Our Sermons

Bible Passage: Luke 10:38-42
Pastor: Pastor Berg
Sermon Date:  August 11, 2019

What pops into your mind when you hear the term, “worship service?” Probably multiple things. Perhaps it’s the hymns we sing? Maybe it’s the sermon or the lessons? Maybe it’s the prayers? Perhaps it’s the Lord’s Supper? All of those things are certainly part of our worship experience. But specifically, what comes to mind when you hear that word “service?” Do we think about the service that we provide to God as we sing his praises and bring him our offerings? That’s certainly part of it, but is that really what our worship service is all about? Is it simply a service rendered to God by his people?

Our Gospel lesson for today presents a very interesting scene. Jesus has been invited to the home of Mary and Martha and Lazarus. These are some of his closest friends. He made a point to visit their home often and many of those visits are recorded for us in the Bible. Luke records this particular event in only four short verses. So what makes this visit so special? Why would God include this in his Word? While there’s much to learn, I think that too often we get caught up in the action and seeming inaction of Martha and Mary and we miss the words of Jesus. This morning, let’s change that narrative. Let’s examine anew the words and actions of Jesus. As we do so, we pray that the Holy Spirit would lead us to see that Even When He’s the Guest, He’s the Host!

Luke writes, “As they went on their way, Jesus came into a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.” We know that the village was Bethany. Bethany was only about two miles outside of Jerusalem on the southeast slope of the Mount of Olives. And as we’ve already mentioned, Jesus would visit this home on more than one occasion. Luke continues, “She had a sister named Mary, who was sitting at the Lord’s feet and was listening to his word. But Martha was distracted with all her serving. She came over and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her to help me.” The Lord answered and told her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things,  but one thing is needed. In fact, Mary has chosen that better part, which will not be taken away from her.”

Can you imagine the audacity it would take to talk to someone like Jesus does here? Jesus was an invited guest in the home of Martha. And while we can’t be 100% certain, the way Luke records this event seems to indicate that Martha was the leader of the household. It’s called her home. She’s the one in charge of the preparations. Can you imagine if someone had invited you into their home and when they asked you to help them in getting done what needed to be done, you told them they were wrong? We’d never talk that way to someone who made us a guest in their home. So what’s going on here?

Jesus wasn’t being rude. He wasn’t being disrespectful. And the reason for that is clear. Even when he’s the guest, he’s the host. Jesus is the Son of God. He is the Savior of the World. His words have power and give life. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And with all of those titles, which are rightfully his, you might think that we would want all those preparations to be made so that he could be served. But that’s not why Jesus came to this world. Remember what he said, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Even when it appeared that Jesus was the guest who was to be served by host Martha, Jesus shows that he would be doing the serving that day.

And that brings us back to the question of the worship service. I think that most of us would readily admit that our service to God is what first pops into our head when we think of a worship service. Yet, what we’ve seen here is that even when we think that Jesus is our guest at our worship services, he’s really the host. And he’s intent on serving us! To make that truth clear, some churches have stopped calling the church service a “worship service,” and are instead calling it, “God’s Service,” or “Divine Service,” Because, what is really and truly happening in the Lutheran understanding of worship is that God is primarily serving us!

Notice how Jesus makes that clear to Martha. “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things,  but one thing is needed. In fact, Mary has chosen that better part, which will not be taken away from her.” Only one thing is needed! And what was that one thing? “She had a sister named Mary, who was sitting at the Lord’s feet and was listening to his word.” It was the Lord’s Word. It was the Word of the Almighty God. That was the one thing needed. That’s what was truly important.

Far too often, as members of a church, we become worried and upset like Martha about many things and we forget the one thing that’s needed. Now, what Martha was doing was not unimportant. Someone had to prepare the meal if they were to eat. Someone had to make sure that things were ready. But those preparations should not have taken priority over hearing the Word of God. Rather than being so concerned about serving Jesus, Jesus is reminding Martha to let him serve her first! And that a reminder that all of us need! We can become so concerned about this program or that publication that we forget to listen. We become so concerned about this function or that preparation that God’s Word takes a back seat. Can’t we see a little bit of Martha’s mixed up priorities in all of us? It wasn’t that Martha was doing something sinful or something that wasn’t God-pleasing service. It’s that Martha was doing these things at the expense of God’s Word, at the expense of being served by her Savior. 

It’s truly a unique perspective to view our church services as God’s Service to us. Almost every other religion sees worship, primarily as their service to God. And that way of thinking tends to creep into our way of thinking too. Think about it this way. If our church service is primarily your service to God, then there are really only two things that service can become. It can become a good work that you are doing for God or it can become a burden of the law. Doesn’t it make sense, then, when you hear people talking about “having to go to church,” or somehow trying to justify their actions by saying, “I go to church every Sunday,” that for them, church is about them serving God or fulfilling one of God’s laws? And if going to church has only become something you do for God or a fulfillment of one of his laws, then it’s easy to see why it can become drudgery or boring or a point of boasting. 

But how much different do we look at a church service when we remember that Christ is the Host! What a different perspective we have when we understand and relish that we are the guests of the Almighty God who is intent on serving us! “She had a sister named Mary, who was sitting at the Lord’s feet and was listening to his word…but one thing is needed. In fact, Mary has chosen that better part, which will not be taken away from her.” Mary sat in rapt attention, hanging on Jesus’ every word. She realized there was nothing better for her, nothing more needful than having Jesus serve her with his life-saving Word. If we could only approach God’s service this way! If we could only listen attentively as we hear the sweet words of God’s forgiveness! If we could only cherish every Word from the Scriptures that point us to Christ crucified! If we could only appreciate what a great service we receive as we eat and drink Christ’s body and blood! If we could do that, worship would never be drudgery! It would never be boring! It would never be something we “have to do,” but something we can’t wait to experience. Worship would be something we couldn’t do without.

Interestingly, we’re not told what happens after Jesus spoke to Martha, but I think it would be safe to assume that eventually they ate the meal that Martha had worked so hard to prepare. There is a time and a place for us to serve one another. Songs of praise and thanksgiving certainly have their place in our church service. But they are not the primary reason we are here. One thing is needful! God serving us with his Word and Sacrament is of primary importance! In every station of our life, even in our common table prayer where we ask Jesus to be our guest, we believe his promise that he is always with us to the very end of the age. And in every station in our lives, Jesus is the Host! He serves us by declaring us not guilty, by giving us faith, by preserving our lives here on earth, by preparing a place for us in heaven.

How were Mary’s thought devoted, her eternal joy to find, as intent each word she noted, at her Savior’s feet reclined. How kindled her heart, how devout was its feeling, while hearing the lessons that Christ was revealing; all earthly concerns she forgot for her Lord and found her contentment in hearing his Word. May God lead us to find eternal joy as he serves us with his Word! May we always remember that even when Jesus is the guest, he’s really the host! Amen