The Good Part

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday, the 24th of July, 2022, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Our YouTube streaming channel is: 

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.]

Every now and then in our Bible’s Gospel accounts, we’ll come across a person that is described as one whom Jesus loved.  Lazarus was such person.  We are told in the Apostle John’s account that Jesus wept while walking to the tomb where the body of Lazarus had been laid.

But John also tells us that Jesus loved not only Lazarus, but his sisters as well.  Mary, Martha, and Lazarus lived in the town of Bethany, within easy walking distance of Jerusalem.  Jesus and His disciples stopped there at times to visit and eat.  They are mentioned three times in the Gospels, which is enough to tell us that they were special to Jesus, and so should be special to us as well, that we pay attention to what they might tell us.

Probably the incident that most folks remember of these three was when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.  Another was when Mary anointed Jesus’ feet with costly oil right before His arrest and crucifixion.  But I’d like to look at the first time we meet the sisters, even though Lazarus isn’t mentioned.  This comes from the Apostle Luke’s Gospel account, shortly after Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan.  Now it’s important to remember that even though this story follows on the heels of a parable, Martha and Mary were real women, and their stories are true.

Please listen and follow along to the record Luke saved for us in the 10th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 38 through 42, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

38 Now it happened as they went that Jesus entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”

41 And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

--Luke 10:38-42 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for introducing us to Martha and Mary, and Lazarus, too.  These were people Your Son Jesus loved.  They were special to Him and they have something to tell us.  Thank You for ensuring we would have their stories to study even to this day.  Forgive us, please Father, when we get too distracted with the routine, mundane activities of this life.  Forgive us when we don’t spend enough time with You and in Your word.  Please help us recognize the thing that is needed.  Remind us that we must not miss out on the good part.  And Father, please protect us from Satan and from those who do his bidding, trying to divide us one from another.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, worship, and service, and healthy and safe through these trying times.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand the message You have for us this day.  May we be as devoted to Jesus as were these two sisters.  Show us how to choose best to serve our Lord.  This we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Redeemer.   Amen.

George C. Marshall, army general, statesman, and US Chief of Staff under presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman, provided us with this formula for working with other people:

Listen to the other person’s story.

Listen to the other person’s full story.

Listen to the other person’s full story first.

What is the key in all this?  To listen.  Listen to the other person.  Really listen – don’t pretend, don’t feign interest.  Pay attention to what they are trying to relate to us so that we can better understand what they are going through, which just might give us a better chance of helping them.

Sometimes we tend to jump ahead a little.  We’ll hear part of the story and start formulating a response before they’re through.  We figure we already know what to say.  And we can so easily be wrong, wrong, wrong.

I think this might be the case when we first meet Martha and Mary.  We might not listen to the full story before deciding what is going on.  If we quickly read through this we might surmise that Martha is more pragmatic, more practical than her sister Mary, and that Mary is more spiritual than Martha.  Some might think that Mary is being lazy, sitting around listening to their guests while Martha does all the work of preparing a meal for a bunch of guys who just happened to drop in.  And there may be a bit of truth in all this.  But let’s take a closer look.

Luke first introduces us to Martha who welcomed Jesus into their home.  And then in verse 39, Luke tells us, “And she” – Martha – “had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word.”

There’s one word in there that’s easy to miss: “also”.  At one point or another, both sisters sat at Jesus’ feet and listened as He spoke the word.  This tells us that Martha was just as spiritual as Mary, in the sense that they both were followers of Jesus and cherished hearing Him speak.

But then, everyone started getting a little hungry so Martha, being the good hostess, got up to prepare a meal for them all.  Maybe she was going a bit overboard, trying to serve a little more elaborate meal than necessary.  But she needed an assist and noticed her sister just sitting there, doing nothing to help.

Isn’t this kind of just human nature?  Put yourself in Martha’s position.  You’re trying to put the big holiday feast together and on the table, while the person who should be helping you is out socializing with the guests.  Wouldn’t you go out and say, “Excuse me, but I could really use some help in the kitchen!”?  That’s pretty much what Martha did, except she asked Jesus to intercede for her.  I can only imagine she was surprised by Jesus’ response.

What is the difference between hearing and listening?  We can hear without listening.  If we’re driving along listening to the radio, we might not be listening for a police siren or a car horn honking, but we can hear them if they blare out.

Listening takes hearing to another level by us paying more attention to what we’re hearing.  If we don’t listen, if we don’t pay attention, we may miss the good part.  It’s like trying to watch a movie and someone keeps chattering away so that you miss an important part of the show.

Martha became distracted trying to get a meal ready for her guests and was no longer listening to Jesus.  Mary chose the good part.  She chose to stay and listen to the word.

Listen to the word - not only hear what is spoken, but listen; be still and pay attention.  The Psalmist tells us that God says to, “Be still, and know that I am God”.

Our Gospel accounts are filled with the many times our Lord Jesus spoke, God in the flesh speaking for our benefit.  Hear and listen to the words Jesus spoke as saved for us by the Apostle John in the 5th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 24 through 30…

24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. 25 Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, 27 and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29 and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. 30 I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me."

--John 5:24-30 (NKJV)

Notice that it’s not enough to hear the word, but to believe, to believe in Jesus as the Son of God and to believe in God, who sent His Son to redeem us.  The time is coming when even the dead will hear His voice, they will be called forth from the grave by His voice, and they will all live again.

But not all will be spared eternal punishment.  Those who refused to believe, those who have done evil, will be resurrected to condemnation and everlasting separation from God.  The believers, the righteous, will live forever with God in His heaven.  And in all this, Jesus will be carrying out His Father’s will.  As He hears from God, He will judge, and His judgment will be righteous.

So family, if we don’t want to miss the good part, we need to be still and listen.  We need to quit letting the things of this world distract us so that we can hear and pay attention.

For most of us, I think the scales are tipped a goodly bit toward Martha.  We need to strike a closer balance with Mary.  Yes, we can be dutiful like Martha, seeing to our needs and especially to the needs of others.  But we should also be more like Mary, choosing to pause and pay attention, not letting our mundane routine keep us from listening to God’s voice as He speaks to us through His words in our Bible, as He speaks to our hearts through His Holy Spirit within us.

Be still and listen.  And don’t miss the good part.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for ensuring that we would have Your word to study and live by.  Over the thousands of years of human history, so many things might have happened to where all of the books of our Bible would have been lost and never again seen.  Thank You for making sure this did not happen so that we can see all You have to show us.  Father, sometimes we get too busy to spend more time with Your word.  Sometimes we let our normal routines take priority over anything else.  Sometimes we let the charms of this world distract us from choosing the good part.  Forgive us, Father, when we become more like Martha, less like Mary.  Forgive us when we either don’t learn from or outright ignore the lessons saved in our Bible.  Please, loving Father, help us pay better attention to what You tell us.  Keep reminding us of how important it is for us to not only hear, but to stop and listen.  And Father, please help us remain strong, faithful, and true through all that we face in this age.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, You loved Martha and Mary both, and we know that You love us, too.  And out of Your love, You reminded Martha of what is truly important.  Please, Lord, every now and then, remind us, too.  Please, help us ignore the busyness all around us so that we can better listen for Your voice.  Forgive us when we lose focus on You and stray from the path You set before us.  Remind us that we are Yours, bought through the sacrifice of Your own blood.  And Lord Jesus, please heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  Help us remain trusting and obedient no matter what we go through.  Help us keep our sight set on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.