Keep Listening

Luke 10:38-42

Mary chose the better part! But I don’t think she had it perfected. She didn’t have it all together but it we better because she recognized the need to be in right relationship with Jesus.  Martha wasn’t completely wrong. She was serving, but she neglected the relationship with Jesus so Jesus says, “Martha, Martha.”

Here at St. Paul we want to live out the call of God in our lives.  Here in this congregation of Jesus’ disciples we want to bring about the transformation in this world. We don’t come to church for religion, we come for relationship.  We want to relate to our God.  We want to relate to our friends.  We are not satisfied with routine and tradition, we want a blessing of the Holy Spirit we want to be a part of what God is doing in this world. 

Want to find Jesus? He is among us.  Seeking Jesus is our continual effort. Jesus is found in our life together. Jesus is in the love for our brothers and sisters.  We show Jesus we love him by being obedient to him.

Martha received Jesus into her home then got busy working.  Mary, on the other hand, sat at Jesus’ feet and kept on listening. How many of us receive Jesus into our homes and into our hearts with great joy then let the busyness of the world creep back in?

Mary kept on listening.

The good news is that Jesus does not condemn those who get distracted but commends those who keep on listening. The good news is that if you are distracted today you can refocus and get back to listening!

Jesus does not condemn the work that Martha was doing.  In fact Jesus is all about demonstrating our faith with our actions and our service.  In fact, in Matthew 25 Jesus says,  ‘Whatever you have done for the least of these you have done for me.’ feed the hungry, give the thirsty something to drink, invite the stranger in, clothe those in need, visiting the sick and in prison. These are the things that Jesus expects of his followers.

Being distracted is the problem.  We get caught up in with what is happening to us and around us we lose sight of what God’s purpose for us is. When our lives distract us from the presence of Jesus among us we have a problem. The presence of Jesus in our midst is a great blessing, to say the least. If our plans do not center on loving and honoring Jesus then it is NOT part of our mission to be following them.

In one week Barbie, Shirley and I will be in New York with 9 high school students on a mission trip.  We could go on that trip and we could serve people. We could go and volunteer and feed people but if it’s not done with a focus on honoring God through Jesus Christ then we have missed something.  If we don’t have that focus particular needs will be met for sure but we need to continually remind ourselves that when we do serve in ministry alongside of people who are in need that our relationship with God will ever grow deeper when we keep our focus on that goal.

If our focus is really to feed the hungry and clothe the naked, well when then that goal is accomplished we may very well have the feeling that we are “done.” When that is our goal we fall in to the false notion that we need to change other people; that we need to fix other people rather than listen to the will of God. It becomes an earthly thing. It becomes a shellfish thing.

I heard a well-meaning but misguided prayer recently. It wasn’t in this church.  After the morning offering the person saying the prayer suggested that the money offered was given so that poor people can have the same stuff that we have. That’s a paraphrase of course. As if to say that once every one has reached my standard of living then everything is okay.

Is that what Christianity is about?

It’s about our relationship with God.  And when it’s about God, when we serve it doesn’t matter the obstacle or the outcome.  When we serve god we are continually looking for what God’s will is in every situation. Rather than seeing the service rendered as “mission accomplished” we see it as an opportunity to ask “What now God?”

If our focus is on God and not our goals for someone then we are more likely to try to figure out what the person standing right in front of us needs.  Perhaps they don’t need what we are offering but they are accepting it because that is all there is available.  If we are open to a relationship, if we are open conversation perhaps God will direct us in a new way to serve.

When we give ourselves to listening to those in need we are answering Jesus call to serve. Our mission is not to make everyone’s life look just like our own, but those of us who have greater resources are called to walk humbly with those who are unable to provide for themselves adequately.

Martha had one particular way of serving and that was through work.  That was not what Jesus needed that day when he stopped at that house.  He was on his way to give his life. He was there to be with his friends, for a time of rest, even if it was just for a little while. He wanted a little support before he went to do a very difficult thing. Martha was distracted. How often do we distract ourselves from the difficult things in life? Sometimes we need to do that.  Sometimes things are so overwhelming that we need to distract ourselves. But to miss the presence of Jesus among us is tragic. She wanted to cook and clean.  Jesus wanted a friend.

Have you ever been invited to someone’s home and they are so obsessed whit the details of the party that you hardly get to be in relationship with them? 

Serving Jesus is the highest aim

So how is it with you today?  Have you missed Jesus presence among us?   The thing is we cannot have the same opportunity that Martha nearly missed.  Jesus has ascended into heaven.  We do not see him in bodily form on earth.  Or do we?

Two or more? Does that mean when a couple of us get together that Jesus makes a trip back to earth? I don’t think so. Jesus is present because we are the body.  Jesus is commissioning us to do the work.

Matthew 12 Jesus says that whoever does the will of my Father in heaven are my brother and sister and mother.

Brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ do you know what you have done?

