The One Thing

I chose a passage that deals with women, a fairly well familiar passage, and we think we know what it means.

So I thought what I would do is to look at this passage with new eyes and ask ourselves, what is this passage saying?

And so if you turn to the back of the bulletin, I suggested four different ways of looking at this passage,

and let me assure you they're not exclusive.

It's not that if you hold to second view, then you can't hold to the third view or something like that.

It is an extremely rich passage, and it is dedicated to all the women in this congregation, and the men too.

It is the passage about Mary and Martha in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 10, verses 38 through 42.

Luke 10:38–42

So let me read this passage, and we'll ask God to help us see what it means.

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.

She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said.

But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be done.

She came to him and asked, Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself?

Tell her to help me.

Martha, Martha, the Lord answered, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed.

Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.

So to think about this passage, there are several things to notice.

First of all, there is something very, very interesting at the very beginning.

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home.

I find that rather amazing.

The reason for that is that we know from other passages that Mary and Martha also had a brother by the name of Lazarus.

Lazarus was the one who died, whom Jesus raised.

And then in John chapter 12, after the resurrection, after bringing Lazarus back from the dead,

John 12 · chapter mention

they threw a banquet in honor of Jesus.

And as you read the passage there, which is not this event, but it's after the resurrection of Lazarus,

it's interesting enough that Martha is serving and Mary is at Jesus' feet.

And we see that happening here again.

Martha is serving and Mary is at Jesus' feet.

The question that I wonder is, why is it said, a woman named Martha who opened her home to him?

I find that rather strange.

Because if there is a son, if there is a boy, it is the boy who would inherit the house.

That house should be for Lazarus.

So to say that it is Martha's house means either that she worked hard in some business

and saved enough money and bought the house so that house was literally hers, not Lazarus'.

Not the one he would inherit when the parents die.

Or that maybe it was his house, but she's the older sister and she ran it.

And maybe she ran it with firm hands and managed the house.

But in any case, when we look at this incident, Mary is at Jesus' feet and Martha is working in the kitchen.

And two things we need to notice.

Mary, who sat at...

I'm sorry, verse 40.

But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.

Notice, she's not cutting the grass outside.

She's not rearranging the furniture.

She's not repairing the faucet.

She is making reparations that needed to be made.

So she's not wasting her time.

She has to do something.

She's not making reparations.

She's not making reparations.

She's not making reparations.

She's not making reparations.

She's not making reparations.

She's not making reparations.

She's not making reparations.

And then later on, Jesus says to her,

you are upset and worried about many things.

The question is, of course,

who decides what preparations need to be made?

Is it the rules of society?

When you invite people to your house,

this is how you should treat them?

Is it her own standards?

Is it her personality?

Who decides what needs to be made?

And who decides how many are many?

I asked a good friend of mine a question,

knowing very well that he is not a theologian.

And so I asked him, what did he think of this story?

The reason I asked him, and not some other friends

that I could have asked,

is that he is a chef in a restaurant.

He is in charge of all the cooking.

So I asked him, what do you think this passage is about?

He said, it depends on the kind of meal that you want to prepare.

That on occasions, on really special occasions,

if like a chairman of a company is eating at that restaurant,

they might ask for a five-course meal,

or a seven-course meal.

I want you to know I've never had a seven-course meal.

I think I had three, but not seven.

So he looked at this passage,

and he thought that when Jesus says,

you are worried and upset about many things,

but only one thing is needed,

he thinks that what Jesus is saying to Martha,

you don't have to do all this cooking,

just, you know, hamburgers.

That's enough.

You know, you don't have to have salad,

and soup,

and first-course appetizer,

and second-course appetizer.

Maybe Jesus is saying to her,

simplify it, you know,

just do one thing,

don't do everything.

That's the one thing that matters.

I'm not sure that I agree with him,

but that is probably the most interesting interpretation

of this passage I've ever heard.

And when I write a commentary on Luke,

which is not anytime soon,

I will incorporate it as a possibility.

Let's take a look at another part.

Look at verse 39,

second interpretation.

