Luke 10:38-42 | JOMO: Hang up to Hang out

Good morning, Church!

To begin this morning, I want to show you an extended clip from The Chosen! It's about 7 minutes long, which is longer than I’d normally use, but it’s powerful and well done, and I believe it will help us engage deeply with our topic today.

Also, I know many of you have significantly limited or restricted your TV usage for the Digital Fast—so for those of you going through withdrawals, you're welcome! Maybe this extended clip will help lessen the cravings.

The scene is from Luke 10:38-42 which we’ll read it in a bit, but first, let’s watch it unfold on the screen!

(Play video)

Did you catch that? "I’m inviting you to something better."

That’s the invitation Jesus extends to each of us today—to step out of the chaos, silence the noise, and simply be present with Him.

And as we look at the account in Luke’s gospel I want you to know that Luke isn’t just telling us about 2 sisters, he’s actually contrasting two ways of life in God.

One is "a way of life"—the distracted, busy, and anxious life of Martha doing for Jesus.

The other is "The Way to Life"—the focused, intimate, and devoted presence of Mary being with Jesus.

This morning, I want to show you how Jesus gently but clearly calls us away from distraction and into a life of devotion and rest in Him.

The invitation is to: Ditch distractions to focus on what matters most—Jesus.

Before we read the passage, let’s set the scene.

In Luke 10, this account about Martha and Mary, comes right after Jesus’ conversation with a lawyer who asks:

“What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

To answer, Jesus tells the Parable of the Good Samaritan—a radical story that redefines love. It challenges us to serve others, our neighbor, with action, sacrifice, and a willingness to cross social boundaries.

And if we’re not careful when engaging with Christ’s parable on the Good Samaritan we might respond with despair: "If salvation looks like loving enemies—if it looks like an American loving a Taliban member, or a Klansman loving a Black Panther, or a Democrat loving a Republican—then who can be saved?"

Which if you remember is exactly the question the lawyer asks Jesus: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” And in his question lies a key truth—the word inherit.

Jesus doesn’t correct this man’s assumption. Instead, He meets him where he is and sets a high bar for Christian doing! Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you!

But Luke and Jesus leave the question sort of hanging in the heir, what must we do to inherit eternal life? And I believe Luke and Jesus want us to see something deeper than just our Christian doing! Eternal life is indeed inherited and if it’s inherited well then it means that it can’t be earned!

To receive an inheritance, you must be an heir, and no amount of doing can ever make you one.

You see,

The Parable of the Good Samaritan shows us "a way of life"—a life of doing love and service.

BUT and this is a big But friends, it does not show us the way to life!

Which is why Luke immediately includes the account of these 2 sisters here in Luke 10:38-42.

Mary & Martha show us not a way of life, but rather "The Way to Life"—a life rooted in relationship with Jesus.

Jesus, through the writing of Luke, is teaching us something crucial:

Our service must flow from our devotion, not the other way around.

And even in our devotion, we can easily become distracted by lesser things.

Let’s read the passage together.

Luke 10:38–42 NLT

38 As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. 40 But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” 41 But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! 42 There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it (NIV says, Mary has chosen what is better), and it will not be taken away from her.”

I love how The Chosen portrayed this moment. Jesus even tells Martha, "I don't rebuke you," but He does offer a gentle, necessary correction—one that He wants all of us to hear.

Martha wasn’t doing anything wrong or sinful. She wasn’t wasting time. In fact, she was busy serving Jesus! But His response makes something clear: her busyness had become a distraction.

Look at verse 40: “Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing.”

The Greek word for distracted here means to be overburdened with things, to become anxious, to be pulled in many directions.

Sound familiar?

Isn’t that exactly how our digital world operates? Pulling us in a thousand directions? If you look up distraction in Webster’s dictionary, the first definition reads: "to be pulled in many directions." And the second entry? "Smartphones." (Okay, not really, but it might as well be!)

