A sermon based on Luke 10.38-42 with reference to Genesis 18. 1-10. Have you ever missed an amazing opportunity? Missed out because you were doing something else? When I was in my early teens I went to a music festival at Alton Towers with my youth group. I’d gone because one of my favourite bands at that time was opening, and in the run up to it I’d been listening to the music of the two headliners and really got into them too. Now when I got to the festival I really enjoyed my favourite band’s set. Then another band went up that I didn’t know but I listened to them. And then another band came on and I decided that actually, now would be a really good time to go to the merchandise tent at the back of the site to buy some CD’s, perhaps a t-shirt. And I spent the whole of their set in the merch tent, as I came out they were just finishing ready for the next band to play and I enjoyed the rest of the festival. About 6 months later I discovered an amazing band and started listening to their music. It was kind of deep, and they had quite an unusual sound, and I really started to get into their music. Well, lo and behold, when I was flicking back through some of the promotional things for this festival I’d been to, they were one of the bands who had played. The band who had played when I was in the merch tent. I’d had no idea who they were, and missed out, and I missed out completely as they disbanded shortly afterwards. In our Gospel today Jesus comes to the home of his friends, Mary, Martha and Lazarus. They pop up a few times in the Gospels, Jesus visits them on a number of occasions. And on this occasion Martha has welcomed Jesus in and has set to work being a good host. She’s sorting out drinks, she’s preparing food, she’s ensuring everyone has what they need. She’s a flurry of activity. And that’s no bad thing in and of itself. In this culture hospitality is a huge deal. People arrive and you set about serving them, as we heard in that first reading with Abraham. Guests arrive and he instantly sets about meeting their needs and caring for them. Martha is doing the socially correct thing, Mary isn’t. I wonder, have you ever been rushed off your feet and everyone around you is just sat around. At first it’s ok, but as time goes on you feel the anger start to rise don’t you, you’re really busy, barely coping and this other person or people who could be helping you hasn’t lifted a finger. It almost makes all the work seem worse, because now you’re comparing it to how much easier it would be if they helped. And Martha reaches tipping point and exasperated she cries out to her friend, ‘why aren’t you getting her to help me, why are you letting her leave me to handle everything, there’s so much to do, and she’s just sat there’. And Jesus responds, rather shockingly, by rebuking Martha and praising Mary. Mary has chosen the better part, he says, which won’t be taken from her. Martha is busy, she’s distracted, she’s being a good host, but a famous rabbi is at their house, this teacher who can draw crowds of thousands to listen to him, is right now sat in her front room, and she’s missing it. Moreover this rabbi is the Son of God, the Word made flesh. God is sat in her front room teaching and she’s busy doing other things. And it’s not that her tasks are bad, there’s no sin in showing good hospitality, but she’s distracted by so many things, she’s missed the one thing that truly matters, the one who truly matters. I’m sure if Jesus came to our house for dinner we’d give him our full attention, we’d be hanging on his every word, wouldn’t we? We wouldn’t be flitting about doing everything else, would we? In our lives is there room for Jesus? Does he get the best of us or does he get the leftovers. Does he get anything at all? We have so many pressing things, so many things which need our attention. We have family who come to visit, we have clothes that need washing and then drying, and then ironing, and then putting away. We have washing up to do, errands to run, appointments to attend, friends to ring. We have dusting and vacuuming to do. We have TV series’ we’re enjoying, news to catch up with, shopping to do. And then there’s all the church things too, making sure things are clean and tidy here, making sure the right colour is on the pulpit and altar, making sure the church is locked and unlocked, making sure bills are paid, valuables locked away, churchyard cared for. There’s so much to do, so many good things to do, important things to do. But in the midst of all of this are we making time for the one thing which truly matters? Are we making time to spend with God? Are we making time to sit at Jesus’ feet and listen to him? Because we have the privilege of knowing Jesus. Jesus who longs to meet with us. Who comes to feed us, to sustain us, to strengthen us. Jesus who longs to encounter us in the words of Scripture, in prayer and in the Eucharist. Through him we have direct access to the God of the universe, the one we get to call Father because of all Jesus has done for us. We have the Spirit of God dwelling in us, working in us. When we pray we are caught up in the life of the Trinity, the Spirit praying with our Spirit, through Jesus to the Father. When we open Scripture we hear the words of God as the Spirit opens our hearts and our minds to receive him. When we come to the altar we receive Jesus, we are fed and strengthened for the road ahead as we journey onwards, a foretaste of the feast to come. And yet we so easily forsake all of that because everything else seems more pressing, we forget the immense joy and privilege we have, because everything else is pressing in around us. And it’s not that all those other things aren’t good and important, they are. And it’s not that they don’t need doing because they do. And it’s not that we can forget everything else and just sit in silent contemplation all our waking hours because we can’t. But are we forgetting the most important thing, the thing that truly matters, the one who truly matters. The temptation is often to give Jesus the leftovers, to deal with everything else and then pray or open our Bible’s, or to try and squash that in alongside other things, to pray whilst we drive, to read the Bible as we eat breakfast. And in a sense that’s better than nothing, but it won’t sustain us. If the only time you ever spoke to your spouse was in the car or over breakfast there’s something wrong. Ensuring we have time daily to spend in God’s presence, to devote solely to him is a real discipline. It takes planning and effort, and a certain amount of willpower to ensure it’s not squeezed out. But it’s vital to our health as disciples, as followers of Jesus. And it can appear that it’s time wasted. Martha was furious with Mary because it looked like she wasn’t doing anything, was just wasting time. But look at Jesus’ response to Martha, ‘you’re worried and distracted by so many things’. She’s stressed out, she’s distracted. All of Martha’s busy-ness was for Jesus, but she had been distracted by the tasks, become worried and stressed and forgotten who it was all for. Her Lord, her Saviour, her friend. As followers of Jesus, our reason for everything, our key focus is him. In the letter to the Hebrews, when talking about how we should persevere in our faith, press on, the writer reminds us to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. All our lives, in every moment, every detail, every task, are lived for him. Lived that we might glorify him, reveal him to others, lived in the knowledge that he rejoices over us. Those times when we sit to read Scripture, turn off the TV to pray, tune into Songs of Praise and sing at the top of our lungs, they’re not wasted moments, they’re not distractions from what we should be doing, they’re refocussing us on the reason we do all those other things. They’re setting our eyes back on Jesus. Let us not become distracted, and then distressed by the many things that call for our attention, let us first set our sights on Jesus, that all our lives may be lived for him. That he might bring us his peace, his assurance. Let us continue to do good, to do all that we might need to do, but let us do it with our eyes, our attention on him. For there are many things that can be done, but only one is truly necessary. Amen.
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AuthorAn Anglican Curate in my 20's I was raised in an Anglican Church, went to a Youth Club run by an Evangelical Church, attended a Baptist Church while at Uni and was a member of a New Monastic Community after graduating. As such my faith has been influenced by these experiences and traditions into what I hope is a more rounded viewpoint. Archives
September 2022
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