In this second interpretation,

she had a sister called Mary

who sat at the Lord's feet

listening to what he said.

She could have stood in the corner,

she could have stood in the back,

she could have stood next to the window,

but it is interesting enough

that she sat at Jesus' feet,

and Jesus didn't forbid her.

That's an awkward thing

to read about.

When I see this passage,

I see Mary doing something

that any good Jew would understand.

To sit at the master's feet

means you're the favorite disciple.

She is not even one of the twelve.

And yet she's taking the position

of the favorite disciple.

This, of course, raises the issue.

Is this story dealing with a very basic question?

Where is the place of women in society?

In our days,

we have probably thought a little bit more about this

than maybe 40 years ago

because of the rise of ISIS

and then trying to reinforce codes.

So in some places in the Middle East,

a woman cannot walk to the market alone.

If you walk to the market alone,

you get arrested by the police.

Therefore, a woman has to walk with her brother

or son or father.

A male has to escort a woman

if she wants to go shopping in the market.

Otherwise, it's a crime.

Women have to wear clothes,

clothing that covers from top to bottom.

So you can't exactly wear clothing

that only go up to your knees.

If you wear up to your knees,

you get arrested for violating clothing laws.

So as ISIS is trying to enforce

laws about the place of women,

we find that those laws are very, very strict,

much stricter than anything

that goes on in our West.

Try to think, for example,

of women cheerleaders in a basketball game

or in a football game

and think of the attire,

the clothes that they wear.

That would be unheard of

in a Muslim culture,

completely unheard of.

So the question is,

where is the place of the woman?

I remember an incident

from my childhood very, very well.

I mean, it was like a revolution.

It was like, you know, 1776.

The reason for that

is that we were a Christian home,

so we were not Muslims.

We were a Christian home.

And the thing that happened

is that whenever the family

got together to eat,

all of us would sit at the table

except my grandmother.

She would eat all by herself

in the kitchen

after everybody has eaten.

So she makes sure

that everybody is served,

and of course there is some food left,

but when she puts it on her plate,

she wouldn't come and sit with us.

She grew up in a culture

that said,

women, sit alone.

We're talking about even before,

you know, like 1870s,

when she was growing up.

And so she would sit alone,

and the rest of the family

would be eating at the table.

And one day my uncle

just lost his cool.

I mean, he,

my uncle,

the most easygoing person

I know in the world,

one of the kindest people I know,

who had enormous respect

for his mom,

left the table

and yelled at her

in the kitchen,

yelled and yelled.

And he said,

we have to stop this nonsense.

You're not going to eat here

while everybody's sitting there.

You will eat with us.

If you don't eat with us,

nobody will eat.

And we're all sitting there,

this is my uncle,

yelling, you know.

I mean, he wouldn't yell at the dog,

much less yell at his mom,

like that.

And from that day on,

she would eat with us.

He said that, you know,

maybe that was your cultural upbringing

in our house,

this is your place,

your place is with us,

not with eating alone.

I remember the second revolution

because my grandmother

was a little bit old.

She had a servant

who sat and took care of her.

That servant was not part of the family,

but she was her servant.

And so my dad,

not to be outdone by his brother,

went to the servant

and demanded that she has to sit

with the rest of the family.

And said,

but she's not family.

She's not Masu.

He said,

she is part of this household.

She is sitting with us.

when you read the New Testament,

one of the questions that arises,

what is the role of women?

And they are treated a lot better

than either the Roman culture

or the Old Testament culture.

you can see it in some small ways

that is telling us,

you know,

the church is changing drastically.

In the synagogue,

the woman would not sit with men.

You couldn't sit next to your husband

even if you wanted to.

All the women sat on one side,

all the men sat on the other side.

And therefore,

if the pastor said something

and you didn't understand

and you wanted to ask,

guess what you'd have to do?

Yell across the hallway,

you know,

the divide.

And so,

it turns out

that the New Testament

is saying

the woman's role

is more

than just in the kitchen.

maybe in Old Testament culture

they would have thought

that that's the place

of the woman.

And then you have two exceptions.

Deborah,

Ruth,

Esther.

