Preparing for the holidays at the feet of Jesus
“As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.”
But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details!
There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” - Luke 10:38-42 (NLT)
This Friday was the worst...okay, the biggest shopping day of the year. The day after Thanksgiving, which also officially ushers in the holiday season in the U.S. 'Tis the season for many preparations and distractions, not too much unlike what Martha was struggling with… you’ve got Christmas parties, shopping, making food, having company, traveling to family, and on and on...
Now, I don’t want to give you another typical Mary and Martha story. Many people have taught on this passage. And I read this, I thought to myself... I’ve heard this all before…” This story has kind of turned into a “Men are from Mars; Women are from Venus” thing. The typical, “Mary is the worshiper and Martha is the “doer, blah, blah, blah” But I don’t think that was point of the story. I'm sure Martha loved Jesus just as much as Mary…probably sat at His feet too. But I do think there is something here that is probably the most important point of the whole Bible.
"There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”
So here's the question you and I need to answer...exactly what did Mary discover?
For this is the most profound question of all time. Every other search or pursuit pales in insignificance compared to its blinding light. When pondering Mary's actions here, I am reminded of two parables Jesus taught in Matthew 13 about the hidden treasure in the field and the pearl of great price. He said that these people sold all they had for it, they risked it all. Sold all...risked all...for what? Here's the thing...if we don't know what it is, we haven't found it yet. And until we do, we will probably wear ourselves with many distractions, all for a Person we don't really know.
Once you’ve discovered this one thing, nothing else in the world really matters. Everything else that was once so important in our lives now pales in significance. You would do anything; go anywhere…not for a meeting, a conference, an anointed Charismatic preacher, even a worthwhile ministry...but for Jesus! This is what Paul meant in Phillipians chapter three when he said that all his lofty, religious accomplishments were like garbage, even a dung heap, compared to knowing Christ.
I remember one time when I was before the Lord, just quietly waiting on Him, not talking but listening...when this profound truth hit me…there is nothing more important than what I am doing right now! Nothing I can do or accomplish will ever make me more successful, be more affirming, unlock and satisfy every longing in my heart, make me feel more significant, or will ever come close to making me feel more alive than when I am at Jesus’ feet! When I come to work in the morning, if I don’t spend time at the feet of Jesus, nothing else I do matters. My agenda and all my accomplishments are a waste of time without it. Martin Luther discovered this treasure and it transformed his priorities…he said, “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” You see, we have it all backwards…we get so busy with doing things for Jesus that we have no time for him. We don’t get it.
If this one thing isn’t something we would die for, sell everything we have for, we haven’t discovered it yet. Everything…this world, our existence, all that is and ever will be…centers, culminates and crescendos with, in, and for Jesus…all of Scripture IS Jesus; everything we are to do, live, and breathe is about knowing Jesus. In Him we live and move and have our being. There is nothing that matters that doesn’t not come from intimately knowing Christ! To move away from this fact is to have completely miss everything… it is to have lived in vain, it is, by definition, the ultimate waste of time!
Does this mean that we should now become Trappist monks, living in recluse, spending all our time gazing at Jesus, lovingly lodged at His feet? No. It means that everything we do and are starts and ends at Jesus’ feet. Jesus was the champion of social justice, He healed the sick, He spent time with His family, He was not a recluse…but He only did what He saw the Father do. Everything He did found its source in His relationship with His Father.
And being captivated by Jesus doesn’t mean we’ll be this curmudgeon-faced zealot in camel-hair, always railing against everything and telling people they’re going to hell either. These kind of people have not been with Jesus. They just like the idea of looking righteous, thereby, they become judgmental and self-righteous. Which is exactly what I become when my heart has not been continuously tenderized by His touch. For there is no one so tender, so patient, so unassuming, so compassionate and so merciful as someone who has been with Jesus. Indeed, all the attributes of love in I Cor.13 can be found in someone who has truly spent time at His feet. (Look in the Bible yourself. Jesus only railed against the self-righteous, not the sinner.)
And what about Mary here. What did she learn at His feet? Well, you can take a look in John 12...“Six days before the Passover celebration began, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home of Lazarus—the man he had raised from the dead. A dinner was prepared in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those who ate with him. Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance.”
