You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.
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If you have Bible with you in one form or the other, open them to Luke chapter 10.
This morning in our continuing study of Luke, we're going to look at the last few verses of chapter 10, beginning of verse 38.
So follow with me as I read from God's inspired word of truth.
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.
Let's bow together and pray to the Spirit who gives his word that he would also give us insight into it.
Heavenly Father, we do pray that he would send your Spirit to do his work in our hearts as we study your word.
Father, I come here very painfully aware of the inadequacy of my words.
But we don't trust words of men.
We trust you.
And you give us your word because it draws us to you.
So, Father, send your Spirit to speak to our hearts.
Give us understanding.
Give us also hearts that are fertile ground for the planting of your word.
That it might grow and bear much fruit.
So, come we pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.
You know, there are many texts in scriptures that lead us to some very sad misunderstandings.
Some things that we may see on the surface look clear, but yet if we read these things that seem to be so simple,
and they can lead us into some very wrong-headed thinking.
And unfortunately, I think this text is one of those.
You can read this text on the surface and simply say,
Well, what Jesus is calling me to do is to stop doing all my work,
just spend all of my days having quiet time,
reading my Bible, and praying,
and that's it.
Well, I hope that's not what he's saying.
And I really don't think it is.
And especially, we'll see that it isn't if you go back and look
all through this chapter 10,
how Luke has been pointing us to something.
And this last account is just one more thing
of describing to us what true discipleship is.
He starts up here at the beginning of chapter 10
with sending out his disciples on mission.
And that's what a life of a disciple is.
We are on mission.
To go before and to prepare for the coming of the king.
To proclaim the presence of the kingdom.
That is what disciples do.
And as his disciples are given this mission,
they're also told, he says,
You'll recognize kingdom people
when you go into these towns
because they'll show you the hospitality of the kingdom.
They'll receive you, welcome you.
Into their homes, but also into their lives.
And that's one of those hallmarks
of a person of the kingdom
is hospitality.
How the kingdom is welcomed.
Well, then we get to the next story.
And that is, as Will went over last week,
it's the story of this lawyer
who professes the kingdom,
who knows the law back and forth.
And he does the worship thing and so forth,
but he's missing something.
And again, it's hospitality.
And so he is wanting to justify himself
through all of his religious works,
but Jesus says,
No.
The way we show the reality of the kingdom
in our life is how we are a good neighbor.
How we show mercy.
How we follow Jesus
in being merciful and gracious
and lay our lives down for others.
That's characteristic of a disciple.
And now we get to this story.
This story, this brief account
of dealing with these two sisters
gives us another angle to this whole theme.
And I think this is one
that we all struggle with greatly.
It's a case of a busy hostess
who's got a major job on her hands
trying to feed a bunch of people
and she's got a sister
sitting on her behind.
And she ain't helping.
And so how does she respond to this?
It'd be good to know
because you may have somebody
like that in your house.
But what do we learn
about true discipleship here?
And how does, again, this theme,
this thread of hospitality
weave into that?
Well, we first, we see Martha's struggle here.
Mary and Martha, you know,
they are sisters living in this village
and they either have come to know Jesus
in some way
and developed a special friendship here
because we're going to see
a little bit later even
in the life of Jesus,
he's going to come back through Bethany.
And they have a brother as well
whose name is Lazarus.
And we're going to see
in the Gospel of John,
we see the account
of how Jesus raises Lazarus
from the dead.
But they have this relationship,
so Jesus comes,
enters the village
and comes to Martha's house.
It said it's not Mary's,
but Martha is kind of the matron
of this house.
And we also know
that Jesus is not traveling alone.
He's got his posse with him.
And so they all come
and that just dumps a huge responsibility
onto Martha
because hospitality in this culture
is huge.
It is, you have to be gracious.
You have to serve
and take care of the needs
of the people that come into your house.
And so,
so she,
Martha,
is trying to be
very responsible.
That's just the job
that's laid on her.
And so,
as she's being hospitable,
and notice Luke says
that she welcomes them
into her home.
But we also begin to see
that the hospitality
is only to a degree.
Because she's invited them in,
which is meant feeding them
and so forth.
You know,
but all the while,
she's doing all of her job
and she's fulfilling her responsibility.
Mary is not in the kitchen
helping her.
Mary's not helping set the table.
She's not doing anything
except
sitting at the feet
of the guest
and listening to him talk.
You know,
maybe Martha wishes
she was in there.
I'm not sure.
But it seems like
Martha
has something else
very, very much
on her mind.
and that is
doing her job.
Now,
at this point,
you're kind of thinking,
so?
Of course she's
going to do her job.
And we're kind of
sensing this
empathy
with Martha.
I mean,
what else is she going to do?