But

when you think about it,

who is the first one

who saw the resurrected Lord Jesus?

Mary Magdalene,

a woman.

Who was the first convert

in Europe?

Lydia,

a woman.

Who supported Jesus

financially?

Women.

And now,

you see a woman

sitting at

Jesus' feet.

Jesus does not

call her

a disciple.

She is not

one of the twelve.

But

Jesus is

permitting her

to sit

and listen to him.

and Jesus

is elevating

the role

of woman

from just

a little bit

above a servant

to a full

citizen

in the kingdom.

That's why Paul,

for different reasons,

says there is neither

Jew nor Greek,

male nor female.

Of course,

there are differences

between male and female.

We all know that.

but he is saying

in relationship

to the church.

And so,

maybe this parable

is trying to say,

maybe this incident

is trying to

be part of

this larger package

that women

can do

other things

than just

work in the kitchen.

There is nothing

dishonorable about

working in the kitchen.

I don't want

anybody to think that.

But there is more

than just

working in the kitchen.

Maybe it's okay

for a woman

to study

God's word.

And if you believe that,

you should join

women's ministry

that was just

introduced

and announced earlier.

Maybe women

should be able

to talk to each other

about growing

in the Lord,

supporting each other,

endorsing each other,

walking side by side

with each other.

So,

a passage like this

means that

even women

are free

to have access

to God.

Knowing God

is not limited

to men.

Studying scriptures

is not limited

to men.

You may remember

a movie

a long time ago

by Barbara Streisand

called Yentl.

This woman,

a musical,

this woman

who could not

study

the Old Testament,

the law,

because in Jewish

schools,

women were not

allowed to be rabbis.

And so,

theological education

was closed

to them.

So,

Barbara Streisand

disguises herself

as a boy

to get

theological education.

and Jesus

saying,

there is no need

for that.

Women can have

access to God.

The third thing,

the third way

of looking

at this passage

is,

this is a special

event.

Jesus does not

live in Bethel.

He is not

their next door

neighbor.

He lives

in Galilee

and Bethel

is about two miles

away from Jerusalem.

So,

apparently,

he is on a visit

to or from

Jerusalem.

This is

a special

occasion.

This is

a special

occasion.

If he was,

if he lived

next door to them,

it wouldn't be special.

They could see him

every day.

But this is

a special occasion.

And so,

the question is,

what can you do

on special occasions

as opposed

to ordinary occasions?

I have never

come to this church

wearing a tuxedo.

The last time

I wore a tuxedo

happens to be

ten years ago.

In the last

ten years,

I have not

worn the tuxedo

once.

Maybe if I were

a professional musician,

I'd wear it

every weekend

when I'm working,

but I am not

a professional musician.

So,

I don't wear

tuxedos.

But I did wear

it ten years ago.

Do you want

to guess what

was happening

ten years ago?

My daughter

was getting married.

So,

I thought

for her sake,

I would do

something special.

But that's not

what I normally

wear.

I invited

350 people

to dinner.

I don't invite

normally

350 people

to dinner

ever.

I've only done it

once in my life.

not even

for my son's

wearing.

On special

occasions,

you do things

that are

different than

normal occasions.

On normal

occasions,

you worry about

food and you

worry about

many things,

but this is

a special

occasion.

But I am

not upset

with her.

Let me just

give you an

idea.

If you

want to

scare your

wife to

death today

and ruin

her day,

after church,

tell her,

honey,

I forgot

to tell

you,

I invited

13 people

to have

lunch with

us.

At home.

Jesus is

walking,

she invites

him to

her house.

no wonder

she panics.

She's not

just cooking

for herself,

Mary,

and Lazarus,

she's cooking

for all of

them.

And she's

scrambling to

try to find

food and

all of that.

But maybe

on special

occasions,

it's okay to

skip lunch.

Maybe on

special occasions,

it's okay

to do the

bare minimum

and sit

and listen

to Jesus

teaching.

Maybe that

is the one

thing that

matters most.

You don't

have Jesus

every day.

They certainly

didn't have

him every

day.

It was a

special occasion.

He was

visiting.