Could it be that Mary knew some things...secret things... that even the disciples didn't know? For later in this passage, Jesus said that she did it in preparation for His burial. Keep in mind, this was taking place while the disciples were still waiting for Jesus to crush the Roman Empire and reestablish the kingdom of Israel. But Mary's worship was prophetic...it was extravagant and costly. Like us, the other disciples called it wasteful and unreasonable. They didn't get it either.
So...here I am today. What gift can I give the King of kings, the Lover of my Soul this holiday season? Is it found it all my "doing's" in Jesus' name? To work tirelessly in ministry? Or, in my righteous indignation against all the evils of this world?
It truly is a season to spend with family and friends that I love. Jesus spent time with family and friends. Martha, Mary, and Lazarus were friends He hung out with. But Jesus also said that if my love for them doesn't seem like hatred in comparison to my love for Him, I cannot be His follower (Luke 14:26-27). That's quite a statement that I'm not sure I am ready for yet.
I think that the gift Jesus is asking me to give is my first love to Him. How easy it is to forget this…or maybe I have never discovered it in the first place… for then I am merely going through the motions of being a Christian without Christ’s burning passion captivating my heart. I am to be consumed with Him, where nothing else matters…to be so desperate for His touch…knowing that there is no hope for me apart from Jesus’ rule and reign in my life…for I know I am too lazy, too proud, too distracted, too addicted, too everything…my only hope is Jesus...if I don’t have Jesus, I know for certain that I will become another clanging cymbol, a religious Pharisee, I will create God in my own image, I will create a life of my own control...I will even shake my fist at the world in self-righteous defiance, but I won’t love it like Jesus did.
It's so easy to get caught up in everything but Jesus in the busyness of life, even in preparing for the holidays where we wish to honor Him. Have we, too, no room for the King? But as Jesus promised Mary, when we discover this one thing, nothing can take it from us. Amen.
But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details!
There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” - Luke 10:38-42 (NLT)
This Friday was the worst...okay, the biggest shopping day of the year. The day after Thanksgiving, which also officially ushers in the holiday season in the U.S. 'Tis the season for many preparations and distractions, not too much unlike what Martha was struggling with… you’ve got Christmas parties, shopping, making food, having company, traveling to family, and on and on...
Now, I don’t want to give you another typical Mary and Martha story. Many people have taught on this passage. And I read this, I thought to myself... I’ve heard this all before…” This story has kind of turned into a “Men are from Mars; Women are from Venus” thing. The typical, “Mary is the worshiper and Martha is the “doer, blah, blah, blah” But I don’t think that was point of the story. I'm sure Martha loved Jesus just as much as Mary…probably sat at His feet too. But I do think there is something here that is probably the most important point of the whole Bible.
"There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”
So here's the question you and I need to answer...exactly what did Mary discover?
For this is the most profound question of all time. Every other search or pursuit pales in insignificance compared to its blinding light. When pondering Mary's actions here, I am reminded of two parables Jesus taught in Matthew 13 about the hidden treasure in the field and the pearl of great price. He said that these people sold all they had for it, they risked it all. Sold all...risked all...for what? Here's the thing...if we don't know what it is, we haven't found it yet. And until we do, we will probably wear ourselves with many distractions, all for a Person we don't really know.
Once you’ve discovered this one thing, nothing else in the world really matters. Everything else that was once so important in our lives now pales in significance. You would do anything; go anywhere…not for a meeting, a conference, an anointed Charismatic preacher, even a worthwhile ministry...but for Jesus! This is what Paul meant in Phillipians chapter three when he said that all his lofty, religious accomplishments were like garbage, even a dung heap, compared to knowing Christ.
I remember one time when I was before the Lord, just quietly waiting on Him, not talking but listening...when this profound truth hit me…there is nothing more important than what I am doing right now! Nothing I can do or accomplish will ever make me more successful, be more affirming, unlock and satisfy every longing in my heart, make me feel more significant, or will ever come close to making me feel more alive than when I am at Jesus’ feet! When I come to work in the morning, if I don’t spend time at the feet of Jesus, nothing else I do matters. My agenda and all my accomplishments are a waste of time without it. Martin Luther discovered this treasure and it transformed his priorities…he said, “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” You see, we have it all backwards…we get so busy with doing things for Jesus that we have no time for him. We don’t get it.
