Just One Thing!

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)