Luke 10:38-42 "A Change of Pace"

“A Change of Pace”

Luke 10:38–42 NRSV

38 Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. 40 But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; 42 there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”

—> About 10 years ago I was having a conversation with my best friend in ministry...

—> Bottle Church Camp

—> We wanted to recreate the camp experience on a Sunday Morning or a Wednesday Night

—> And we tried, we would play really great worship sets and we would preach passionate sermons but it just wasn’t the same

—> There was something about breaking the daily routine, getting away, stepping out, and stopping what would be normal to spend time with Jesus, that we couldn’t recreate on a Sunday morning or a Wednesday night

—> Jesus is traveling on from where he had been teaching and reaches the village of Bethany which John tells us but not Luke

—> He enters the home of Martha and her sister Mary is there.

—> We don’t know the details only what we are given, We know that Martha is trying to be the hostess with the mostest and Mary is sitting at the feet of Jesus.

—> Many times people will see this story in juxtaposition with the story we heard last week.

—> Last week it was about acting and doing

—> Now we see this week Mary is praised for her sitting and listening while Martha is condemned for her doing.

—> kind of a head scratcher right?

—> I can’t do and sit Jesus, right?

—> What if its not one or the other but a both and situation.

—> see there are times we need to act

—> we need to respond

—> we need to do

—> we need to be the Good Samaritan

—> we need to be Martha

—> There are also times we desperately need to be Mary, and we need to sit at the feet of Jesus

—> Its sitting at the feet of Jesus that fills us to do

—> When we are so consumed with doing, even though we may be doing good things, we can still be losing our connection to the one who calls us to do.

—> So how do you sit at the feet of Jesus

—> how do you intentionally set time aside to not do and just be

—> I’m talking the kind of sitting at the feet of Jesus where you aren’t trying to check a box

—> Church we are in a season that is a Martha

Luke 10:41 NRSV

41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things;

Luke 10:41 ESV

41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things,

—> There is anxiety, worry, distraction, and trouble both inside and outside the church

—> There is war, violence, recession, inflation, illness, loss, and uncertainty.

—> But what does Jesus say

Luke 10:42 NRSV

42 there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”

—> Jesus doesn’t condemn Martha but instead in this moment lifts up Mary to say, right now let her focus on me, hear me and not the chaos and anxiety of the situation.

—> How do we do that?

—> First, we have to stop!

—> take a breath

—> Second, find a place that removes you from the anxiety of your situation.

—> When Beth and I were in the NICU with Larkin, we intentionally got away from the hospital at points during the day.

—> We had to remove ourselves from that situation, not permanently but temporarily so we could refresh and reset.

—> When have you taken time away to reconnect with Jesus and refresh yourself in Christ?

—> Third, sit at the feet of Jesus.

—> Don’t know how ask...

—> Debbie Tipps

—> Mix it up

—> read something different

—> do something different

—> be intentional

—> Me and my buddy eventually gave up on trying to “recreate” the camp experience because we realized it just couldn’t be done and didn’t need to be done.

—>