·        $980 for help

·         Funded a mission to Brooklyn

·         Backpacks

·         Christmas auction

·         Community table

·         Pregnancy resource center

More opportunities exist than there are workers to accomplish them. Scheduling for Hospitality is beginning

Pray for God’s direction as we all go out into the mission field and serve alongside those whom God wishes to bless. 

Stay Cool

Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

It’s been quite a week in Ludington! Lots of people; lots of events; the weather has been great; it’s been getting warmer but not too hot, not yet. I love this time of year.  I was working with someone recently and I suggested that there is no better place to be on the 4^th of July than Ludington.  He retorted, “I think there is no better place, period.”

I let that sink in for a moment.  Then I let the memory of early February creep back into my consciousness. No offense to those of you who have known this place as home and love it dearly, I too am a Michigander by birth, but I remembered this past February when the temperature dropped to 1 F. I remember the almost constant snowfall.  I couldn’t remain silent on such a bold statement so I told him that if he made the same statement in February that I would have to disagree.  “Oh, Well I leave for the winter months,” he said.   

In the summer we head to Lake Michigan to keep cool.  It’s been a little too cold to swim in for me. Like my working partner, I like to stay cool but not too cool.   

If I can be so crass as to suggest a purpose for Christianity, if I had to put it in a nutshell, just one sentence, it would be to Glorify God and to enter into eternal life with God by trusting in the saving grace of Jesus Christ in this life.  The rest is commentary, very important commentary.  Generation after generation has to figure out for themselves how we are going to live out this faith that has been handed down to us.  We face new sets of challenges.  We apply the gospel to new sets of circumstances.  We have to answer the question: “How do we remain faithful in an ever-changing world?” Part of the answer is, “stay cool.”

I’m going to tell you about a failure of mine.  In 2009 I accepted a position in our Annual Conference and held that position until January 1^st of this year.  The details of the job are not important except that when I did my job well, no one noticed and things ran smoothly.  When I made mistakes people noticed and wanted to have conversations about it.  Though the work was tedious the fruit was made it worth it so I enjoyed having the position.  Then then at the annual conference in June of 2012 Thomas Kemper the German-born General Secretary of the General Board of Global Ministries stepped to the podium to address the gathering. At one point he said my name and asked me to stand.  We were gathered in the Sports stadium at Calvin College, a few thousand of us, so my standing up in the back was not very conspicuous.  He didn’t see me.  He kept asking if I was in the house.  So I waved my hand.  He still didn’t see me.  He kept asking.  I wanted it to end. I also didn’t want anyone (like the Bishop) to think I was skipping out, so I waved both my hands over my head, I was anything but cool. A camera operator spotted me and put my mug on the big screen.  He acknowledged me, gave me quick thanks and moved on.  My failure was that that kind of recognition was exactly what I was seeking.  And when I got it, it was empty. It was unsatisfying.  I received the reward I had been looking for.

Matthew 6: “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

² “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ³ But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

While the beautiful summers in Ludington make the winters bearable, I find that notoriety among peers doesn’t even come close to the desire to please God. And so I decided to resign from that position.  I finished out the year and the position is now filled by a very talented retired pastor; Just the right person for the job. You can imagine my discomfort when my picture was flashed on the screen again this annual conference as a thank-you to outgoing servants of various positions.  Again, I received my reward.

 It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰ For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Jesus calls us to serve him.  Jesus calls us to bring glory to God through our obedience.  In the Gospel lesson today Jesus had very specific instructions for his disciples.  Remember this comes after the incident when the Samaritan village didn’t accept Jesus because he was making his trek to Jerusalem.  People were coming to him and making excuses about not following Jesus right away.  Now Jesus was sending out disciples in pairs to go and tell people about the kingdom of God and meet the people’s need for healing. 

Jesus Said:

       ^“Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.” We don’t need a lot of resources to be obedient to Jesus.  We don’t need to worry about provisions.  Instead we need, in every moment to seek God’s will and be obedient to what Jesus has taught us through the Holy Spirit.  Jesus once said “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ ²³ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ²⁴ “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.    ⁵ “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ ⁶ If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. ⁷ Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.   ⁸ “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. ⁹ Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ ¹⁰ But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, ¹¹ ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.’

The disciples came back and were reporting their successes to Jesus. It seems that they were even surprised and what had happened. But it wasn’t their success. It was their obedience that God used for His success. 

Success is not your reward, neither is failure your punishment. Ours is to be obedient. Our reward is our relationship with God.  Our reward is that our name is written in the Book of life. Whether we find earthly success or not is less important than our obedience to God’s will.  That is how we will come to know Jesus.  We will become more like him when we do as he has taught us.  When we come to know Jesus he will come to know us. 

Then, when that day comes for us to enter the kingdom of heaven and we say “Lord, Lord,” he will say, “I know you,” because your name will be written in the Book of life.

So how is it with you today?  Where do you look to find affirmation?  May it ever turn more and more toward God and less and less from people. 

Other book of life references in the Bible. Exodus 32:32; Daniel 12:1; Philippians 4:3; Revelation 3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:12; 20:15