As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 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!”
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42 NIV)
“Don’t just sit there, do something!” How many times have people said that to you? “Don’t just sit there, do something!” Or, maybe better, how many times have you said that to other people? “Don’t just sit there, do something!” We have this idea ingrained in us from a young age that we need to be doing something. And other people better be doing something too! If there’s anything we’re really good at, it’s being busy, right? It’s hard to sit through a 20-minute sermon… We’ve got this down: “Don’t just sit there, do something!”
Could we be wrong? Could that statement, “Don’t just sit there, do something!”, actually be hurting our faith? I want you to think about your life. Is it busy? Frantic even? Doing. Doing more. Working here. Working there. Working out. Working on… You feel guilty to sit down. You feel guilty to stop. You can’t. It’s almost addictive. It’s hard to sit still for ten seconds without at least checking your phone. So why don’t we feel filled? Our lives are so full, so why do we often feel so empty? Why are we so anxious, angry, discouraged? Could it be that the problem isn’t us sitting around? Could it be that the problem is us trying to do too much?
Have you met Martha? I think you would have really liked her! “As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.” She sounds like a nice, southern lady, doesn’t she? Martha opened her house up to Jesus. Note this detail: Jesus was happy to spend time with women. No other important rabbi in Jesus’ day would have spent time talking with women. But Jesus did. And Martha was so happy to have him at her house. She pulled out all stops. I bet meat was smoking. Home-made guacamole. All while she mowed the lawn and set up the bocce ball. Jesus was there! She had so much to do.
But then there was Mary. You’d think that Martha’s sister would help her, wouldn’t you? At least, set the table or something. But did you hear what Mary did? Mary “sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he said.” Mary was just sitting around, listening to Jesus. When you’re working your tail off, there is nothing worse than seeing people just sitting around. Doesn’t that make you mad? I wonder how many times Martha passed by the room where Mary was sitting and glared at her. She was getting madder and madder. Shaking her head. Trying to keep her cool. What was Mary thinking? I know what Martha was thinking: “Don’t just sit there, do something!”
Finally, Martha couldn’t take it anymore. Her frustration bubbled over like a pot on the stove. She went to Jesus and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Jesus, don’t let her just sit there. Tell her to do something!” We’d expect Jesus to give Mary a nudge—“Go on, help your sister.” But he didn’t. Instead, he said, “‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
This sounds so upside-down. Martha was working. Mary was sitting. Martha was juggling all sorts of tasks at once. Mary was just listening to Jesus. Who was wrong? Martha. And Jesus wasn’t afraid to tell her. We need to hear his words again: “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” When Jesus came to Martha and Mary’s house, who was really doing the serving? Jesus was. Jesus had come to serve them. To give them comfort and peace and forgiveness through his Word. He didn’t come to be served, but to serve.
But Martha “was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.” Distracted. Martha was pulled in a hundred directions, instead of sitting at Jesus’ feet. Here’s the irony: Everything Martha was doing was good. It’s good to serve Jesus! But those good things were actually pulling her away from Jesus. The devil is so sneaky. He distracts us to do and do more and more, because he knows that by doing, we can’t. We can’t save ourselves. We can’t find peace. It’s often the good things in life that most pull us away from Jesus. Can you see how that happens?
Here’s a sign of when that’s happening: My focus becomes me. Listen again to what Martha said to Jesus. Count how many times she says “my” or “me.” Ready? “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” How many “mys” or “mes”? Four. Four in one sentence! It might have looked like Martha was serving Jesus, but whom was she really serving? Martha. Herself. She wanted to have the perfect house with the perfect food and be the perfect host… So she threw a pity party for herself: “Lord, don’t you care…?”
And Jesus said, “Martha, Martha, you are distracted and pulled by many things that are making you worried and upset. You see Mary sitting here, and you want her to get up and do something. But, Martha, Mary isn’t doing the wrong thing. You are! Dear Martha, please sit down! Sit down too and let your heart find rest in the one thing needed: My grace. My forgiveness. My Word. The time will come to get up and serve. But first, be served. First, be filled. Don’t just do something, sit there.” Can you imagine Jesus saying that? “Don’t just do something, sit there!”
