7/29/07 - Pentecost 9 - Luke 10:38-42

THERE'S ONLY ONE THING NEEDED
- It's a matter of priorities
- It's a matter of salvation

Do you remember what the sermon was about last Sunday? You didn’t know there’d be a quiz today, did you? Well, let me jog your memory. The main verse of our sermon text last Sunday from Deuteronomy 30 was this: “The word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart.” Last week we talked about how the Lord has placed his Word very near to us in a number of different ways - for us to understand and for us to believe. I want you to remember last week’s sermon because today’s sermon text deals with the very same topic: God’s Word. But the focus of the section of Scripture in front of us today is that God’s Word is the only thing that’s needed. And from the well-known story of Mary and Martha we will see that it’s a matter of priorities and also a matter of salvation.
This account in Luke chapter 10 is apparently the first time Jesus comes across these two sisters during his ministry. A woman named Martha knows that Jesus is the Savior, invites him into her house and, as a good host would do, she begins to prepare a meal for him. There was a lot to prepare - especially since it was Jesus! You can just imagine that Martha wanted to put her best in front of the Lord and nothing less. She wasn’t about to try out a new recipe. She was going to prepare her best meal on her best china with all the extras. There was work to do. And there’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, it’s a very good thing to use the skills and gifts the Lord has given you to thank and serve him in return. And that’s what is so important to notice in this story! What Martha did wasn’t a sin in and of itself! You are supposed to use your talents to the best of your abilities. It wasn’t what she was doing that was sinful, it was what she wasn’t doing. It was really a matter of priorities. And Jesus pointed that out to her.
As Martha was slaving over a hot stove, so to speak, her sister Mary was sitting at the feet of the Savior - seemingly doing nothing besides listening to his words. Martha, understandably stressed out from preparing a one-of-a-kind meal for the Lord, wasn’t too happy about the situation. And so she asked Jesus, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” Jesus responded, “Martha, Martha. You are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed.” At that point in her life, using her talents to the best of her abilities was not the most important thing Martha could have been doing. At that point in her life, she had the opportunity to hear the words of the Lord and she didn’t take it. She didn’t take that opportunity because she was “distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.” Distracted by serving the Lord? Yes, distracted from the only thing that was needed: God’s Word. It was a matter of priorities. She put something else above God’s Word on her priority list - no matter how noble that may have seemed to be.
Isn’t it a little scary how the devil works? He can take something that is so good like serving the Lord with everything you’ve got, and then somehow twist it into a sin. He distracts you with other things. He makes sure that it doesn’t even cross your mind that your priority list needs some major adjustments. He conveniently forgets to remind you that God’s Word is the only thing needed. And there are so many opportunities that we miss, aren’t there? There are so many excuses that we think are legitimate.
If you miss a church service, that’s not a sin in and of itself. It does depend on why you missed it. If you don’t come to Bible class, that’s not a sin in and of itself. It does depend on why you don’t come. If you don’t read your Bible on a regular basis at home, that’s not a sin in and of itself. It does, of course, depend on your reason why. And when I look at the story for today, I realize that I better have a pretty good excuse not to hear or read or study the only thing needed.
Look at Martha’s excuse. She had invited Jesus into her home. She was obligated to cook him a meal. It was her job. It was her duty as a host. It had to be done. And it was even done to his glory! If there was any excuse that was legitimate enough to miss an opportunity to hear God’s word, that was it! But Jesus didn’t even give her that. Even service to the Lord wasn’t enough to take the place of learning God’s Word. Are any of your excuses enough? Does the Lord really understand when you miss church or Bible class? And since I’m a pastor and am forced to go to church and Bible class, what really gets me personally is reading my Bible every day and doing family devotions. People don’t look over my shoulder to make sure I do those things. No one knows if I skip every once in a while. People aren’t aware if I make an excuse. And many excuses are made to miss those opportunities, aren’t they? Work. Travel. Too busy. Too tired. Don’t feel like it. Relatives are visiting. Forgetfulness. I’m on vacation… Really more important to replace learning the Word - even for a day? Even for an hour?
