"The One Thing"

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July 22, 2007 Eighth Sunday After Pentecost

Sermon Title: “The One Thing”

Series: Practical Christianity (Priorities)

Text: Luke 10:38-42

Dr. Steve Jackson

NewSong Community Church

Delivered on July 22, 2007

“…there is need of only one thing.” Luke 10:42

The One Thing[i]

Today we’re beginning a brand new series of messages called Practical Christianity in which we’re going to look at some “where-the-rubber-hits-the-road” aspects of our Christian walk. Today’s practical issue is priorities—how to choose between all the wonderful, and not-so-wonderful things competing for our time and other resources.

Whenever I think of priorities two things immediately come to mind for me: a certain favorite movie of mine, and the Bible Story we just read today.

The movie is a comedy from several years ago called City Slickers. Perhaps you’ve seen it. It’s about three old friends from way back who are doing their best to hold off middle age. One of the ways they try to do that is by spending vacation time each year doing crazy things that are the opposite of their ordinary, suburban, middle-class lives. The plot of the film revolves around the three friends’ decision to spend one of these vacations together going on a cattle drive to help a bunch of seasoned cowboys move a herd of cattle. Their hope, of course, is that in the process, they’ll get in touch with something inside themselves they’ve lost, or perhaps even find something they didn’t know existed.

The boss of this cattle drive is a leathery old cowboy named Curly, who lives up to every stereotype imaginable about cowboys. He’s mean and he's tough, and can do anything with a rope, or a whip, or a knife. But in his rough and ready way he's also very wise.

In one scene Curly is riding alongside one of the city slickers—a character played by Billy Crystal—and their conversation turns philosophical. Crystal’s character turns to Curly and says with longing, "Your life makes sense to you." To which Curly replies: "You city folk. You worry a lot. How old are you? 38?" "39," the man says. "You all come up here about the same age. You spend fifty weeks getting knots in your rope and you think two weeks out here will untie them for you. None of you get it." He pauses a minute and then he goes on, "You know what the secret to life is?" "No… what?" says the man. And then Curly holds up a gnarled finger and says, "One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that, and everything else don't mean nothing." "That's great," says Crystal, "but what's the one thing?" Curly looks at him for a minute, and says, "That's what you've got to figure out."

I don’t know, perhaps today on this July Sunday here in the middle of summer I’m catching you after you just got back from your own two weeks of vacation trying to get the knots out of your own rope, and now you're ready, once again, to dive into the rhythm of work by which you and I order a lot of our life. Or maybe you haven’t been on vacation yet but it’s getting closer and closer and you can't wait for the chance to unwind and get some perspective on your life.

Time apart has a way of doing that, doesn’t it? I don’t know about you, but when I go away on vacation—in addition to the fact that I usually decide that I’d like to live wherever I’m vacationing—I usually return with a much better perspective on my life—a kind of “forest-level” view where I ask myself why I do what I do, or ask why don’t I start doing some things. There’s a sort of reordering of priorities that often occurs that is initiated by time apart. But then, when you come back with some changes in mind and newly gained perspective on life—the question still remains: What is the “one thing?” How am I going to decide between all the demands on my life?

Well, that’s where the Bible story we read today comes in. It’s a very familiar story to many of us. Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem and he stops in to visit with his good friends Mary and Martha. When he arrives Martha busies herself in the kitchen with all the preparation necessary to have guests in your home while Mary sits at the feet of Jesus listening to him. Martha asks Jesus to scold Mary for not helping out in the kitchen and Jesus says, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing.”

The typical interpretation of the story is that Mary is exalted over Martha because she is seen as the more spiritual, contemplative person, while Martha is seen as the disciple consumed with worldly cares, easily distracted by life. Martha is a “doer” while Mary is a “be-er.” On the face of it, that's not a bad interpretation. But there are a couple of problems with that interpretation.

Problem #1 – Somebody’s got to do it.

First of all, there is obviously work that simply has to be done. We can’t all sit out in the parlor at the feet of Jesus—somebody’s got to stay in the kitchen and get dinner on the table, or nobody is going to get to eat! You “Marthas” here recognize that, am I right?

