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Text: Luke 10:38-42
Theme: It is good to spend time with God.
Doctrine: Discipleship
Image: Busy Martha and Serene Mary
Need: Worship
Message: Take time to worship.
*Take time to be a Disciple*
Luke 10:38-42
*Jesus welcomed in Bethany*
As Jesus and his disciples were travelling along, they entered a village, says Luke.
We know this village is Bethany because here Jesus stays with Martha, and Mary.
Surely this is the same Martha and Mary who were the sisters of Lazarus, who John tells us was from Bethany.
Bethany is a little village about 2 miles east of Jerusalem, on the road to Jericho.
This little village is actually rather prominent in the ministry of Jesus.
Bethany is mentioned twelve times in the gospels.
Jesus and his disciples stayed here when they attended the temple observances during the passover.
Jesus was in Bethany, eating at the home of Simon the leper, when his head was anointed with costly perfume by an unknown woman.
Here Jesus raised Lazarus from the tomb.
From here Jesus obtained the young colt he rode on his triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
It was also from here that Jesus departed from his disciples after his resurrection and ascended into heaven.
As they were travelling, Jesus entered Bethany.
You can picture the crowd of people walking with Jesus, down the dusty trail just as it is getting dusk.
The sun sets behind them and their shadows stretch ahead of them past the village gates.
They are tired and hungry.
All they really want is some food and a bed.
Jesus turns aside off the road, and enters the village.
A woman named Martha welcomes him into her house.
It appears as though Jesus enters Bethany with the express purpose of being entertained by Martha.
Quite often Jesus sends some of his disciples ahead of him to make preparations for him when he comes to a village.
It is possible that when Jesus sent out seventy two of his followers, some of them made a stop at Bethany.
They may have met Martha and taken an invitation back to Jesus, asking him to accept her hospitality whenever he was in the area.
Martha is waiting for Jesus in the square.
Her face lights up when she sees him and she rushes over to him.
“Master,” she says, “Thank you for coming here.
Please follow me to our house.”
Jesus replies, “Thank you Martha, I would be honoured to stay at your home.”
We do not know if Jesus's disciples went with him to stay with Martha, Luke states only that Jesus went and stayed with her.
Martha turns quickly from the square and leads Jesus into the heart of the village.
After taking a few quick turns they arrive at her home.
As Jesus crossed the threshold, he was welcomed warmly by Mary and Lazarus.
Knowing he must be exhausted from his travels, Mary and Martha quickly get to work making preparations for the evening meal.
As Mary walks past Jesus she hears something in his teaching that captivates her attention.
She pauses, tray in hand, listening to Jesus speaking.
Mary is enraptured by his wisdom and authority.
Quite forgetting the job she had been sent to do, she sits down on the floor, discards the tray beside her, and gives her full attention to Jesus.
He begins to teach her, as he would any disciple.
Mary sat at his feet, and listened to his teaching, his word.
*Martha's serving becomes a distraction, pulling her apart.*
Martha, however, begins to get anxious about the state of the dinner.
The food is almost done, the table has not been set, and Jesus has not been offered anything to drink.
The lamb is starting to burn over the fire, the rice is boiling over, and the cheese was mouldy.
Frantically running around the kitchen she says to herself, “Where the heck is Mary?
I sent her to get the other cheese five minutes ago.
I want this to be a great meal for Jesus.
Where is she?” Loading herself up with the dishes, she goes out to the dining room.
As she lays out the table, she spots Mary.
The plate is frozen in mid air as she stares open mouthed in disbelief.
“What is she doing?” thinks Martha.
“We have so much to do, and she goes over to listen to Jesus?
How does she expect to get any work done?”
Extremely frustrated, she noisily sets the table, hoping to get Mary's attention and remind her of her duties.
This does not work and she rushes back into the kitchen, hoping that Mary will soon come to her senses and return to help her.
Minute after minute goes by, and Martha becomes more and more upset.
“How could she do this?
How could she abandon me to do all the work?
How can Jesus allow her to sit there and listen to him like one of his disciples, while I am left to do all the work?”
Martha was distracted by many things, and she was running herself ragged trying to serve Jesus.
*Our serving can become a distraction pulling us apart.*
I have to admit, I can really identify with Martha in this situation.
My wife and I love to entertain when we get a chance.
I also love to do the cooking and prepare a meal for the people we are having over.
At the seminary I meet with a group of guys every Monday for prayer and devotions.
We also meet once a quarter at someone's house to discuss some project we had been assigned.
I offered our house, and I decided to cook a full spread for the people coming over.
I cooked BBQ ribs, broiled salmon with rosemary and lemon, garlic mashed potatoes, and buttered beans.
The group was coming over at about 6 o'clock, and it was now 5. The food was not progressing quite as fast as I would have liked.
The ribs were OK.
I did not have the potatoes peeled, yet, nor did I know what I was doing with the salmon.
It was a new recipe, not that I have cooked fish that often.
I peeled the potatoes and set them aside in a pot.
I began to clean the fish, scrapping the scales into the sink.
I was scrapping with a sharp knife, and the scales were going everywhere! Every swipe of the knife sent scales flying all over the kitchen.
Some landed in the pot with the potatoes, some in the beans, some on the plates laid out to place on the table, some in the glasses lined up neatly on the counter.
Well, needless to say, I began to get a bit frustrated.
The table had not been set, the food was not going well, and Sherilyn was on the phone with her parents in the other room.
I was huffing and puffing loudly, banging dishes together, and generally making a racket trying to get her attention.
Finally, I could not put up with it any longer.
I stormed into the living room and said quietly, but quite firmly through clenched teeth, “Do you think you might be able to help me a bit?”
She got the not so subtle hint, and came to help me.
Often we are distracted by the many things we have to do, and run ourselves ragged trying to serve others.
This is a simple illustration of how our service can overwhelm us and cause us to miss the good things of life.
Now, in the history of the church some have used this passage to indicate that the contemplative life is the better life.
That the life of the monk is better than the life of the farmer, or butcher, or baker, or accountant, or business owner.
This is not what is being taught here, however.
Look at the passage just before this one.
It is the parable of the good Samaritan.
This parable is prompted by the questioning of an expert in the law.
He asks what he must do to inherit eternal life.
Jesus asks him, “What does the law say?
How do you read it?”
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