Martha is distracted—pulled in so many directions by all the details. And in verse 41, Jesus highlights the result: “You are worried and upset over many things.” Her mind is divided, racing with thoughts, leaving her overwhelmed and resentful.

Sound familiar?

This is our culture, Church! Do. Make. Schedule. Go. Read. Be informed. Educate yourself. Debate this issue. Keep up. Stay ahead.

We live in a world of constant distraction—always connected, always available, but never at rest.

And we justify it:

"It’s for work."

"It’s for my family."

"It’s for my church."

"It’s for Jesus!"

And when we feel overworked and exhausted, we justify our me time as well:

"I just need a break."

"I deserve a minute."

Before long, we start resenting those around us who get in the way of our escape.

Is it any wonder that we feel anxious, exhausted, and disconnected from God?

Jesus tells us what He told Martha: “You are anxious and troubled about many things, but only ONE thing is necessary.”

In The Chosen clip, did you notice Martha’s reluctance to stop and sit with Jesus? That image hit me hard this week. The God of the universe was literally in her home, and she almost couldn’t be bothered to spend time with Him.

We can all beat up on Martha, but if I’m honest that’s me. I think that’s probably a lot of us! The first thing to go when I get busy and overwhelmed with all the details of life is my time with Jesus! Ain’t no body got time for that! I got stuff to do!

And then like Martha, as I'm frantically doing, I feel my peace leave and I begin to get frustrated, overwhelmed and resentful.  If I do make time to come to Jesus, it's with demands.  Don't you see all I'm doing for you Lord!  Can't you be bothered to send some help my way!  

I kid you not, Church, I have literally prayed to the God of Heaven that he would stop the sun like He did for Joshua so I could finish all the tasks on my list!  Give me more time Lord!  I need more time to do, to push the limits of what I think needs doing!  

There’s that age old lie from the serpent! Push the boundaries God gave you! Push God’s limits He put in place for you’re good! Be like God. No all. Do all. Control all!

Friends, restlestless ones — We don't need more time, we don’t need to push God’s good limits, we need to reclaim our focus!

Does God require our doing and our sacrifices and service? No! Hear the words of

Micah 6:7–8 NLT

7 Should we offer him thousands of rams and ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Should we sacrifice our firstborn children to pay for our sins? 8 No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.

God desires that we walk humbly with Him and I know sometimes He feels hidden but in Isaiah 45:19 God says:

Isaiah 45:19 NLT

19 I publicly proclaim bold promises. I do not whisper obscurities in some dark corner. I would not have told the people of Israel to seek me if I could not be found. I, the Lord, speak only what is true and declare only what is right.

The truth is that God wants to be found Church. He’s not hiding. The problem isn’t His availability—it’s our distraction! Which is why the Psalmist prays in Psalm 119:37

Psalm 119:37 NLT

37 Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word.

Did you notice how difficult it was to follow Jesus’ story when the scene suddenly shifted to Martha, busy in the kitchen? It was frustrating and annoying trying to focus on His words with all that noise and activity in that kitchen, wasn’t it?

Friends, I can’t help but think that this moment is a powerful metaphor for our own lives.

Jesus is speaking—He is teaching—but we are too busy, too distracted by our technology, by the endless tasks, worries, and responsibilities that pull at us from every direction. We struggle to hear Him because we’re consumed with doing and distracted by our digital tech.

How often, on the daily do we fix our eyes on worthless distractions instead of eternal truths?

And yet, there is here, more than just a call to limit distractions—there is a call to reorient our hearts.

Just like the lawyer who asked Jesus how to inherit eternal life (Luke 10:25), we often think we can do our way into God’s favor. But Jesus redirects us to something deeper, showing that eternal life is not about doing, but being—being in relationship with Him, being transformed by His presence, being fully devoted to what matters most.

So, what if we intentionally turned down the world’s noise—not forever, but in sacred moments throughout our day—to turn up the volume on Jesus?