If this one thing isn’t something we would die for, sell everything we have for, we haven’t discovered it yet. Everything…this world, our existence, all that is and ever will be…centers, culminates and crescendos with, in, and for Jesus…all of Scripture IS Jesus; everything we are to do, live, and breathe is about knowing Jesus. In Him we live and move and have our being. There is nothing that matters that doesn’t not come from intimately knowing Christ! To move away from this fact is to have completely miss everything… it is to have lived in vain, it is, by definition, the ultimate waste of time!
Does this mean that we should now become Trappist monks, living in recluse, spending all our time gazing at Jesus, lovingly lodged at His feet? No. It means that everything we do and are starts and ends at Jesus’ feet. Jesus was the champion of social justice, He healed the sick, He spent time with His family, He was not a recluse…but He only did what He saw the Father do. Everything He did found its source in His relationship with His Father.
And being captivated by Jesus doesn’t mean we’ll be this curmudgeon-faced zealot in camel-hair, always railing against everything and telling people they’re going to hell either. These kind of people have not been with Jesus. They just like the idea of looking righteous, thereby, they become judgmental and self-righteous. Which is exactly what I become when my heart has not been continuously tenderized by His touch. For there is no one so tender, so patient, so unassuming, so compassionate and so merciful as someone who has been with Jesus. Indeed, all the attributes of love in I Cor.13 can be found in someone who has truly spent time at His feet. (Look in the Bible yourself. Jesus only railed against the self-righteous, not the sinner.)
And what about Mary here. What did she learn at His feet? Well, you can take a look in John 12...“Six days before the Passover celebration began, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home of Lazarus—the man he had raised from the dead. A dinner was prepared in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those who ate with him. Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance.”
Could it be that Mary knew some things...secret things... that even the disciples didn't know? For later in this passage, Jesus said that she did it in preparation for His burial. Keep in mind, this was taking place while the disciples were still waiting for Jesus to crush the Roman Empire and reestablish the kingdom of Israel. But Mary's worship was prophetic...it was extravagant and costly. Like us, the other disciples called it wasteful and unreasonable. They didn't get it either.
So...here I am today. What gift can I give the King of kings, the Lover of my Soul this holiday season? Is it found it all my "doing's" in Jesus' name? To work tirelessly in ministry? Or, in my righteous indignation against all the evils of this world?
It truly is a season to spend with family and friends that I love. Jesus spent time with family and friends. Martha, Mary, and Lazarus were friends He hung out with. But Jesus also said that if my love for them doesn't seem like hatred in comparison to my love for Him, I cannot be His follower (Luke 14:26-27). That's quite a statement that I'm not sure I am ready for yet.
I think that the gift Jesus is asking me to give is my first love to Him. How easy it is to forget this…or maybe I have never discovered it in the first place… for then I am merely going through the motions of being a Christian without Christ’s burning passion captivating my heart. I am to be consumed with Him, where nothing else matters…to be so desperate for His touch…knowing that there is no hope for me apart from Jesus’ rule and reign in my life…for I know I am too lazy, too proud, too distracted, too addicted, too everything…my only hope is Jesus...if I don’t have Jesus, I know for certain that I will become another clanging cymbol, a religious Pharisee, I will create God in my own image, I will create a life of my own control...I will even shake my fist at the world in self-righteous defiance, but I won’t love it like Jesus did.
It's so easy to get caught up in everything but Jesus in the busyness of life, even in preparing for the holidays where we wish to honor Him. Have we, too, no room for the King? But as Jesus promised Mary, when we discover this one thing, nothing can take it from us. Amen.
posted by Pastor Mel at 1:58 PM
2 Comments:
Chuck Swindoll wrote a great chapter about Mary I think called "Extravgant Love" in his book "Living above the level of Mediocracy". If only we could learn and love in the same way. Thanks for sharing!
I have not read that book. Sounds like a good one. I went more into depth on this subject last Sunday at our church. The message "The Great Discovery" is on our web site now.
Post a Comment
<< Home