PENTECOST 9
July 25/26, 2010
Pastor Timothy J. Spaude
Text: Luke 10:38-42

A TEST OF PRIORITIES
1. One thing is needed.
2. Jesus blesses those who choose it.
3. So be choosy!

Luke 10:38-42 (NIV) “As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. 40But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" 41"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, 42but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

It always comes down to priorities, doesn’t it? I mean, we are not God. We cannot be in two places at the same time and as much as we like to boast about multi-tasking, if it’s something important, you can’t pay full attention to both. Sorry guys, we really can’t listen to the sportscast and our wives at the same time. It comes down to priorities.
That truth was brought into focus by Jesus’ visit to the home of Mary and Martha. Let’s put some flesh on these sisters. They were both fine Christian women, believers in Jesus as Savior. If you recall they had a brother named Lazarus who served the Lord by dying so Jesus could raise him from the dead, prove yet again His divinity and set into motion the events that would lead to the cross. In that instance both Mary and Martha gave fine testimonies of faith. Both confessed, “Lord if you had been here my brother would not have died.” Martha gave that beautiful confession of faith in Christ and the resurrection. Martha provided for Jesus’ needs by opening her home to Him. Mary was the one who poured the pint of nard, very expensive perfume on Jesus. Remember how she was criticized by the disciples who thought it would have been put to better use by selling it and using the money for the poor.
Getting criticized for showing love to Jesus was nothing new for Mary. That happened here too. You get the feeling that Martha was the more responsible sister, at least she thought she was. She seems to be kind of the take charge gal, the one who makes sure necessary things get done, at least the ones she thought was necessary. And that brings us to the point Jesus made for the sisters and for us in this visit to their home. Just what is necessary? What is it that needs to be done?
If you were to ask Martha she would say, “Jesus needs to feel welcome. The house needs to be clean and orderly. The meal needs to be prepared and it needs to be prepared right. We will not offer Jesus our leftovers!” Now if you have a sister or siblings and you feel yourself to be the more responsible one you can pretty well guess how Martha was feeling. Martha herself lets us see. Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" Can you imagine the burning that was going on in Martha’s heart? Don’t you picture her finding reasons to walk past Mary sitting at Jesus’ feet, shooting her the look, making sure the pots and utensils made plenty of noise? Maybe an extra clearing of the throat. Martha did everything but scream, “That’s not fair!”
Actually what’s not fair, just or right is for the created to tell the Creator what is needed. It’s not fair for the saved to tell the Savior how to do His job. But in the gentle way that Jesus deals with his disciples He set the matter straight. "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, 42but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." Jesus says only one thing is needed. It is His teaching, His word, that which Mary had chosen.
And Jesus blesses those who choose it. He blessed Mary here. He firmly defended her to her sister. But that’s not where His blessing ends. Let’s spend a few minutes just thinking about some of the blessings God has promised to give through His word. Can you think of some? How about where God tells us the Bible makes us wise unto salvation or that faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the word of Christ. Or that the Gospel is God’s power to save. How about in the Psalm that we sang that God’s word is a lamp for our feet and a light for our path? How about how the Lord combines His word with simple things like bread and wine, or water, to forgive us our sins? Or when He says His word is useful for teaching rebuking correcting and training us in righteousness? The one thing needed is the word of the Lord and Jesus blesses those who choose it.
Let me give you some examples how. In His wisdom God did not destroy the Devil when he rebelled. Neither did He remove Adam and Eve and their descendants from living in a sinful world immediately. That means that we, their descendants, have to live in a world that hurts. Sometimes it’s our own sins that cause us problems. We defy God’s holy will for our lives and sometimes have to live the consequences for a lifetime. Sometimes it’s the sins of others. When someone is caught up in a sin that has addictive qualities it makes everyone’s life miserable who has to be around them. Sometimes it’s just that life in general in a sin ruined world is just plain unfair, especially for those who strive to follow Christ. I think of divorce and how painful that is for everyone involved. How do you get the strength to go on? How can you forgive and let go of the hurt? How can you keep doing the right thing especially if you think or know another is doing you wrong? One thing is needed. It is the word through which the Lord promises to keep our faith strong, to empower us to forgive, to give us peace in conflicted times. Now that’s just one example and you can plug in your own pain or problem or cross and I tell you the truth that whatever it is you are dealing with, it is much easier with Jesus than without Him and you will find peace and comfort when your spiritual tank is full and not when you are running on fumes. One thing is needed. Jesus blesses those who choose it.
So be choosy, brothers and sisters, be choosy. If our Lord Jesus were to use the in your face style of communication which seems popular today would He say, “What part of ‘one thing is needed’ don’t you understand?” I doubt there is a person here who doesn’t understand what Jesus is saying or disagrees. Martha wanted to welcome Jesus into her home and tried to do that by doing things for Him. In fact it was Mary who really welcomed Jesus by placing a priority on His word. This Scripture talks to us not about what we do on a Sunday morning or a Monday evening but on every day of the week. Is Jesus welcome in our homes? Do we need to learn like Martha did that you cannot do something for Jesus until He has done something for you?
And do you know why it is so hard on a daily basis to get that done, to actually listen to Jesus by reading His word or a devotional? The Devil knows what the one thing needed is too. So he tries to get us to put other necessary things as higher priorities than the one thing needed. But he doesn’t have to win. I have a suggestion. Make an appointment each day with Jesus. It seems today that an appointment trumps everything! You know how it goes, a friend calls, asks you to do something. You say, “Sounds great. Oh, oh. I have an appointment. I can’t.” Would you consider making an appointment with Jesus each day? Could He be important enough to be placed on your calendar, yes even into your smartphone? When the kids are clamoring for attention you can say, “Not now. I have an appointment.” And when the phone rings during your devotional time you can let it go to voicemail because, you have an appointment. And when someone asks you to do something that would bump Jesus out. “Sorry. I have an appointment—with Jesus.”
Now if you looked at the theme of this sermon you noticed that it is A little test of priorities you may be wondering just where the test is and when it will come. But the test does not come today. It happens each day starting tomorrow. We’re not God. We can’t be in two places at once. We can’t truly multitask for things that are important. We have to make choices. One thing is needed. Jesus blesses those who choose it. So be choosy, brothers and sisters, be choosy. And good luck on your test. Amen.