To do as the Psalmist writes in Psalm 46:10

to “be still and know that I am is God.” 

It’s a beautiful invitation, but I’ll admit, it’s quite different and radical from what we’ve grown accustomed to, isn’t it!?

I don’t know about you, but just a few days into our family’s digital fast, I’ve been struck by how much extra time we have—time to be still, to be quiet. And honestly? It’s uncomfortable. Without our phones constantly buzzing, without the endless scrolling, without the TV running in the background, the silence feels awkward. I’ve found myself asking, Now what? How do we fill this time?

And if I’m being real, it’s been surprisingly difficult. There’s a restlessness, a sense of unease.

I haven’t fully processed it yet, but I think that discomfort comes from what people call FOMO—the fear of missing out.

We all worry to some degree that if we’re not constantly connected, we’ll miss something — an inside joke, a meme, an update or event, a new diet, food choice, or exercise regimen that will increase my health and fitness—we’re afraid we’ll miss something important. We fear falling behind in the never-ending digital rat race.

But Jesus invites us into something deeper, something richer. Through Mary’s example, He introduces us not to FOMO but to it’s antidote: JOMO—the joy of missing out.

Mary shows us the way to life in her countercultural and radical choice — she chose presence with Jesus over productivity.

Mary, sat at Jesus’ fee in the a posture of a disciple. That was radical as women during her day weren’t consider as people who could be a rabbis’ disciple. But Jesus was different and Mary chose to sit at His feet as one of His disciples!

She chose to suspend the urgent tasks as hand and rather tune in to the words of Jesus!

She choose to drown out the distractions and pressures of life to be present with Jesus. Mary embraced JOMO—the Joy of Missing Out— and notice what she missed out on Church: busyness, distraction, stress, and the pressure to perform!

We live in an age where busyness, disguised as productivity, keeps us from the most important thing—union with Jesus.

That’s why we’ve chosen to step into this digital detox and fast. That’s why we’re pressing pause.

But hear me on this—technology isn’t the problem. Some of you may have found it ironic that we've still got our QR codes in our bulletin and that I will heartily recommend the Pause App to you for your use during this fast or the You Version App for anyone who struggles with reading so they can listen to God's word be read to you!  

I’m still happily and confidently promoting and using this digital tech, because tech isn't the problem, it's our unintentional and unchecked use of it. Which if we aren’t careful can distract us from our connection with Jesus and that is really what stands at the heart of our fast and our problem with technology. When it distracts us from Jesus, it becomes a problem!

Listen, if you chose to hang up with us on digital tech for 40 days during Lent, awesome!  It will be helpful and beneficial to you, but if you don't use this time for more than just hanging up, if you don't use this time also to hang out with God and reconnect with Him and His people on a deeper level, you're sorta of missing the whole point!  

Jesus says in Revelation 3:20 (NLT):

Revelation 3:20 NLT

20 “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.

“Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.”

Notices, Jesus isn’t going to barge in. He’s knocking. Will we open the door?

God says in Isaiah 45:19 (NLT):

Isaiah 45:19 NLT

19 I publicly proclaim bold promises. I do not whisper obscurities in some dark corner. I would not have told the people of Israel to seek me if I could not be found. I, the Lord, speak only what is true and declare only what is right.

God wants to be found Church. He’s not hiding. The problem isn’t His availability—it’s our distraction!

God promises in Isaiah 30:20-21 (NLT):

Isaiah 30:20–21 NLT

...You will see your teacher with your own eyes. 21 Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left.

Even in the midst of our daily responsibilities, God is speaking.

Just as he was speaking right in the midst of Martha's present, but she was too distracted to notice. 

God is speaking!  The question is are we listening?

Church I could give you so many resources and practical tips, tricks and advice, but I don't want to overly complicate this.  

I get it, the Bible is a big book and parts of it are hard to understand.  But there are tools and yes apps like the Pause App, like Logos, Like Youversion, like a good solid study Bible readily available at your finger tips.  

