This past Sunday, we had our annual Rally Day picnic and potluck. After several years of rain, we finally had a beautiful morning.  While sitting out on the front lawn here at church, enjoying the food and fellowship of those in attendance, I couldn’t help but notice our freshly manicured and newly mulched flowerbeds.  As you know, we had two intense workdays over the summer. The first day in July was dedicated to removing all the overgrown shrubs, getting rid of dead branches, and pulling out weeds.  We worshiped and then we weed-whacked.  We sprayed every nook and crack on our parking lot. The second day in mid-August was all about spreading 20 yards of mulch throughout the property. We worshiped and then we wheel-barrowed.  Shovel by shovel that mountainous pile disappeared. Then in the days afterwards, all the flowerbeds were covered with fertilizers and weed preventer.  Over a span of several weeks, so many volunteers worked their butts off and transformed the property. It looked great. It still does.  

​Yet, as I sat there this past Sunday, I couldn’t help but notice the persistent weeds poking through the mulch; the incessant crabgrass rising from the depths of the freshly-strewn mulch surrounding our trees.  Apparently, in order to really keep these tenacious weeds away, one or two days of work is not enough. It needs to be a regular practice.  Certainly, most of them are still gone, but little-by-little the weeds keep popping up. In spite of our valiant efforts, the job is endless. We must keep at it. We’ll have to walk around the property again doing the less intensive, but still necessary task of pulling weeds.
 
So it is, in the life of a faithful Christian.  Most certainly, in the waters of baptism the damning roots of sin were removed. We were washed clean and created anew.  But over time, and throughout our lives, the ugly weeds of sin still show up. They keep poking through. The devil still keeps tempting; and our own sin is just as stubborn as those stupid weeds.  So how do we take care of this?  How do we keep up with spiritual weeding?  We come together for worship. In worship the Divine Creator serves His creatures through His forgiving word and pardoning sacraments. This is the beautiful reality of what worship is. It is not about us coming to do our “Christian duty.”  It is not about being pious. It is not about going through the religious motions we assume are expected of us. It is not about easing our conscience by throwing money in the offering plate. It is not about trying to appease God with our prayers or songs. Worship is about God doing for us what we cannot do for ourselves. In worship, our Lord reaches into the dirt of our lives and rips out the weeds of sin in all its ugly forms. The envy. The judgment. The pride. The doubt. The arrogance.  The idolatry. The messed-up priorities. All of these “weeds” are ripped from our lives before they can choke out the hope and faith that we have. No wonder, God calls us to regular worship; it is His gift to us. In Christ, we have been transformed.  The weeds of sin have been removed. No matter what they are and how often they pop up; our heavenly and eternal Gardner will not stop in His work of sanctifying those whom He has already redeemed. Thanks be to God!
 
In my Bible study preparation for this week, I came across these relevant and applicable words. They are the words of Martin Luther from the Large Catechism, in which he discusses the importance of continually keeping the Word of God in our ears and hearts and upon our lips. I commend them to you: “Even though you know the Word perfectly, and have already mastered everything, still you are daily under the dominion of the devil, who neither night nor day relaxes his effort to steal upon you unawares and to kindle in your heart unbelief and wicked thoughts against all these commandments.  Therefore, you must continually keep God’s Word in your heart, on your lips, and in your ears. For where the heart stands idle and the Word is not heard, the devil breaks in and does his damage before we realize it.  On the other hand, when we seriously ponder the Word, hear it, and put it to use, such is its power that it never departs without fruit. It always awakens new understanding, new pleasure, and a new spirit of devotion, and it constantly cleanses the heart and its meditations.  For these words are not idle or dead, but effective and living. Even if no other interest or need drove us to the Word, yet everyone should be spurred on by the realization that in this way, the devil is cast out and put the flight, this commandment is fulfilled, and God is more pleased than by any work of hypocrisy, however brilliant.”  (LC, 3rd Commandment)
 
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)
 
“I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and to carefully observe My ordinances.” (Ezekiel 35:25-27)

Since yesterday, the story of Mary and Martha has been on my mind.  You likely remember the story of these two busy sisters, and genuine friends of Jesus, from Luke 10. Amidst His travels, the Messiah had come for a visit. One sister is hard at it, the other just sits at the feet of Jesus.  Martha is diligently working her tail off to get the house cleaned and food prepared. Mary was lost in conversation, providing no aide or assistance to her stressed-out sister. 
 
As a new school year is upon us, I can’t help but think of these words of Jesus to Martha, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary.” He then commends Mary for taking time to tune out the distractions, rest in His words, and relish the moment of calm companionship.  The dawn of a new school year brings all sorts of stress and distractions.  Back to school nights. Teacher’s meetings. Forgotten trumpet rentals (oops).  New practice and game schedules.  All of these are good things, but all of them can lead us to places of anxiousness.  Even if you do not have kids to shuttle around and fill up a color-coded calendar, the pace of life continues to press down.  There are always the demands of household chores, doctors’ appointments, volunteer opportunities, and increased traffic (and construction) on every road. Again, these are necessary things, but they certainly aren’t without stress.  And it is no different here at church.  Grandparents Day. Rally Day. New Bible classes. The start of The MomCo and DivorceCare.  Youth group and much more.  All sorts of exciting, new things are ready to start here too.
 
In His words to Martha, Jesus is by no means teaching that servanthood is not of extreme value to the kingdom. However, He is instructing us that when we walk in relationship with Him, this is a journey that is evident by both service and stillness; doing and being.  After all, it is impossible to pour Jesus into others if you are not full of Jesus yourself. No matter our age or season of life, Jesus reminds us that the single, most “necessary thing” is to take time to be present with Him. God is too easily and often forgotten in all of the madness of our busy lives. Who has time to pay attention to spiritual things? We can sometimes be too busy, too tired, too entertained, or too overwhelmed to care.  The one needed thing is to hear, and this is not just Mary’s need, but it is needed by all the people of God! Your ears are not hearing everything they can if the Word doesn’t regularly tickle your ear drums! When we move too fast, when we are distracted by the busyness of the world, it is easy to lose the crystal-clear Word of God in the cacophony.  To not hear God’s Word is to not hear God’s love for you, not to be called to repentance, and not to hear the good news that God in his mercy gave his Son to die for you, and for his sake forgives you all of your sins!  What a delightful sound this is! 

One final thought… what else did Jesus say about Mary? Not only was she doing the one necessary thing, but she had chosen the good portion. The good portion was necessary, but it also was a choice.  As the world careens on in all its frenetic madness, and many demands insist on our attention, we can become people who choose to be still, sit at the Lord’s feet, and listen to His voice. For it is in His Word that we will receive the good portion we need most.  Hope that you can join us for worship, in person or virtually, in these upcoming weekends, it is the ideal place to find that most “necessary one thing.” 
 
“It is the very nature of sin to prevent man from meditating on spiritual things.” (M.M. Sherwood)
“Christians need the Gospel, just as much as non-Christians do.” (Tim Keller)
“Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)