Sermon Notes on Luke
10:38-42
The reason behind the
tasks is always more important than the tasks themselves.
I love the “Marthas” of this world; you know, the
detail/task oriented people who keep everything running smoothly. I love these
kinds of people so much I actually married one!
We “Mary” types (those of us who are about relationships and
just kind of taking in the world as it comes) would be lost without you. Take
today’s text for example. Martha was the one who noticed Jesus in their little
village. Martha was the one who listened to him long enough to decide that she
wanted to have him come to their home. Martha was the one who did the inviting
and Martha was the one who made Jesus’ time in their home pleasant.
If it were left up to Mary this story would have turned out
differently. When Mary finally got around to heading into the marketplace to
get her chores done she would have heard everyone talking about the amazing
teacher who had visited their village the day before and she would have come
home asking Martha, “Have you heard anything about this Jesus guy?” Nope,
there’s no question about it, we “Mary” types are depending on you Martha
types.
But I have to ask, How many of your Martha types have heard
this story and felt guilty about it for most of your lives? How many of you
have felt like you are the defective ones?
And how many of you Mary types have gloated saying, “See! Told ya that I was doing it right!”
And honestly, how many of you Martha types have had the
thought that Jesus would have been pretty hungry and uncomfortable if somebody
didn’t have the common sense to get the work done in the kitchen?
I have good news for all of you Marthas out there who have
been secretly wishing you could give Jesus a piece of your mind about what it
takes to have guests into your home or organize a meeting: This is not an
“anti-Martha” story. In fact, this story is told to bless all of you Marthas
out there. If you think about it, Mary is hardly mentioned at all.
Here is the blessing for the Marthas of this world; In this story, Martha was using her considerable gifts and
skills for the most noble and wonderful of reasons, namely finding a way to
make it possible for Jesus to be closer to herself and to her family.
Everything she had planned, from the invitation to the menu was for this
purpose. What a great example for us. If only more people in the church would
follow Martha’s example and use their gifts and skills to bring themselves and
others closer to Jesus.
Where Martha went astray is not her focus on the details or
her desire to take on the tasks that were necessary to accomplishing her
excellent goals. Task oriented people are made that way by God! This is not a
bad thing.
Where Martha got off the track is when she let her personal
feelings and the tasks themselves take her heart off the goal. When she got
distracted by the tasks themselves she forgot why she was doing them in the
first place.
Why was she doing all of this inviting and cooking and
entertaining? So that she and her family could be close to Jesus. What was Mary
doing? Getting closer to Jesus. It would have actually
been contrary to her goals at the moment that she was most frustrated to pull
Mary away from Jesus, but she was too distracted and upset to see it.
Our greatest strengths can often be our most vulnerable
point of weakness. If the Evil One can take our most powerful gifts and
convince us to focus on them rather than on why God has given them to us, we
are lost.
Whether you are a task oriented person or a relationship
oriented person, the challenge is to keep our hearts on God’s goals. If our
gathering together becomes only about socializing and enjoying the great
fellowship we share we relationship types have become distracted and we have
lost sight of God’s goal for us. If our gathering together becomes only about
getting things done correctly and in good order you task oriented types have
lost sight of why God invented order in the first place.
God made us different for a very good reason. I am thankful
that, when we work together and use our diverse gifts to accomplish God’s
goals, everyone is lifted up and feels great about who they are and what God
has called us all to do. Amen