By the way, this isn’t just a problem for the ladies—there are plenty of men Martha’s too, you know. I’m one…I’ll admit it. “Hello, my name is Steve and I’m a Martha.” When there is a task to be done, I have a hard time sitting by and soaking in the present moment. As some of you know, I love to go deer hunting—mainly I love to go sit in deer stands in the woods for hours at a time and watch the sun either come up or go down while a bunch of squirrels and birds and turkeys and every other creature in the woods roams by my stand with the exception of white-tailed bucks. The problem with deer hunting time—either the dawn hunt or the late afternoon hunt—the times when deer are most actively moving—is that they both end at a meal time. We come in from the morning hunt around 10:30 or so we’re starved so we eat a huge breakfast. And we come in at dark from the afternoon hunt and we eat a big supper. That means somebody’s got to come in early from their stand to get the meal started, or none of us are going to be eating anytime soon. And so I sit on the stand for an hour or so and then I start worrying—instead of enjoying the beauty of God’s creation, or paying attention to my hunting, I get distracted. I start thinking, “I should probably head on back to get a pan of biscuits in the stove.” Or I’m planning our menu for that night. And then after a few minutes I find myself stewing as I sit there—“Why is it always me that has to go in early to cook? Why can’t somebody else go in early for once? Well, if I’m going to cook then he’s going to do the dishes, that’s all I’ve got to say….” Meanwhile, entire herds of deer are probably walking around my deer stand…laughing! More than once I’ve left my deer stand early and jumped a deer on the way back to the house. If I’d only have sat still a little longer…

Things have to be done. Let’s face it we can’t sit around all day being filled with glory—life does happen. Even in the church there are things that have to be done. Even at this very moment we have people up there looking at sound meters and aiming cameras and working downstairs in the nursery and teaching in Junior Worship. These are just a few of the Martha things the church needs to do. So we really can’t polarize the two sisters the way most people want to. Yes, prayer and devotion are needed, but the natural outflow of time spent with Christ is service to others.

Problem #2 – We are all called to both “be” and “do”

A second problem, besides the problem of “somebody’s got to do it” is the fact that all believers are called to both “be” and to “do.” That means the traditional interpretation that “Mary chose the better part” and that better part is the “spiritual side” tends to create a sort of hierarchical divide between the spiritual life and the rest of life. But I would suggest to you that such a divide is unbiblical because by virtue of our Christian baptism, our life has a two-fold orientation; towards God, which means we all must be mystical and contemplative lovers of God; while at the same time actively loving and serving “the world” by bringing it closer to God because we’ve been commissioned to do so.

In reality, both of these problems—the fact that there always will be work to be done that someone has to do, and the fact that by our baptism we’re called to be both spiritual and active, are explained by the fact that this issue is not an “either-or” kind of question. Like I said a moment ago, so many people put the two sisters on opposite poles–Martha is the doer; Mary is the one being with Jesus. The problem with looking at the story this way is that none of us live in a world where we can divide our lives into either doing or being–we all must have both. The Martha things have to be done: we need to eat and clean and do laundry and go to work and change diapers, and all of those other wonderful normal life things. And we need to draw near to God in prayer, Bible Study, and meditation. What I’m trying to say is Martha and Mary are actually more like two sides of the same coin. You can’t split them. We need, then, Mary’s heart and Martha’s hands. What’s needed most in this case is discernment about which is appropriate and when.

Can the Martha and Mary parts of us somehow be brought together? A few hundred years ago a man named Lawrence joined a monastery because he wanted to devote his time to quiet prayer and meditation. Once in the monastery guess where Brother Lawrence found himself? He was assigned to run the kitchen. So much for peace and quiet. But in the middle of all of his activity, getting up early to collect eggs, haggling at the marketplace, picking veggies, and fixing meals, he discovered that God was with him in all the noise and busyness of his life. Eventually Brother Lawrence was able to say, “The time of business does not with me differ from the time of prayer; and in the noise and clutter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess GOD in as great tranquility as if I were upon my knees at the Blessed Sacrament.” Some of you are like that too—I’ve watched you serving and you’re closer to God than ever when you’re serving.

None of us are totally a Martha or Mary, both are a part of each of us. Different times call for different emphases in our life, and at times we will be both. There are times we will be called to spend time with God alone and not do anything. There will be other times where we are busy serving our families, friends, and church. These two sides of life should move naturally in and out of each other.

But now that I’ve criticized the traditional understanding of the story, what in the world is it about? This morning I want to offer you an “alternative reading” from the traditional interpretation of this story that avoids diminishing the importance of Martha's busyness, while at the same time doesn’t romanticize Mary's reflectiveness. I’m indebted in my thinking on this, in part, to a book by Camille Olson.[ii] Let’s see what Jesus has to teach us about setting priorities in the story of Mary and Martha.

