Posted on 07/18/2010 1:46:10 PM PDT by Charles Henrickson
“Sitting or Serving?” (Luke 10:38-42)
The committee brings before the assembly Resolution 10-01, “To Affirm the One Thing Needful”:
WHEREAS, The Gospel of Luke in Bylaw 10.38 – 10.42 describes the activities of Mary and Martha; and
WHEREAS, In that section we are told that, of their two activities, one thing is necessary or needful; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Synod in convention select and affirm the one thing needful.
Delegates, the resolution is before you. If you wish to vote for “Sitting at the Lord’s feet,” you will press “1.” If you wish to vote for “Much serving,” press “2.” Please vote now. . . .
Dear friends in Christ, please forgive me for speaking the language of resolutions and bylaws and voting. For that is the strange world I have been living in for the past eight days--eight mind-numbing days of deliberating hundreds of proposed resolutions and their amendments, learning to distinguish between a “point of order” and a “point of information,” hearing “Mr. Chairman, I call the question,” and pressing the buttons on my keypad so many times that my index finger has developed carpal tunnel syndrome. I am “One Man--Wiped Out”!
Like the 1200 other delegates who were gathered in Houston for our church’s convention, I have been anxious and troubled about many things, and I have been distracted with much serving. Maybe you have, too. Oh, not as a synodical delegate, but perhaps in other ways equally tiring and distracting. Men’s Club, Ladies’ Guild, fixing light fixtures and preparing luncheons--that sort of thing. And so our text this morning is especially appropriate for us weary servers.
You see, it was Martha who was “anxious and troubled about many things” and was “distracted with much serving.” In our little voting exercise of pressing 1 or pressing 2, Martha would have chosen 2, “Much serving.” But her sister Mary pressed 1, “Sitting at the Lord’s feet.” And “Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
Today I am here to tell you, “Press 1.” Sitting at the Lord’s feet and listening to his teaching is indeed the one thing needful. It’s not that serving the Lord and his church with much serving is wrong or bad. In fact, it is good and can be very helpful. But it is not the one thing needful. The problem comes when we mistake number 2 for number 1, when serving takes the place of sitting, when, like Martha, we do the serving at the expense of the sitting. For really, it is sitting at the feet of our Lord Jesus Christ and listening to his word and receiving from him--this truly is the one thing needful. It is the one thing, the only thing, that will give us life, the one thing that will give us what we need to receive as a gift, because we cannot produce it on our own, no matter how hard we work--but which will, at the same time, enable and empower our dedicated serving in ways that are helpful to the church.
Sitting at the feet of Christ and listening to him is the one thing needful. Here’s why. We have a need only he can meet. It is the need of forgiveness, the need of salvation. And we cannot meet that need that on our own, by our own work. No, our ways and our works are tainted with sin. Even the working and the serving of a dedicated woman like Martha--she needed forgiveness, she needed salvation.
And so do you and I. Our deeds are befouled with our sinful, selfish thoughts and desires--the desire for applause and approval, the desire to make ourselves look good, to pull a “one-up” over our sister or our brother. Yes, even in our “much serving,” we do these things. And these sins are evidence of our inner sinful nature, from which we cannot free ourselves. We need--we still need, even as Christians--we need God’s forgiveness and cleansing.
That is why Christ came, my friends, to meet that need we could never meet. As our Epistle from Colossians tells us, “You, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he--Christ--has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him.” It is the much serving of Christ that saves us! He chose to serve creation, to serve you and me, by his innocent suffering and sacrificial death. The Son of God, by the blood he shed for us on the cross, cleanses us from our sins, frees us from our bondage to death, liberates us for new life and service, and forgives us, time and time again, whenever we become anxious and troubled and distracted.
And so that is why we need to sit at our Lord’s feet and receive from him. That is why you have come here this morning. Mary, you have chosen the good portion, and that will not be taken from you. For here, we are listening to our Lord speak his words of comfort and assurance to us. “Come to me, all you who are weary and troubled, and I will give you rest.” This is what our Savior is saying to all us weary, wiped-out servers today. Martha, come and sit here and receive forgiveness for your sins. Come and lay down your burden and listen for a while. Come and receive new life and strength for renewed, dedicated service.
“Sitting or Serving?” Sitting at our Lord’s feet and receiving from him--that is number 1. Much serving for our Lord, in his church--that is number 2. “1,” sitting, is the one thing needful. “2,” serving, is OK too, as long as it stays number 2. The delegates will please remember to keep the order straight.
Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
Ping.
Like why they keep holding LCMS conventions in the most humid city in America in the middle of July. It must have taken a bunch of extra large ice cold margaritas to resolve that problem. BTW, congrats to Teddy Roosevelt on winning the LCMS presidency.
Well, glad to hear the Synod convention went OK. That was basically the same sermon I heard in church today as well as on the Lutheran Hour. I guess you heard the Rev Ken Klause is resigning as the main speaker.
$$$$$$$$$$. Churches hold big national gatherings in July in places like Houston, New Orleans, Atlanta, and Phoenix, precisely because nobody wants to go there then. The hotel and convention hall rates are lower.
I think next time, though, our convention will be back in St. Louis (not a whole lot less muggy). I almost made a motion to hold our next convention in Door County, Wisconsin (summer resort weather).
Houston: Habitat for Humidity
BTW, congrats to Teddy Roosevelt on winning the LCMS presidency.
Matt Harrison's mustache has always reminded me more of Avery Schreiber's.
Tell me about it. The daughter is teaching in the Katy ISD just outside Houston.
Pssst! Great vacation homes can be rented in Culebra for a per person rate MUCH lower than hotels. Plus you would be exotic. I only spotted one suspected Lutheran on that island when I was there.
Don’t forget about union requirements in StL.
Yes, yes, I know. That drives up the cost. And St. Louis is not as good a direct-flight airport city as it used to be. (Also, don't forget that for the last two conventions, Houston was the hometown of the incumbent.)
But the bylaws indicate that the LCMS convention should normally be in St. Louis. And the cost of getting things and staff people to the convention center here in the headquarters city (St. Louis) is greatly reduced.
Very nice. Our new parochial vicar compare’n’contrasted the first reading, Abraham and his guests, to Mary/Martha which was the third. Do Lutherans do multiple readings?
Yes. We had the same set of readings, OT and Holy Gospel, with the Epistle from Colossians in between.
Historically liturgical churches like the Lutherans, Roman Catholics, and the Episcopalians all use pretty much the same lectionary, a series of appointed readings that carry us through the church year. Most of our congregations use a three-year lectionary (appointed readings spread over a three-year period), while some still use the older old-year lectionary.
Duh, I'm still groggy from lack of sleep! Of course, that should be "the older ONE-year lectionary."
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