St. Luke 10:38-42
July 21, 2019
Proper 11C
Dear Saints of Our Savior~
A few days ago some folks in Fox Point had a very famous visitor. The president of the United States came calling—just up the road a bit. Now, typically, presidents go where the people are. Crowds and publicity are the name of the game. But crowds of people in Fox Point are kind of hard to come by. There’s the Fox Point pool and the Fox Point farmers’ market; but the president didn’t stop there. No, he went to somebody’s home—to a private residence.
Most of us can only imagine what it would be like to host the president of the United States in our homes. Think of the preparations, the parking, the catering, the decorating—not to mention the security and the invasion of privacy that such a visit would require. I can safely say that our family would not be up to the task of hosting such a VIP.
I suppose that when Mary and Martha hosted Jesus in their home, they had no idea that for the next two thousand years people would be reading about that visit—and preaching about that visit. The scene that unfolded in their living room would live on—in infamy—in places like, well, Fox Point—places that wouldn’t even appear on the map for centuries.
Mary and Martha were sisters; but, like a lot of sisters, they couldn’t have been more different. Martha was hard-working,
When Jesus rang the doorbell, the differences between the sisters were magnified. Martha was distracted by all the preparations. The original Greek text literally indicates that Martha was dragged around with much service. She lost control—what with all the pots to stir, sauces to make, salads to dress, wine to uncork, bread to warm. Her sister, Mary, meanwhile, just sat there, passively, at the Savior’s feet, listening to every Word that proceeded from the mouth of the Lord. His Word was a lamp to her feet and a light to her path. When Martha has her all-too-predictable meltdown, Jesus gently reminds the sisters that only “one thing is necessary,” and that Mary had made the better choice.
Now, right about here is where some less-experienced preachers would insert a paragraph telling you to be like Mary—and not to be like Martha. But I won’t make that mistake. After all, we need our share of Marthas, don’t we? If it weren’t for all the Marthas, then the work would never get done. We need more Marthas who aren’t afraid to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty. Sure, you could be like Mary. You could sit around and read the Bible and sing hymns and think pious thoughts all day. But someone has to take out the trash. Someone has to pay the bills, walk the dog, buy the groceries, and get the oil changed. Those works are important too. Those works, done in faith, are good works in God’s sight.
Every day you and I are called to do what Martha was doing—to serve others in the work of our God-given vocations and callings. We provide for others in the name of Jesus Christ. And that loving service—no matter how hum-drum, routine, and ordinary—is God-pleasing. So let’s set the record straight: It wasn’t Martha’s work or her serving that bothered Jesus. It was her attitude: Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things.
Couldn’t Jesus say the same thing to most of us here this morning? That we are anxious and troubled about a whole host of things? It’s what tends to happen when you—or someone you love—has a chronic illness, or when members of your own family just walk away from the Christian faith. It’s what happens when the church is shrinking and persecution is growing. It’s what happens when our homes become battlegrounds instead of peaceful places. It’s what happens as stressful days and stressful nights pile up, one after another. It’s true. Like Martha, we are anxious and troubled about many things.
And this is where Mary helps us. This is why Jesus points us to Mary. Mary shows us that, before we can faithfully serve others, we need to be served by Jesus with His Word and promises. Before we can do the cleaning and the washing, we need to be washed in Holy Baptism and cleansed with Holy Absolution. Before we can feed others, we need to be fed with our Lord’s most holy body and blood for the forgiveness of sins. Before we roll up our sleeves and get busy, we need to be still and listen to what God is telling us in His Holy Word. Just like Mary did.
When it comes to Martha, you should share her work ethic, but not her attitude. People with that attitude only tend to become more anxious and more troubled as time goes by. They revel in the role of the poor martyr who has to do it all without the help of anyone else. How different the day of Jesus’ visit would have been if Martha had simply asked her sister to set the table, instead of going to Jesus with her complaint. Did you notice that? Martha never asked for help. Rather than ask for what she needed, she opted for bitterness and recruited Jesus set her sister straight.
But Jesus didn’t come to play the referee . . . or the scorekeeper; He came to be our sacrifice for sin. Jesus came to pay the penalty for our bitterness and faithlessness, for our anxiety and worry and idolatry. That penalty was received by Jesus in the form of nails, thorns, whips—as He was fastened to a Roman tool of torture. No one else can do for you what He has done. That’s why His Word is the one thing we need above all else. That’s why you are here this morning. That’s why Mary planted herself at the Savior’s feet and listened, even as other tasks went undone. For Mary and for us the Word of Jesus is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.
You are here this morning to do what Mary did—to receive. God Himself has gathered you here. Yes, you got up and drove here. But in reality the Holy Spirit has gathered you and drawn you to feet of Jesus—to be given to. To worship is to sit with Mary, to rest in Jesus, to let His Word have its way with you. Worship is not work, but rest. In worship we find rest from all the burdens that trouble us. Here we find rest in the forgiveness of our sins, in release from our guilt, in forgetting about the demands and expectations that others place upon us. Only God’s expectations really matter in the end; and Jesus Christ has met all of those expectations on your behalf in His perfect life, sacrificial death, and glorious resurrection.
Nowhere does Jesus promise that life won’t be chaotic and stressful—or that VIPs won’t be ringing your doorbell at some point. But in the midst of it all, Jesus does promise peace—peace for you in your troubled life. That peace was established at the cross—signed, sealed and delivered in the blood of Christ—peace that will one day be fully experienced in the life of the world to come. This is the place where that peace becomes your personal possession, in the preaching and proclamation of His Word and through the bread that is His body and the wine that is His blood. This is the place where you can sit at the Savior’s feet and receive the good portion which will not be taken away from you.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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