Is she going to let them
go hungry?
They got to eat?
They have to be fed?
Somebody's got to do it.
And so it's like
our sympathies,
our hearts
are kind of
bending toward
Martha here.
Because again,
if you look at these two sisters,
one of them
is being responsible.
But we also begin to see
as Luke relates
this story,
there is something
terribly
amiss
about Martha.
She is,
you know,
she has this
major job to do.
She's trying to feed.
She's working hard.
But as she's working,
there is no joy.
And we begin to see
some things
now coming out
as she goes to Jesus
and complains
about her work.
And so in response
to Martha's
pleas for help,
which again,
we can all
understand,
Jesus
scolds
Martha.
So what's the problem here?
Martha was doing her duty.
She was not being immoral.
She was being responsible.
The problem
is not
with what
she was doing.
The problem
is why.
The problem
is not
in her busyness.
It is not
in her
trying to be
responsible.
The problem
comes in
because obviously
here,
as Luke
is trying
to draw out
for us,
she's trying
to get
something
out of that
for her
fulfilling
that responsibility
that Mary
was actually
getting from Jesus.
to be
so
what do we
see here?
Well,
first,
what Luke
says
there,
you know,
in verse 40,
he says,
but Martha
was distracted.
It's interesting,
she was
distracted
by what?
it was
her serving.
It was
her being
responsible.
It was
getting the
job done.
She wasn't
being distracted
from it,
she was
being distracted
by it.
And by Luke
saying that,
he's telling
us that she
should have
been focused
on something
else.
But her
work was
taking her
away
from what
should have
been her
central focus
to something
else.
You know,
maybe she,
what was she
trying to get
out of it?
I don't know.
But she was
going to her
work for
something,
again,
that she
should not
have been
trying to
get from
it.
You know,
the second
thing we see
is there's a
sense of
resentment
that is
building here
too.
And we
could also
add to that
resentment
a bunch of
self-pity.
And those
two things
very,
very often
go together.
I mean,
look what she
says.
He says,
Lord,
do you not
care
that my
sister has
left me
to serve
alone?
You can see
the self-pity.
He says,
I'm all by
myself.
I've got
all this
work.
Nobody
cares for
me.
But you
can hear
also in
that not
just the
self-pity,
but again,
she's getting
angry.
She's getting
angry at
her sister
because she
feels abandoned
with this
work.
And what
Martha is
trying to,
the goal that
Martha is
trying to
achieve,
Mary should
have been
helping her
achieve it,
but now
she's actually
become an
obstacle to
her achieving
it.
And whatever
Martha was
hungry for,
Mary is
now seen
as,
again,
that obstacle.
hell.
And then
finally,
the resentment,
the self-pity,
the distraction
leads her to
blaming.
Look what she
says in that
same phrase.
She says,
Lord,
do you not
care that
my sister has
left me to
serve alone?
She's blaming
two people.
First,
she is
blaming Mary.
Basically said,
I wouldn't be in
this fix if my
sister was not
out there helping.
But did you
see who she's
also blaming?
She's now
blaming Jesus.
Because she's
saying,
if you would
have cared,
if you
loved me,
you would
be getting
her to
do her job.
And so
Martha
is accusing
not only
Mary
of
irresponsibility,
she is
accusing
Jesus
of
not
caring
for her
at all.
And then
it's funny.
Well,
at least,
she said,
she goes to
Jesus.
she's
in distress,
she is
upset,
and as
Jesus says
a little while
she's troubled
and anxious,
but she
goes to
Jesus.
But what
does she
want from
Jesus?
Both
sisters
have now
come to
Jesus,
but for
two very
different
things.
Mary
has come
to listen
to his
teaching.
it's
not
why
Martha
came.
Martha
comes
to
Jesus
to
get
him
to
fix
her
life
so
that
what
she's
trying
to
achieve
can
be
achieved.
She's
not
coming
to
Jesus
because
of
Jesus,
she's
coming
to
Jesus
so
that
he'll
fix
her
life
and
make
it
okay.
She's
pursuing
something
in her
work.
She is
hungry
for
something
that
her
fulfilling
that
responsibility
she thinks
will satisfy
and all
she wants
from
Jesus
is for
him
to
satisfy
the
hunger
she
thinks
she
has
and
Jesus
doesn't
do
it.
he
just
doesn't
do
it.
So
basically
in a
sense
we
could
even
say
this
is
Martha's
prayer
and I
want
you
to
take
note
of
this
because
this
is
often
our
prayer.
Jesus
my
idols
are
hungry
come
and
satisfy
them.
And
Jesus
said
no
way.
Why
would
I
do
that?
So
when we
look at
these
women
which
one's
more
like
you?
Well
how
would
you
know?