Which is

more important,

to wash

the dishes

or to

listen to

Jesus?

I would

like to

suggest a

fourth

interpretation.

question.

But again,

please keep

in mind,

these are

not

either or.

They're

not

either or.

They're

all valid.

Let me

suggest that

maybe we

started in

the wrong

place.

Maybe by

starting in

Luke 10.38,

that was the

wrong place

to start.

Maybe we

should have

started in

Luke 10.25.

So I'm

going to

go back

in the

chapter to

the earlier

starting point.

And so

turn with

me to

Luke 10.25.

It's a

familiar

passage.

One of the

most familiar

passages in

all of the

Gospels,

actually.

On one

occasion,

an expert

in the

law stood

up to

test Jesus.

Teacher,

he asked,

what must

I do to

inherit

eternal

life?

What is

written in

the law?

He replied,

how do

you read

it?

He

answered,

love the

Lord your

God with

all of

your heart

and with

all of

your soul

and with

all of

your strength

and with

all of

your mind

and love

your neighbor

as yourself.

These are,

of course,

the two

greatest

commandments.

You've

answered

correctly,

Jesus replied.

Do this

and you

will live.

But he

wanted to

justify himself,

so he

asked Jesus,

who is my

neighbor?

If the

commandment is

love your

neighbor as

yourself,

then who

is my

neighbor?

And what

happens next

is the

parable of

the good

Samaritan.

And it

ends with

the question,

who was a

neighbor to

this man?

And of

course,

it was the

good Samaritan

who took

care of

him.

So here

is a

wounded

person who

needs

help.

The good

Samaritan

sees him

and helps

him.

He was

the good

neighbor.

Look at

what's

happening

in verse

38.

As Jesus

and his

disciples were

on their

way, he

came to

a village

where a

woman named

Martha opened

her home

to him and

invited them

to stay and

to have

dinner.

What is

Martha doing?

She is

being, she

is illustrating

in the real

flesh and

blood a good

Samaritan.

Jesus is in

need, she

is helping

him out.

He needs

food, she

feeds him, he

needs shelter, she

provides him

shelter.

She is being

like the good

Samaritan.

She is loving

her neighbor as

herself.

But when I go

back to the

lawyer's answer,

the answer is

love the Lord

your God with

all of your

heart and with

all of your

soul and with

all of your

strength and

love your

neighbor as

yourself.

the parable of

the good

Samaritan

illustrates what

it means to

love your

neighbor.

What is it

like to love

God?

Jesus didn't

give us two

parables, he

only gave us

one parable.

And that

parable illustrates

loving your

neighbor.

What about the

first commandment?

Love God.

I think what

is happening in

this story about

Mary and

Martha is that

Martha in some

sense shows how

to love your

neighbor and

Mary shows how

to love God.

So that Mary and

Martha are designed

to balance each

other and to

illustrate this and

this.

Should we love

God or should we

love our neighbor?

both?

Both.

Both.

Both.

And so when we do

love God and we do

love our neighbor, both

of them are scriptural, but

loving God is first.

it is more important than

loving your neighbor

without minimizing that

loving your neighbor is

the second greatest

commandment.

And so I think this is

trying to give us

concrete example that

maybe in the business

of doing things,

helping your neighbor,

you know, in this area,

in that area, in the

other area, that in the

process of being very,

very busy about so many

things, you may forget

God.

And you need to stop

and say, God comes

first, I'm going to

listen to Jesus at his

feet, rather than keep

doing more good, busy

things.

And so the one thing

that I take is to

obey God, keeping in

mind that loving God is

the greatest commandment

and loving your neighbor

is your second greatest

commandment.

And we should keep both,

but remember which is

first.

Amen.

Let's have a word of

prayer.

prayer.

Thank you, Father, for this

wonderful passage in

scriptures.

Thank you for two

wonderful sisters and

their brother, whom, in

whose lives you worked so

much and in the process

revealed a lot about

yourself.

Thank you because we have

passages like that to

remind us how to love you

and how to love our

neighbor.

Help us excel in both of

them, Father.

Help us to be godly

church.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Amen.