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.