When
the
pressure's
on to
get a
job
done
is
there
a lot
of
joy
in
your
life?
Is
there
a lot
of
joy?
Are
people
happy
to be
around
you?
or
do
you
tend
to
leave
casualties
all
over
the
place?
You
know
in
our
younger
days
when
I
could
get
down
on
a
concrete
floor
and
then
actually
get
back
up
I
used
to
work
on
my
cars
and
I
would
be
out
there
either
changing
the
oil
or
changing
the
brakes
or
something
like
that
and
you
know
the
kids
would
want
to
come
out
and
be
with
me
but
after
a
while
Gail
learned
it
was
dangerous
not
because
they
were
going
to
get
hurt
from
the
car
but
it
was
there
were
other
dangers
lurking
because
I
would
get
so
intent
and
focused
on
fixing
my
car
and
getting
it
fixed
right
because
I
wanted
to
drive
the
car
again
and
you
think
it's
okay
fine
you
need
to
focus
you
need
to
concentrate
on
getting
that
car
fixed
but
I
realized
that
there
was
something
more
I
was
getting
out
of
fixing
that
car
if
I
didn't
fix
it
right
I
had
to
go
tell
somebody
and
I
could
just
dream
of
them
saying
oh
who
did
that
and
so
there
was
a
sense
of
value
in
getting
it
done
right
and
there
was
a
huge
sense
of
shame
if
I
didn't
and
so
fixing
that
car
properly
became
my
quest
for
identity
and
if
anything
or
anyone
got
in
the
way
it
was
not
safe
so
what
where
is
your
what
is
it
with
you
it
may
not
be
fixing
the
car
it
may
be
being
a
hostess
having
a
dinner
party
where
the
object
becomes
much
more
oh
these
people
are
going
to
see
how
wonderful
a
host
I
am
not
oh
look
how
loved
how
much
enjoyment
there
is
to
be
with
do
we
get
angry
at
people
when
they
frustrate
us
when
the
pressure
is
on
you
know
do
we
lose
perspective
do
we
lose
control
and
it
just
becomes
a lot
more
fun
for
everybody
just
to
vacate
you
know
when
I
have
a
major
to
do
list
does
that
keep
me
from
sitting
at
the
feet
of
Jesus
what
gives
me
more
of a
sense
of
identity
what
gives
me
that
sense
of
joy
what
is
it
that
gives
me
that
sense
of
security
is
it
fulfilling
the
tasks
or
is
it
simply
learning
from
him
when
our
identity
gets
too
wrapped
up
in
how
we
perform
or
when
our
hospitality
ministry
to
others
becomes
more
of a
demonstration
of
our
decorating
and
social
skills
or
when
our
reputation
is
now
put
on
the
line
when
we
serve
someone
or
that
we're
we get
bent
failure
then
maybe
we need
to be
careful
because
at that
point
the
more
we
have
riding
on
what
we
produce
the
more
likely
it
is
that
we
have
traded
our
doing
and
performing
for
Jesus
himself
and
our
doing
and
performing
has
become
our
savior
and
not
Jesus
and
so
what
Jesus
is
doing
here
with
Martha
is
incredibly
important
because
on one
hand
she
wasn't
so
far
off
like
an
adulteress
but
on
another
hand
she
was
just
like
the
lawyer
had
failed
to
welcome
Jesus
so
had
Martha
she
welcomed
him
into
her
home
but
that's
about
as
far
as
he
got
so
the
problem
then
for
Martha
was
not
that
she
was
working
hard
she
just
needed
to
welcome
Jesus
and
unfortunately
this
is a
scary
kind
of a
scary
picture
of what
Luke
had
written
what
Jesus
had
said
right
at
the
end
of
chapter
nine
where
he
said
no
one
who
puts
his
hand
to
the
plow
and
looks
back
is
fit
for
the
kingdom
of
God
because
in
a lot
of
ways
Martha
had
put
her
hand
to
the
plow
but
she
was
not
looking
down
the
row
so
what's
the
difference
in
Mary's
approach
well
Mary
welcomed
Jesus
we
would
say
well
it
really
does
seem
like
Mary
was
being
irresponsible
here
but
what
Jesus
is
commending
is
that
she
has
chosen
not
something
that
would
only
satisfy
possibly
maybe
for
a
brief
moment
but
she
actually
chose
to
go
to
the
one
who
could
satisfy
her
heart
deeply
Mary
had
the
posture
of
a
disciple
and
that
is
sitting
at
Jesus
feet
learning
from
Jesus
being
with
Jesus
and
there
is
nothing
more
important
there
is
nothing
of
more
value
there
is
nothing
that
will
give
us
more
satisfaction
than
that
you
know
there's
a
Mary's
priority
we can
see
those
three
things
one
it
was
to
learn
from
Jesus
she
