One thing is necessary

Hymns

Entrance hymn: Guðs kirkja er byggð á bjargi (The Church’s one foundation LSB644)

Before the readings:

Fús ég Jesús fylgi þér. (Icelandic hymn)

Í bljúgri bæn. (Icelandic hymn)

Before the sermon: Lofið vorn Drottin (Praise to the lord, the almighty LSB790)

Offertory: Jesús er Bjargið (Icelandic hymn, based on Matt 7:24-25)

Closing hymn: Nú gjaldi Guði þökk (Now thank we all our God LSB895)

Collect prayer

The Book of Worship Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity

O LORD, we beseech Thee; Let Thy continual pity cleanse and defend Thy Church; and because it cannot continue in safety without Thy succor, preserve it evermore by Thy help and goodness; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

Readings

A reading from the book of Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 4:29–31 ESV

But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in tribulation, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, you will return to the Lord your God and obey his voice. For the Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them.

L: This is the Holy Word.

C: Thanks be to God.

A reading from Paul’s letter to the Philippians

Philippians 4:11–13 ESV

Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

L: This is the Holy Word

C: Praise to you o Lord, for you have the Words of eternal life! To whome else shall we go?

Children’s message

When I was a kid, I went to school here in Reykjavík. Almost on the first day of school, there was a boy who decided that he would make sure I was being bullied reularly. It started in first grade, but continued to second, third… and into seventh grade.

But then something unexpected happened. In the eight grade he suddenly declared, along with two, three others, that from now on he would protect me. If someone did anything to me, they would punish them. I don't know if he decided this himself, or if it was one of his friends. Anyway, that made things change. It wasn't like I suddenly had tons of friends, but I didn't have to put up with the bullying anymore.

Now God is not like this guy, but God tells us to fear him. This is because there is no being in the whole world to be feared more than him: And he promises to be on our side.‌

That means we don't have to fear anything else in this world. Of course, it's not that easy, and sometimes we get hurt anyway. But in the end, God saves us from all dangers: He saves even those who die.

The Gospel

P: The gospel is written by the evangelist Luke

S: God be praised for his joyful message

Luke 10:38–42 ESV

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

P: This is the holy Gospel.

C: Praise be to you o Christ.

‌Sermon‌

Today's Scripture readings were all very short, but they all had the same message, which could perhaps be boiled down to the following seven words:

IT IS NECESSARY TO SEEK THE LORD

But of course you lose something when you simplify the message too much. The scriptures teach this message in different situations.‌

The first reading is from the farewell speech of the prophet Moses to the nation of Israel shortly before his death. He predicts that the nation will in the future reject their God and turn away from Him. God will then allow foreign nations to overcome Israel, lead the nation away and scatter it among other peoples. But there, in exile, God's people will seek him again.

The second scripture reading comes from a letter written many centuries later by the Christian missionary Paul the Apostle, while he is in prison. He assures his readers that he has the only thing necessary, that is, a right relation to Christ. Consequently he has eternal hope, and does not fear what will be done to him.

The Gospel, the story of Martha and Mary, puts Christ's message in a more everyday context. There are many things that are important, for example showing hospitality to visitors. But still, there is only one thing that is necessary, and that is the Lord Himself, Jesus Christ.‌

I: No one else can approach him

Why does the Lord care so much that we seek Him? Can't he make us a good life without our seeking him?‌

The answer to this is really very simple, namely that there is no one else who can approach him.

The Bible teaches us that God is the creator of all things, visible and invisible. We even confess this at every Divine Service, in the creed after the sermon. Not only has He created all good things, but He also maintains them. Without God there would be neither rain nor shine. Without him, nothing would grow on earth, not even us. He gives us life and spirit.

The first commandment teaches us that we should have no other God but Him. Above all, we should fear, love and trust God.

In our society there are many things that we can fear. Many people listen to news, lectures and videos about climate change, and fear this. Suddenly everything is about what we can do to avoid it. Others see corruption in politicians and other authorities fearing what they will do against our society, and may even see conspiracies everywhere. Those who have experienced violence, seen it or thought about it a lot, may fear experiencing it themselves. Some people fear sickness, and make everything about maintaining their health. Those who hold opinions that deviate from those of the masses may fear being cancelled from society. Many things can be feared, but the Bible teaches us to fear God more, because he alone is almighty. This is how Jesus speaks about this issue:

Matthew 10:28 ESV

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

But this same God also teaches us not to fear, just like I talked about earlier. For he whom we should fear above all else, he is a good God. He wants us well. And if he is on our side, we need fear nothing of all the rest.

II: The Lord allows suffering to happen‌

It may seem contradictory, but one of the things the Old Testament clearly shows us is that when things are going well, people forget God. We may become lazy, or think that we have only ourselves to thank for all our success. Or maybe we think there is something else that is the real source of success.

Perhaps that is exactly why God regularly allows all kinds of misfortune to befall us: In order that we seek him.

When the nation of Israel rejected their God, he allowed other nations to conquer the land, and lead the nation into exile. There they would finally seek God, as we read in the first scripture reading.

But what about the apostle Paul? He had not rejected God. On the contrary! And yet, Paul also had to endure beatings, rejection, imprisonment and even the threat of execution. Not only so, but that's exactly what happened in the end. He had to bear witness with his life. The same story can be said about almost all the apostles: They were put to death for claiming that Christ had risen from the dead.

Of course, it cannot be overlooked that the conviction needed to feel such death could not have come from anything other than having actually experienced and seen what they testified to. Thus, the persecutions against Christ's apostles served to confirm the apostles' credibility.‌

III: The hope is for the ‌resurrection

But there is one more thing. The fact that the apostles were ready to suffer such a death was not only due to the conviction that their testimony was true, but also because their hope was inextricably linked to the resurrection of Christ. They had not only seen Jesus Christ, but they had seen the Jesus Christ who had been tortured to death on a cross, and who had risen again from the dead on the third day.

No one can do that, but Jesus did it anyway.

And he promises a resurrection like his to anyone whow is bound to him. The apostle who wrote: "I can do all things through him who strengthens me," was confident that Christ will raise him from the dead on the last day - to eternal life. He does not even have to fear death.‌

Final words‌

Finally, let us return to the Gospel and the story of Martha and Mary. The conditions are everyday-like, and the work that had to be done, was no less so. Of course, there is nothing wrong with taking care of the guests and providing them with service, as Marta did. On the contrary: Hospitality is a virtue that the scriptures call us to.‌

Similarly, no one needs to feel guilty about fearing illness, pain, loneliness, and so on. It is natural for us to fear these things, but we must not let them control us. For one thing is necessary, as Christ says. When the Bible teaches us to seek the Lord; that above all we should fear God and love and trust him, it is because he is a Good God, who wants us well, who is on our side, and who raises us up to eternal life on the last day.

Glory be to God, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, it is and will be for ever and ever. Amen.‌

Let's confess our faith together.