When I was in highschool my brother and I and two of our friends wanted to go camping over a weekend. We were going to go to the middle part of the state of Nebraska and camp by a lake from Friday night until Sunday night. My parents said we could go as long as we found a WELS church to go to Sunday morning. We argued with our parents. We complained. We wined. We negotiated. We didn’t win. And so Sunday morning my brother Jake and I got up early, threw off our old, dirty camping clothes, changed into something appropriate and drove over an hour to the nearest WELS church for their 8 O’clock service. It’s not to my credit because I didn’t even want to go. The last thing we wanted to do on that particular Sunday morning was go to church because we thought we had a legitimate excuse. We were on a vacation, after all! We were in the middle of nowhere. We had rarely, if ever, missed a Sunday church service before in our lives. But our parents still made us go.
And not just to make a point. They made us go to church regardless of where we were or how far we had to drive because they knew that there is only one thing needed. To hear the Word of God. To read the Word of God. To study the Word of God. Nothing should ever take its place. What could be more important? What could be more pressing than the precious truths of God’s powerful Word? But we always seem to try avoid it. And to push it aside. And to forget it. And let it drop down our priority list the busier we get because we have better or more important or more fun things to do than to read and hear the Word. There is only one thing needed. God’s Word should not only be on the top of our priority list, it should be the only thing on our priority list.
Mary understood that. She sat at the feet of her Savior and listened to his words. And I’m sure Mary normally helped her sister prepare the meals. I’m sure she wasn’t a completely lazy sister. I’m sure she wanted the meal to be just as perfect for Jesus as Martha wanted it to be. But at that specific point in her life she had the opportunity to hear God’s Word. And she took it. It was a matter of priorities to her because it was a matter of salvation.
“The Holy Scriptures… are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15). Is it any surprise that the Lord says that his Word is the only thing needed if it can make you wise for salvation? He means that. It is the only thing that works faith in a person’s heart. It is the only thing that strengthens faith. It is the only thing that reveals the way of salvation to lost souls. It is the only thing needed. Do you realize the implications of that? If, from this moment on, you did not have anything else to drink, if no fluid entered your body any more, you might last for 5 days or so. You need water to live, but you don’t need it to live forever. You need the water of life to live forever, which is the Word of God. If you went without food until you died of starvation, you might last until next week. You need food to live, but not to live forever. You need the bread of life to live forever, which is the Word of God. Tell me, what is more important than the Word of God that offers you free forgiveness for your sins, that offers you salvation, that offers you an eternity of perfection? How could anything take its place - even for a moment?
One of our WELS missionaries in Russia tells a story about a man named Sergei and how the Word of God showed him salvation and changed his life. “Ten years ago Sergei worked as a facial surgeon - treating people who had suffered from trauma or cancer. He was not merely an unbeliever, he told me, but a staunch atheist. Life began to sour for Sergei when his marriage fell apart. After his divorce, Sergei could find no meaning in life and began to drink. Then someone gave him a Bible… Scripture gave hope and meaning to his life. Sergei put his faith in the Lord Jesus. Now he was determined to dedicate his life to the Savior. Sergei quit his work and went to Moscow where he studied in a Methodist seminary.” Over time, Sergei noticed that the Methodist’s decision theology and their teachings on baptism and the Lord’s Supper did not agree with Scripture. It wasn’t until he started reading some Lutheran literature that he found a church that taught the Bible in its truth and purity. Sergei started his own Lutheran congregation. But even though he was faithful to the Word, that doesn’t mean time went by without trouble. In a few years every single one of his members left because of false accusations by a disgruntled former member that he was leading a Satanic cult and putting narcotics in the bread and wine. At one point Sergei was the only member remaining in his congregation.
But the Word of God still remained. He read it and learned it and studied it. Members started to come back. And to this day Sergei is still a Lutheran pastor although there is not an official Lutheran church presence anywhere around him. He and the handful of people in his congregation are in fellowship with the WELS and he strives to continue his training and education in the Word. Sergei went from an atheist to a confused member of a Reformed church to an abandoned pastor in a hostile land to a leader of a flock with the Truth - all because of the Word of God. He knows first hand that the Word of God is the only thing needed because it is a matter of salvation.
That’s why the Lord will never take it away. Remember Jesus’ words, “Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” The Lord will never take the Word away from you. He will always make sure that you have a chance to read it or hear it or remember it because it’s that important. If everything else in your life falls apart, what’s the difference? Therein lies your forgiveness. Therein lies your hope. Therein lies your salvation. Never give up another opportunity to sit at the Lord’s feet and learn from that Word. There is nothing better. There is nothing else that is needed.
Amen.

“Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever. Amen!” - Revelation 7:12