The One Thing Needful

The One Thing Needful

Scripture Lessons

Genesis 18:1-14

Psalm 27:1-14

Colossians 1:21-29

Luke 10:38-42

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Our gospel lesson features two kinds of hospitality. Martha showed hospitality by receiving Jesus into her home and preparing a meal for Him. This is the type of hospitality that one would expect. She was gracious and hospitable toward Jesus.

Mary, on the other hand, practiced a different hospitality. She did not serve Jesus but sat at His feet and was served by Him as He taught her. Mary’s hospitality was her attentiveness to Jesus and His teaching. She listened to Him.

Martha labored to serve Jesus. Mary simply and passively received from Jesus. And Jesus made it clear that Mary had chosen the better thing. To receive the teaching of Jesus is superior to everything else.

Faith is received passively through the working of God the Holy Spirit who works through means, Word + Sacrament. Your activity is sitting, as Mary did, and listening to God’s Word. Faith is borne of the promise of God. You cannot earn faith or salvation. It is received as a free gift of God by His grace. Most of you know all of this. You confess rightly that you are not saved by your works, but by Christ’s work done on your behalf. For this reason, I would hope that each of you would identify yourself with Mary. In so doing, you would never lift up your efforts for the consideration of others but would always lift up Christ’s work on your behalf. And then you would quietly, and attentively, listen to the teaching of Christ.

In fact, all Lutherans should be solid on this front. We’re blessed with the heritage of the Lutheran reformation. We know the story of Martin Luther, despondent, depressed, anxious for many things, fearing condemnation since he rightly discerned that he was a sinner. He was saved by grace, just as you and I are saved by grace. We know this and therefore we should identify with Mary quite readily.

But…I fear that we do not. I suspect that you have been anxious over many things. I suspect that you have struggled to keep up appearances. I believe that you can identify with Martha, working tirelessly in your vocations. Ironically, our society is chronically overworked. It was believed at one point that the speed and efficiency of technology would reduce the hours in the work week. That sure hasn’t happened. Time away from work is compromised when you have mobile phones and email. We live in a world of myriad distractions.

In the realm of the church, the outworking of this paradigm is seen in an ever-expanding array of programs. VBS, youth gatherings, comfort dog ministry, food closet, etc. Don’t get me wrong, these things are not bad in and of themselves. However, the one thing that is needful is to sit at Jesus’ feet and receive His gifts, gifts which come to you in Word + Sacrament. Does the comfort dog ministry meet that need? I’m glad to know that a stranger out there will be comforted in their moment of need by a dog, but I am more concerned that the nearest neighbor becomes neglected in their moment of need when we are so focused on doing, doing, doing. We measure success in our churches by the number of programs we do. We measure success of programs by the number of participants. That mentality is for Busch Gardens. They count the number of patrons for the different rides and attractions. That’s fine for business, but the kingdom of God does not operate this way. The one thing that is most needful is to passively receive Christ’s teaching. That means that all of our activities should bear this focus in mind. It doesn’t mean that all we ever do is formal Bible study. That’s not the point. The point is that everything we do should serve the overall priority of receiving Christ’s gifts.

When we gather for coffee after the service, it is a wonderful opportunity to grow closer together as a church family. The end goal of this is that we know each other better and are prepared to minister Christ’s love to one another. When you know each other, you are better prepared to speak the word of God to each other, in season and out of season. This isn’t a denial of Christ’s teaching, it’s a practical outworking of His teaching.

The food and clothing closet, such as we have supported for years is also not a denial of Christ’s teaching, but we need to be careful. To be a fulfillment of His teaching, it needs to serve those in need with both the material items they seek and the Gospel that they desperately need. This is why we have made a practice of examining the groups that we support. The groups that are helping in the name of…well, in the name of nothing and nobody in particular, are not groups that we support. James said, (James 2:15-16) “If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?” Similarly, if someone is lacking in eternal salvation and you say, here’s some food and a blanket, here’s some money for rent, here’s the shirt off my back, but you don’t give them the Gospel, what good is that?

We are living in a time of unprecedented distractions. Screens are all over the place and social media, for those of you who are gluttons for punishment, constantly tells you that nothing is good enough. It is constantly feeding your FOMO (fear of missing out). This is exhausting! You need rest. You need less anxiety, less worry, less fear. Jesus has come and has taken away all your sins. Through Jesus, you are at peace with God the Father. Regardless of the mayhem that ensues around you in this present life, you have eternal life. That life will be free from pain and sorrow. In your daily life, you need to hear more of this good news and the promises of God and less of the anxiety producing news and social media.

Do less listening to the world around you. Do more listening to Jesus. He speaks to you through His Word. Listen to Him. Christians in past generations have tended to be more Biblically literate than we are today. Why? There was no Sunday school, no podcasts, no Bible movies. It’s because they read their Bible, daily. Read the daily lectionary lessons. They’re in the front of your hymnal. Or pick up the Treasury of Daily prayer and you’ll find those lessons already grouped together. Or read a book of the Bible.

Do more praying. Martin Luther was quoted thus, “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” You are too busy in your life, to neglect prayer. You need that time with God to express yourself to Him and to know that He hears you.

The early church is described in Acts 2:42. “And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” I have never heard someone tell me that they wish they had spent less time reading the Scriptures. Never heard someone tell me that they wish they had spent less time praying. The world we inhabit in the 21^st century is frantic, confused, and moving a mile a minute in multiple directions simultaneously. The one thing needful is to sit at the feet of Christ and hear Him. He hears you in your prayers. He desires that you hear Him in His promises, forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.