The Good Portion

Luke 10:38-42 We can easily imagine the scene before us:  having important guests for dinner and all that entails—a house to clean—the meal to prepare.  And all the while we are rushing about trying to make sure that everything turns out just right—the folks that are supposed to be helping us—our kids or our husband--are just laying around—to our eyes not doing much of anything at all.  I can hear myself saying:  “What on earth is wrong with you—have you lost your minds--get up and get to work”!

That’s the way I was raised and I bet you were too.  I never told my parents that I was bored or that there was nothing to do because their response was:  “I’ll find you something to do”.  We identify with poor old frazzled Martha because she looks like us:  more to do than there are hours in the day—her “to-do” list pushing her onward mercilessly.

The Lord wants us to see ourselves in Martha because he has something to teach us about ourselves-- and something to teach us about what our life with God is really all about—for you see, even though we identify with Martha-- it’s Mary that the Lord commends—Mary is the one that he lifts up as an example—Mary is the one who chose the good portion:  to be with Jesus and hear his Word. 

This scene reveals our in-born difficulty in understanding that our relationship with God is all about his gracious gifts and not about our frantic strivings to get his attention or our ceaseless efforts to please him—thinking it depends on us.

This is the natural religion of mankind and it becomes readily apparent that this is true of us too when we find ourselves identifying with Martha --even when we have the Lord’s own words that Mary is the one who got it right that day-- because she was content to sit at the Lord’s feet and RECEIVE from him the one thing needful.  The Bible says that:  As they went on their way, Jesus entered a village.

Jesus entered into that village for exactly the same reason he entered into world--to give life.  He said that he came “not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” –he said that it is the devil who comes to steal and destroy while he came to give abundant life.  You can bet that the devil was there that day—trying to choke out the word of life out of Martha’s heart with the cares of this world.

Now, I have no doubt that Martha was glad for Jesus’ visit to her home—it was an honor.  We know her from other places in the Gospels as a stalwart confessor of the faith.  But that day she saw Jesus as someone who was going to add to her burdens rather than take them away.  What about us?  Is that how we see our life with God?

We need to ask ourselves on this Lord’s Day:  “Have we received the Lord’s visitation (his real presence in Word and Sacrament) as a burden (getting up early, putting on special clothes, arranging our many other tasks) or are we thankful to simply be in the Lord’s presence, to hear his voice, and receive his gifts of salvation?  As we sit here in church this morning:  is Jesus a burden or a blessing?  Are we Mary or Martha?  The Bible says that:

A woman named Martha welcomed Jesus into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving.

            If Jesus came to our home like he came to Martha’s home we would do exactly the same things--we would fly into action—making sure that things were neatened up and that the bathroom was clean and that there were refreshments to serve.  His visit would not mean “rest” for us-- but frantic action.  It would mean one more thing that we had to add to our busy schedules.  Jesus’ presence would be a burden rather than a blessing.

And a truer picture of what sin has done to “twist and distort” our understanding of what life with God is all about-- cannot be found than Martha’s frantic, exhausting, distracted rushing about—focused upon herself and all that she had to do. 

It’s the same attitude that keeps people away from church on Sunday.  After a long, busy work week they tell themselves that they need this time to get done all the things they didn’t get done during the week.  Their own agendas more pressing than the presence of the Lord who stands ready to give them rest.

How different is the picture of Mary!  Mary was not going to waste a single moment that she could spend with the Lord on anything else.  Mary was content to simply be in the Lord’s presence.  She wanted to hear his words and sit at his feet. 

You see, Mary knew that what Jesus came to do for her --was infinitely more valuable-- than anything she could do for him.  She knew that what Jesus really desired from her was the opportunity to give her-- what only he could give.

Jesus had shown that mercy and grace and giving heart in his ministry again and again.  When the wedding couple ran out of wine—he gave it.  When the multitudes were hungry—he provided.  When the widow lost her son—Jesus restored him.  Each miracle was a sign of his mission:  that he came to lift our burdens—not add to them.  We need to be reminded of that just like Martha did that day.  The Bible says:

Martha went up to Jesus and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. 

            How human this scene is—how sadly familiar!  Martha knew all of the things that she wanted to get done—her mind was full of what she thought had to be accomplished.

Let me ask you a very simple question:  at that moment, who was it that stood at the center of Martha’s universe?  She did!  She had HER “to-do” list.  She had HER schedule.  And everyone within her orbit was supposed to do her will—even Jesus.  “If you really loved me Lord you would adopt my agenda.  If you really loved me you would act on  my time frame.  Don’t you care about me Lord?” 

But of course he loved her—too much to let her go on like that!  “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things.”  And how could she not be!  We human beings are not equipped to be God and yet when we treat God as our servant—expecting him to do WHAT we want, WHEN we want it—when we insist that others (even Jesus) yield to us—that is exactly what we have become—weak little gods of our own, sad little worlds.  But Jesus loves us too much to let us go on this way.

Of course the Lord cared about her—that is why he came there that day and that is why he came into our world in the first place—to deliver us from the terrible, sinful burden of being our own gods—of going our own way—of making our will our master--and to restore us to what we are meant to be:  children of the one true God, re-born in his image by the Spirit-- who live in perfect agreement with his will and his timing.  He said:

Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary.  Mary has chosen the good portion.

There are all kinds of important things that we have to do—we have serious and weighty responsibilities—all of us feel the press of full schedules—but there is really only one thing that stands at the center of our lives—only one thing that can be the main thing—only one thing that gives order and meaning to all the rest—only one thing that is finally, irreducibly necessary—and it is not something that we do—but something that has been done for us-- by Jesus—the one thing needful. 

Christ’s death on the cross has paid for every one of those times that our “to-do list” and our schedule has taken precedence over God’s will and God’s timing.  His death has fully atoned for our rebellion against God that wants to turn him into our servant and lifts us up into his place.  And his resurrection is the promise of a brand new life for us in which we live “now and forever” in a right relationship with God as his children.

That is what Mary received that day at the Lord’s feet listening to his words.  It’s what we have received in Holy Baptism where the benefits and blessings of Christ’s death and resurrection become our own.  It’s what we receive each time that hear that our sins are forgiven for Christ’s sake.  It’s what we receive when we come to Holy Communion today--the assurance in body and blood that we are loved and forgiven.

            Christ is the Giver-- not the taker-- and he promises that these gifts of his gracious love will not be taken from us. 

The meal that day at Martha’s house came to an end.  The scraps were thrown out and the dishes were washed and Martha’s neat and tidy house got dirty all over again.  All of those things that Martha thought were so important—they came to an end too.  Over time Mary and Martha died and their home crumbled into dust. 

Everything was taken from them except for the needful thing—the necessary thing—and that was Christ and his Word of forgiveness and life.  That endures forever-- and because it does—so do they live forever—and so will we who have received Christ in faith.  May God grant it to us all for Jesus’ sake!  Amen.