Beware of the Danger of Distractions

The first thing this story teaches us is to Beware of the Danger of Distractions. As Jesus said, “Martha, Martha you are worried and distracted by many things…”

I suppose every one of us who has had a child learning to drive has preached a sermon or two of their own about the “danger of distractions.” I remember when Amy and Leigh started to drive we had a rule. They couldn’t fiddle with the radio while driving, they couldn’t talk on their cell phone while they were driving, and they couldn’t ride around with a carload of friends to distract them either. Why? Because it’s deadly to get distracted while behind the wheel of a car. I found a study from this past January that said that while teens are taking to heart the message to not drink and drive, they are completely ignoring warnings about distractions while driving. In that study it said that nearly 90% of the teens they surveyed admitted to routinely driving while talking on cell phones and more than half drive while using hand-held games, listening devices and even sending and receiving text messages.

Teens aren’t alone in experiencing the dangers of distraction—nor is it a new phenomenon. In Homer’s Odyssey he reported that already in ancient times people realized the devastating effects of distraction. To prevent his sailors from being distracted by the song of the Sirens and crashing into the rocks, Odysseus blocked their ears with wax.

There has never been an age in time where there were more distractions than there are today in the 21^st century. Multi-tasking is expected—even required—at work, at home, even in church. We even expect our little children to be able to do this. My 9 month old great-niece, the one I dedicated here last week has some of the coolest electronic toys you can imagine. When I grew up back in the dark ages, all I had was some wooden blocks with letters on them. She has toys with more computer power than last laptop has. They’ll overwhelm you in a moment. Oh, I suppose I had a mobile hanging over my crib, but her toys have lights and buttons and screens and keyboards. They even speak to her in multiple languages…it’s amazing. But you know what else it does? It also teaches her to be distracted. Truth is, we live in an age of distraction. It’s not going to go away, so in that sense, the problem we’re talking about of how to deal with distraction isn’t going away either. If anything it’s getting worse.

So what are we going to do? How are we going to find the time and focus to do all the things we want or need to do—and where should we start?

Setting Priorities is about TIME, it’s about FOCUS

One part of the answer is to realize that setting priorities is not a matter of time—it’s about focus—it’s about putting God first. Let’s face it, we each have exactly the same amount of time each day. With all the opportunities we have these days we’ll always have more on our daily “to-do” list than we can possibly accomplish. But the story of Mary and Martha teaches us that if we put God first, we may not accomplish number ten or even number two or three on our daily list, we’ll always get to number one.

I don’t know how many of you use “to-do” lists. I’m sure all you Martha’s out there do. But one thing about using a “to-do” list is you notice how it’s always changing. You get pushed and pulled around by the “tyranny of the urgent.” But when you really do put God first in your life, whatever comes second, or third, or tenth will always be right! Besides, when you put God first whatever would’ve been numbers 2-10 for you will probably change anyways.

The one thing: Jesus

Here’s the rest of the answer. The key to understanding this story is understanding what the “one needful thing” really is. And it’s not to sit at the feet of Jesus all day long. The one thing needful is Jesus himself. Did you hear that? This story does not teach that Jesus thought Mary’s actions were ‘better’ than Martha’s service to Him. What it says is, “there is need of only one thing.” And that “one thing” is coming to Him, trusting Him as the author and finisher of your faith, and accepting His enabling power as the source of all your successes which makes your service pure and selfless.

You may notice this morning I didn’t offer you some step-by-step formula to achieve your goals in life. I also didn’t scold you for not spending more time sitting at the feet of Jesus. That’s because this story doesn’t teach either one of those things. The story teaches us that Jesus Christ is the one thing you need more than anything else in the world. The world urges us to strictly follow step-by-step formulas to achieve success. In striking contrast, Jesus simply said, ‘Come unto me’ (Matthew 11:28). You and I don’t need another checklist to tell us what we need to do. We need Him.

The fascinating about this is how well new Christians know this automatically. Those who have recently come to know Christ or who have had their faith revived don’t want to be distracted from Christ himself. Sure, they want to learn all they can. Yes, they come to church. Yes they serve. But what they’re after most is more of Jesus. As such their attitude is different from those of us who have been believers for a long time.

In the final analysis old Curly in the movie City Slickers was right when he said it’s all about one thing, and if you stick to that one thing, everything else will fall into place. I don’t know about you—but as for me, give me Jesus. [Cue song “Give me Jesus by Fernando Ortega]