I need to hear that. You need to hear that. People talk about preaching to the choir. This lesson was made for the choir. We want to be busy for Jesus, don’t we? We want to do and do and do. It’s so refreshing to see you want to serve and serve and serve. You clean the church. You serve in the choir. You come to meetings. You care for family members. You care for friends. You cook and you work and you cut the grass. Those are all good things! But do you sit at Jesus’ feet? Do you spend time each day with the one thing needed? I’d like to say I do. But know what happens? I sit down to read the Bible, but then I check my email quick or my phone, and it doesn’t happen. It shows. Distracted. Worried. Upset. The symptoms of not sitting at Jesus’ feet.
Can you imagine Jesus’ words to you and me? “My dear brother, my dear sister, you are often worried and upset about many things. I’m delighted that you want to serve me, but you will lose the strength to serve with joy if you neglect the one thing needed. It’s my service to you in the Gospel that allows you to serve me. That’s why I long for you to sit quietly at my feet. When you hear and read my Word, you will find my strength to carry out the work I’ve given you. In my Word, you will find forgiveness for all of your sins. In my Word, you will understand that my grace that doesn’t depend on anything you do. In my Word, you will hear how I lived for you, how I died for you, how I rose for you. I did it all for you. Don’t just do something, sit there!”
“Few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Jesus was not going to let Martha stop Mary from listening to Jesus’ words. In fact, no one was ever going to take God’s Word away from Mary. That’s God’s promise: “My Word will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11). We’re getting anxious about people taking things away from Christians. Like taking away freedoms. There is one thing that no one can ever take away from you: God’s Word. Not when it’s on your heart and mind. “It will not be taken away.”
There’s a reason Jesus wanted Mary and Martha to sit at his feet. He knew what was about to happen. Do you know what happened next? Their dear brother Lazarus suddenly got sick and died. How could they be ready for that? Only with strength from Jesus’ Word. When Jesus got to Lazarus’ tomb, Martha—this same Martha—gave some of the greatest confessions of faith in the Bible. She said, “I know my brother will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” And Martha said, “Yes, Lord. I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world” (John 11:24-27). Wow! Where did she get that faith in the face of death? Sitting at Jesus’ feet.
Jesus does the same for you. He wants to use his Word to prepare you for what’s coming next. Maybe you or someone you love will suddenly get sick. Then what? “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you” (Isaiah 43:2). God’s Word will give you strength. Maybe depression is going to cloud your days. Then what? “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10). Maybe death is going to come sooner than you expected. Then what? “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil” (Psalm 23:4). You’re going to get older, and that’s going to be hard. People you love are going to disappoint and hurt you. People you love are going to die. How are you going to make it through what comes next? There is one thing needed!
So here’s Jesus’ invitation: Don’t just do something, sit there. Sit here every Sunday, not just when you don’t have anything else to do. Come and sit at Bible class. More time in God’s Word is always good. Sit down at your house and read your Bible. You will be blessed. Sit and pray with your family before you eat. Sit on your children’s beds and read them Bible stories about their Savior Jesus. Don’t just do something, sit there. Because there’s one thing needed. Be with Jesus before you do things for Jesus. Be served by Jesus before you go out to serve Jesus.
A random man called our church this week. He dropped off some Lutheran books he had read and didn’t need any more. I asked him what he had learned about the Lutheran Church. He said he was amazed at Martin Luther’s love for God’s Word, especially for his personal devotional life. But then he added: “I don’t see that in Christianity anymore. People carry Bibles, but they don’t read them. People think faith is an hour a week on a Sunday. People are way too busy to have time for God and his Word.” I told him: “I’m going to preach about that on Sunday!”
Martin Luther once said, “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” The heart of Christianity is you and me sitting at Jesus’ feet and hearing Jesus’ words. There is way too much going on today for you to handle on your own. There are way too many burdens on your heart today—sins, guilt, regret, fear, anxiety, depression—for you to carry on your own. But you don’t have to! You have a God and Savior ready to carry you today with his forgiveness and grace. Whenever you find yourself distracted and worried and upset about many things, remember one thing is needed. Jesus and his Word. So don’t just do something, sit there.
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