Most of us are probably familiar with the account of Mary and Martha in today's Gospel. Jesus had set His face to go to Jerusalem and Mary and Martha's house was on the way. Martha was busy serving. No doubt there was much to do when Jesus dropped by on His way to Jerusalem. Mary, on the other hand, was busy learning from Jesus instead of helping Martha. Martha saw this as laziness on Mary's part. She asked Jesus to rectify the situation. She expected Jesus to send Mary on her way. The surprise is that Jesus commended Mary and scolded Martha. "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her."
Once again, we see Jesus turning everything upside down. Rabbis in first century Israel did not have women disciples. It just wasn't done. Never the less, here is Mary learning from the master rabbi and, wonder of wonders, this rabbi did not send her away. In fact, He commended her for wanting to learn more about the Kingdom of God. We can't appreciate how revolutionary this was because we live in culture that encourages women to get all the education that they can get. This is one of many events that show us that culture had no influence over Jesus.
The obvious application of Jesus' words is that listening to Jesus is more important than feeding Jesus. In more general terms, listening to Jesus is more important than anything else we do. Listening to Jesus is the most important thing we can do because His words give us salvation. As the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write to the Romans: [Romans 10:17] Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. The words of Christ work faith and it is faith that receives the blessing of salvation.
In the real world there are times that the urgent takes precedence over the important. People do get sick on Sundays. Accidents and catastrophe's come our way on Sundays. Not only do these things stop people from listening to Jesus on any given Sunday, but they also require medical personnel and emergency responders to be on call on Sunday. The world is what it is and things sometimes prevent us from listening to Jesus.
But let's be honest. Is an urgent situation the reason that most people miss out on Jesus? How many people miss out on Jesus because it is easier to get a tee time on Sunday? How many people miss out because they stayed out too late on Saturday night? How many people miss out because they have guests and are literally in the kitchen just as Martha was? How many people miss out because it is a good day for swimming, boating, or picnicking?
Absence from church is a clear indication that something is more important than meeting with Jesus and getting His gifts. Figuratively speaking, we are staying in the kitchen with Martha when Jesus is preaching in the other room.
We can speak with absolute confidence when we say that what happens in church is more important than what happens anywhere else. Church is where Christ proclaims His message - the same message that He gave to the seventy-two who went out ahead of His face, [Luke 10:9] "The kingdom of God has come near to you." The Kingdom of God comes near when the Holy Spirit works through the Word of Christ to rescue sinners.
It is in church that sinners hear the Gospel. God loved them so much that He became one of them. In His love for sinners He lived the perfect life that they could not. In His love for sinners, He suffered the pain of hell as He hung on the cross forsaken by God the Father. In His love for sinners He died. His perfect life and sacrificial death provided forgiveness and righteousness for all mankind. He certified all this by rising from the dead and ascending to rule at the right hand of God the Father. Those who believe in Him for the forgiveness of sins will live with Him forever.
Christianity is about Christ and there is no Christianity without Him. He is not only the most important thing that has ever happened to the world, but all other things shrink to nothing compared to Him. Only Christ remains with us through life and into death. Only Christ has made a pathway through death into eternal life. Mary knew this. Apparently, Martha did not.
There was nothing intrinsically wrong with Martha's activity. It was wrong at the time because Jesus was teaching in the other room. There are many good and wonderful things to do in this world. There are many things that God has given us to do for the benefit of our neighbor. Never the less, even our best works become evil if we use them as an excuse for not listening to Jesus and receiving His gifts.
It is dangerous to ignore Jesus and reject His gifts. We are like batteries. A battery can keep its charge for a short time, but it will eventually lose its charge. In a similar way, our faith can continue for a short time, but it will eventually die if it is not recharged.
Jesus gives us the blessings of forgiveness, eternal life, and salvation with His gifts. The Holy Spirit has promised to come to us and sustain our faith in the Words of Christ. We receive that word as we hear it and read it. We receive that word with the water of Holy Baptism. We also receive that word by mouth as the body and blood of Jesus Himself enter us in the Lord's Supper. The Word of God promises the Holy Spirit will work in these gifts. We have no promise that the Holy Spirit will work in any other way. These gifts are so special that we have given them a special name. We call them, "The Means of Grace." Without the Means of Grace our faith will fade and die.
The clear point of the account in today's Gospel is that listening to Jesus is more important than anything else. There are some people who say it would be a lot easier if they could personally listen to Jesus. That is the reason that the Holy Spirit inspired Luke to write this Gospel - so that we could listen to Jesus. Jesus does not come to us in our walks through the woods or in our visions or dreams, but in the words of this book as we hear it and read it and meditate on it.
In the Gospel that we read a couple of weeks ago, Jesus Himself said, [Luke 10:16] "The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me." With these words, Jesus Himself promises that when we hear a pastor faithfully preach God's Word, we are listening to Him. With these words, Jesus also tells us that we ignore His faithful pastors at our peril.
There is a theological term that applies to today's Gospel. That term is "Gospel Imperative." A "Gospel Imperative" is something that sounds like a command, but is really something we already want to do. For example: A hungry family has been milling around the house for about forty-five minutes waiting for something to eat. Finally, the cooks stick their noses out of the kitchen and holler, "Come and get it!" Strictly speaking, this is a command. Never the less, no one says, "Aw man … now I gotta go eat!"
When Jesus tells us to listen to Him, it is a Gospel Imperative. As we listen to Him the Holy Spirit strengthens our faith and we receive forgiveness, life, and salvation. We hear Jesus speak through the pastor's mouth and say, "I forgive you all of your sins." We are present in the home of Mary and Martha and we hear Jesus say, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her."
From time to time, Jesus works through the pastor's hand and mouth and says, "I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." At other times Jesus works through that same hand and gives you a piece of bread and a cup and says, "The body of our Lord, given for you." "The blood of our Lord, shed for you." This is the purest Gospel as Jesus places all of Himself with His forgiveness, comfort, and love into your mouth. This is what Jesus wants to give to us when He tells us that listening to Him is the most important thing that we can do.
It is impossible to be a "Lone Ranger" Christian for very long. You can't discuss the Word of God by yourself. You certainly can't baptize yourself. You can't receive the body and blood of your savior by yourself. Jesus Christ has created His church to be a gathering of people who come together to receive Him and His gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation.
The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write [Ephesians 5:23] Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. How gruesome would it be for someone to walk around with a head and no body? Never the less, some people do that very thing with Christ. They try to have Christ without the church. They try to have the head without the body.
Yes, the church is full of hypocrites and sinners. Yes, it is sometimes difficult to get along. Never the less, the church is the place where Jesus reveals Himself to us and showers us with His gifts. Let us take to heart the encouragement that the Holy Sprit gives us in the book of Hebrews: [Hebrews 10:24-25] Let us … [not neglect]to meet together, as is the habit of some, but [encourage] one another … all the more as you see the Day drawing near. Amen
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