As you turn down the volume of digital distraction, I beg you, turn up the volume on Jesus by being like Mary, sit at His feet, open your Bibles, and listen in His words!  

Replace scrolling with Scripture! 

If you can't read or don't like to read then listen to it.  If you struggle to understand ask the Holy Spirit for help, and write down your questions and come talk to any number of saints here that would absolutely love to walk through the Bible with you!  

Seek the Lord and He will be found by you!  Jesus himself promises it in Matthew 7:7-8 (NLT):

Matthew 7:7–8 NLT

7 “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

Jesus told Martha: "One thing is necessary." He’s saying the same to us.

The way of Jesus is not about doing more—it’s about being with Him more.

Mary chose to be so immersed in Jesus that everything else paled in comparison. It wasn’t that she ignored responsibilities or feared missing out—it was that being with Jesus satisfied her more than anything else.

Her choice challenges us: Are we distracted and consumed by lesser things, or do we regularly drown out the noise to be drawn into Jesus’ presence?

True balance isn’t neglecting life’s duties, but doing them with a heart anchored in Jesus

Martha served for Jesus; Mary was present with Him.

We need both, but if we’ll start with His presence, as we spend time with Him in prayer, and invite him to join us through out the day in conversation He will help us. He’ll help us discern what truly matters in light of eternity. He’ll quiet our hearts and restore our peace. And He’ll begin to shape how He'd like for us to engagement with our world.

Again, true balance isn’t about tuning out the world—it’s about tuning into Jesus first, so we can engage with life in a way that truly matters.

We don’t want to be so heavenly minded that we’re of no earthly good. Rather, we want to be so Jesus-focused that we bring the greatest eternal good to this earth, here as it is in Heaven!

Ditch the distractions. Focus on what matters most. Jesus is knocking—will you answer?

Let’s hang up to hang out.

And to do this, I’d like to spend some time communion with Jesus by practicing communion.

As it says in our bulletin: “Communion is not for those who have it all together but for those who know their deep need for Jesus. If you trust in Christ alone for salvation, you are welcome at this table. We invite you to come, not to prove yourself, but to be still, to rest, and to receive from Him.

As I invite the servers to come forward and you can go ahead and begin passing out the bread first. I’ll ask that we all wait and hold the bread until everyone has had a chance to receive.

As you wait, I invite you to take a look at the bulletin insert and begin preparing your hearts.

As we come to the Lord’s Table, let us pause and reflect:

Have I been distracted by things that pull me away from Jesus?

Am I willing to lay down my anxieties and busyness to simply be with Him?

Have I been trying to prove my worth, or am I resting in Christ’s finished work?

Am I at peace with my brothers and sisters in Christ, seeking reconciliation where needed?

I invite you to listen for the still small voice and pray the prayer of the Psalmist from Psalm 139:23-24

Psalm 139:23–24 NLT

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

And now we will take of the bread of Christ together, remembering that man does not live by bread alone but the body of Christ broken for us and the word of God which testifies to it!

—

And now the servers can begin distributing the juice. As the juice is going out. Again, I’ll invite you to be still and no that I Am is God. If you’d like to pray. There are several prayers included in the insert for you contemplation.

And now we we take of the juice, remembering Christ blood shed for us which speaks a better word about us to the Father making us sons and daughters in His Kingdom as heirs with Christ by faith!

Join me in a prayer of Thanks giving:

Gracious God, thank You for calling us to step away from the distractions of the world and into the fullness of Your presence. As we leave this table, may we carry with us a renewed focus on You. Teach us to live not in the frenzy of the world but in the peace of abiding in You. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Sending

Having been nourished at the Lord's Table, go forth to love and serve the Lord:

Remember God's grace and forgiveness extended to you

Extend that same grace to others

Live in the power of the Holy Spirit

Look forward to Christ's return and the feast to come!