came to do, (Mt. 20:28) we end up as
Martha and not as Mary, focusing on niceties; and on us.
When we try to serve Jesus, but are not always "FIRST seeking His Kingdom
and His Righteousness", (Mt 6:33) then we begin to worry and fret about the
very things which He will add without worry on our part. Some call that
'majoring in minors', but it could be thought of as worrying about niceties
rather than necessities.
When Christ was tempted by Satan to turn the loaves into bread, He told
Satan: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but on every Word which proceeds out
of the mouth of God." Mt 4:4. He was referring to Himself. He does not mean
that it is wrong to eat. Eating is necessary, and it can be God-pleasing.
But when we are eating, we must always remember that all gifts, be they
spiritual or material, come to us from God through His Word and that no service
of ours should ever get in the way of His relationship TO us and WITH us.
Martha had become distracted: honor, hospitality, culture. Often people
get so caught up in the idea THEY are serving the Lord; or it is THEIR
ministry. Like the account of the sending of the 70, they're looking backwards
thru a telescope thinking THEY made it happen. God works both to will and do
His good pleasure. Phil 2:13.
Everything earthly vanishes. The food that Martha made, and even her life
on earth is gone. But the Word of the Lord shall stand forever, and the person
who rightly hears and learns the Word and receives it, will never die, but has
eternal life.
In this instance, a well-meaning Martha permitted something to keep her
from Jesus. She was so fretful about niceties, she neglected the necessity of
God's Word. While we must place everything at the disposal of Christ and His
Word, there is nothing that should separate us from Jesus, be it time, money,
or service.
It is not wrong to study hard, work intensely, and honestly earn money for
the nicer things in life. But when you are wrapped up in riches and motivated
for massive amounts of money: the necessity you need most, life in Christ,
will not be yours. Even if you heap money into mission projects, but have not
the love of Christ, you have nothing - as Paul wrote in 1 Cor. 13.
We in America have what some call "affluenza"; that is, we are sick with a
desire for things that are nice, but not true necessities. Some, like Martha
(I don't mean Stewart), are so focused on hospitalities to themselves or to
others that they avoid speaking of the One thing needful, Christ, so they can
appear nice!
But despite the times we act as if it's OUR service to Christ that makes
the difference, God loves us for Jesus' sake.
Despite all the times we get caught up in our desire for niceties like
cars, education, farming, health, sports, and what have you: Christ went to
the cross.
And that was why Mary was at Jesus' feet on that certain day. She knew
the one thing needful was God's love in Christ. God's grace, mercy, and peace
are the most crucial necessities in the universe. They are food for the soul.
Jesus also comes to feed you and me today by two means. He feeds us with
His holy Word. In the Divine Service, the Divine Lord is serving us, you & me.
God's Word is His power to salvation.
Jesus also feeds us in a supernatural way with His body & blood: in,
with, and under bread and wine, given for us sinners to eat and drink.
Some, like Martha, are busy working to prepare earthly food: some even
believing God couldn't get along without their service to Him or their
offerings. God can. While it is important, and a very good thing, to desire
to serve the Lord it is FAR MORE important to believe that it is HE who must
serve us and sustain us.
Martha was distracted in the niceties of her many portions. Mary focused
on the Lord's one necessary portion.
If we are so caught up in work and sports and food and so on that we don't
have time for Jesus: that's definitely like Martha. When we MAKE TIME for
Bible devotions for ourselves, that's still too much like Martha. When we put
God's love for us and to us in the necessary first place, then put all the
niceties of life afterwards: that's more like Mary, and more like the Holy
Spirit works in us to be and do.
Of all the things Mary (or you or I) could (or can) do: drinking-in the
Living Water and feasting on the Bread of Life are the needful things. It's
God's Word and His work, not our service or actions, that we need to remember
and rejoice in.
Martha was scolded by Jesus, and rightly so: she had focused on the
niceties and neglected the one thing needful. God scolds us, too, for being
distracted. May the Holy Spirit move us to greater hunger and thirst for God's
righteousness; that can never be taken away. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
