July 25, 2010 [Pentecost 9] Luke 10:38-42 J.D.Roekle

³⁸ As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. ³⁹ She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. ⁴⁰ But 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, ⁴² but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Dear Friends in Christ,

Daniel LaRusso was a teenager when he and his mother moved from Newark, New Jersey to a suburb of Los Angeles, California. A difficult move for a teenager, it was made more difficult as he struck up a friendship with a cheerleader from his high school and drew the anger of her former boyfriend who is a karate student. This karate student and several of his buddies bullied Daniel around and frequently beat him up. The janitor at the apartment complex where Daniel lived witnessed one of the beatings and defended Daniel. The janitor was a martial arts master and eventually agreed to train Daniel for a karate tournament against the very bullies who had been harassing him.

By now you may recognize this as a summary of the plot to the 1984 blockbuster film, Karate Kid. The remake of that film is in theaters now. If you saw the original, you know that a good deal of the movie is spent showing the master’s interaction with Daniel. Daniel sits at the master’s feet and learns the art of karate through a wide variety of techniques and activities. In the end, we know that the master’s training pays off as Daniel wins the tournament, defeating the biggest bully of them all in the final match.

Whose feet do you sit at? It’s all too obvious where I’m going with this. I am a pastor of this CHRISTian church. In this building you see paintings of him. There are other evidences of him here with the number of crosses you see around you. Every week you are invited to come here in order to hear from him. Today once again you are invited to Come and Sit at Jesus’ Feet. Think about what a privilege it is to hear from the Master. Know that it is something that you cannot do without.

How often do you sit at Jesus’ feet? No, I didn’t ask how often you are in church, although that is part of the question. How often do you sit at Jesus’ feet? How frequently do you hear what he has to say, either here or at home or elsewhere? Daily? Weekly? Every other week? If you are sitting at Jesus’ feet fewer times than once a day, then you need to examine what is keeping you from him.

In our text, we have the story of sisters, Mary and Martha, who dearly loved the Lord Jesus. They loved him to the extent that we are told Martha opened up their home to him. She was thrilled that the Lord came to their home.

Imagine that you have invited an important guest to your house. What kind of preparations would you make? The lawn needs to be cut. The flower beds need to be weeded. The carpets need to be vacuumed. The furniture needs to be dusted. Food needs to be purchased for the special menu you plan to serve. The dishes need to be washed, dried and put away.

Even when the guest arrives, the preparations don’t necessarily cease. Set the table. Cook the food. Make sure your guest is comfortable. Offer them something to drink.

With all these things to do, you can certainly understand Martha’s thinking after Jesus arrived and Mary sat herself down by their guest, Jesus. “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

Martha saw her sister Mary as the one who was distracted. She thought Mary had lost focus on what was truly important. After all, Martha was doing important work. She was making preparations to serve Jesus.

However, Jesus gave Martha a lesson in priorities. “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, ⁴² but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Only one thing is needed. Martha was distracted from that one thing. Yes, she had many important things to do. But she failed to do the most important. She wasn’t sitting at the feet of Jesus.

Most of us where multiple hats. We are husbands or wives. We are mothers or fathers, aunts or uncles, or grandparents. We are brothers or sisters, sons or daughters. We are neighbors and friends. We are homeowners. We are students. We are workers or volunteers.

We sometimes wear so many hats that we tend to wear ourselves down. The thing is, each of those vocations is important. Each requires our careful and faithful attention. We have many responsibilities in each area of our lives and we don’t want to neglect any of them.

And yet, we can tend to use our vocation as an excuse in order to neglect the one thing needful. “My schedule is packed, I don’t have time to open my Bible today.” “There are so many unexpected things that popped up today, it is hard to schedule a good time to sit at Jesus’ feet.” “We had visitors come to town, so we couldn’t make it to church.” “I work most Sundays, and I’m exhausted by the time Monday evening services roll around, so I don’t make it church very much.”

When we serve up these excuses, think about what we are missing. We are failing to sit at the feet of Jesus for the one thing needful: his words. Listen to Jesus’ words as he speaks to you about priorities. Keep in mind that first and foremost you are a child of God. As such, you are to sit at Jesus’ feet, leaving trouble and distracting care behind.

Why is it so important to listen to Jesus’ words? Are there TV or radio programs that you listen to faithfully each day, so that when you don’t tune in on a certain day, it seems like something is missing? Maybe you always catch the evening news. Perhaps you are weather channel addict. It could be that you never miss SportsCenter. You may like to watch any number of food, travel or home improvement shows. It may be that you listen to a certain talk show on the radio each day. Whatever it is, you listen because it is of interest to you for some reason. Perhaps it teaches you something.

If we can find time to daily tune in to one or more of those shows each day, is there really any reason we can’t sit at the feet of Jesus each day? After all, while those shows may give us important information, what could possibly be more important that what Jesus has to say! Remember the words the Apostle Peter spoke to Jesus: “You have the words of eternal life.”

The news at 10 keeps you informed on what’s happening in nationally and in the area. What not to wear keeps you in touch with the latest fashion trends. Man vs. Wild may be informative and come in handy when you’re in a tight spot. HGTV may give you some good practical advice on home decorating.

But remember to sit at Jesus’ feet even more regularly, because only he has the words of eternal life. While trends and styles and interests change, Jesus provides you with the stability that you need.

Even more than that, Jesus’ words are the one thing needful. It is through Jesus’ words alone that we receive life and salvation. When we come to Jesus covered with the filth of our sins, he reminds us that he has already interceded for us as he spoke from the cross “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.”

Jesus also reminds us that he has the authority to forgive sins himself. Remember the words he spoke to the paralytic: “Son, your sins are forgiven.” The fact that Jesus brought his own lifeless body back to life is evidence of this authority.

When we are worn out from the activities of the day; when we are feeling as if we have no more that we can give; when our consciences are burdened with things we have left undone, it is time to sit at the feet of Jesus who invites us: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

When we need the strength to carry on to fulfill the various roles we play, let’s sit at the feet of Jesus who provides as he tells us: “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” Realize that Jesus is talking beyond physical things. He makes sure that our souls are nourished and strengthened.

Jesus isn’t a temporary solution. He has provided the solution for eternity for you and me. Each day, take time to sit at his feet and listen to what you need to hear for this life and the next, and how Jesus has already provided it all for you. Amen.