was
sitting
there
listening
to
his
teaching
and
there
was
his
words
were
satisfying
to
her
soul
she
just
sat
at
his
feet
and
soaked
it
in
you
know
in
many
ways
I
think
Mary
is
such
an
anomaly
especially
when we
look at
our
modern
culture
Martha
fits
in
with
our
modern
culture
not
Mary
and
from
the
context
of
our
modern
culture
we
look
at
Mary
and
what
she's
doing
and
we
think
that's
impossible
because
the
high
value
for
our
culture
is
to
be
busy
is
to
work
I
think
for
us
the
worst
thing
the
worst
insult
you
could
say
to
somebody
is
that
they're
lazy
they're
not
doing
enough
they're
just
sitting
on
their
cans
because
if
people
you'll
greet
people
they say
how
you
doing
it
says
oh
life
is
really
busy
it's
like
it's
a badge
of
honor
you
know
our
kids
are
involved
in
everything
under
the
sun
our
work
occupies
all
our
attention
our
extended
families
are
all
demanding
our
time
our
recreational
pursuits
our
sports
commitments
on
and on
the list
goes
and one
thing we
don't
do
we
don't
sit at
the feet
of
Jesus
because
we
think
our
souls
are
going
to be
satisfied
through
doing
all
these
other
things
we're
going
to find
our
identity
in
these
other
things
there
just
isn't
time
we
are
this
distracted
culture
and
society
you
know
I
have
a
terrible
time
being
quiet
I
think
you
know
we're
going
to
talk
about
prayer
in
these
next
few
weeks
in
chapter
11
and I
haven't
been
looking
forward
to
it
because
it
convicts
the
stew
out
of
me
because
every
time
I
go
sit
down
and
pray
as
soon
as
I
pray
I
start
thinking
I
have
a
to
do
list
and
I
don't
do
to
do
lists
I
don't
get
them
until
I
start
to
pray
and
then
when
I
start
to
pray
everything
else
in
the
world
pops
up
that
I
ought
to
be
doing
that
I
got
to
remember
that
I
got
to
do
this
and
when
I
am
able
to
pray
it's
most
likely
Jesus
fixed
my
life
so
my
idols
I
am
so
much
like
Martha
so
how
do
we
cultivate
our
souls
you
know
this
is a
challenge
you
know
this
is
not
just
we
live
a
life
of
contemplation
of
isolating
ourselves
from
all
the
distractions
putting
away
our
phones
and
tablets
heaven
forbid
how
do
we
you
know
to
be
honest
I'm
not
sure
but
I
know
this
I
don't
need
to
finish
my
to
do
list
like
I
need
Jesus
I
need
if
I'm
going
to
remember
in
this
life
when
I
face
my
failures
if
I'm
going
to
remember
the
forgiveness
that was
given
to me
by a
savior
who
died
if
I'm
going
to
remember
the
promises
that are
made
to me
by my
heavenly
father
that will
not
fail
if
I'm
going
to
remember
and
have
the
right
perspective
on
this
world
that
everything
I see
is
temporary
but
a new
kingdom
is
on
the
way
if
I'm
going
to
remember
that
the
power
that
is
at
work
in
me
is
far
greater
than
any
power
out
here
if
I'm
going
to
remember
how
much
I
am
loved
I
have
to
go
to
the
source
and
there
feed
my
soul
the
news
won't
do
it
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
won't
do
it
reading
other
just good
books
won't
do
it
I
need
Jesus
I
need
to
run
to
him
and
feed
on
him
and
learn
from
him
I
need
to
cultivate
a
soul
that
is
not
distracted
from
the
good
portion
and
the
good
portion
is
Jesus
himself
I
don't
want
to
be
Martha
it's
exhausting
and
I'm
left
hungry
but
instead
of
this
cheap
snack
that
I'm
pursuing
in
my
doing
Jesus
offers
a
banquet
a
feast
of
grace
of
life
of
hope
and
of
love
where
are you
feeding
your
soul
and
why
are you
feeling
hungry
let's
go to
the
source
and
choose
the
good
portion
because
it
alone
is
satisfying
let's
pray
together
father
would
you
help
us
we
are
helpless
in
this
fight
we
know
the
truth
we
can
understand
what
the
truth
is
but
yet
to
guide
our
hearts
to
that
truth
is
impossible
by
your
spirit
would
you
speak
to
us
would
you
change
us
and
would
you
work
in
such
a
way
that
we'll
be
convinced
that
nothing
else
satisfies
like
Jesus
and
then
draw us
to
him
and
help
us
to
choose
life
in
its
utmost
fullness
and
we
pray
in
his
name
amen
for
more
information
visit
us
online
at
southwood.org