An Explosion from the Kitchen

Luke 10:38-42

March 8, 1998

by Dave Wilkinson

Luke tells a story about two sisters who welcome Jesus into their home. Both hear Jesus talk. But only one of them is listening. Which will you be like this morning? Turn with me to Luke 10, verse 38.

Luke 10:38-42

This is a simple little story that takes place between a kitchen and a dining room. But Luke sees that a small confrontation over priorities somehow brings us to the center of the Christian life.

We are now some six months away from the crucifixion and resurrection. It is mid-October. Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem for the Feast of Booths -- a seven-day period in which the people recalls the time their ancestors spent in the wilderness.

Jesus is on the road. But he isn’t in the wilderness. He is in a place of friendship. Somewhere along the way, Mary and Martha and their brother Lazarus -- the one Jesus will later raise from the dead -- have learned the importance of welcoming people into their lives. Apparently they see a need in Jesus' life for friendship and hospitality and a place of retreat. Whenever Jesus is near Jerusalem, He knows where to go for a lift and a laugh and to be warmed by an atmosphere of love. This home in Bethany -- six miles from Jerusalem on the reverse slope of the Mt. of Olives -- is Jesus’ Camp David -- His place of retreat.

In this familiar story of Mary and Martha, we discover how our homes can be a place where hearts are mended and weary souls are recharged. And, ironic as it may sound, we also discover that one way discouraged, tapped-out disciples can find new energy is simply by getting their eyes off themselves. Do you want to have more real joy in your life as a believer? Then pay attention to this story.

Martha may have been widowed for she is manager of the household. Mary may be a younger single adult living under the same roof. Mary is the more sensitive, emotional one. Martha is the hard headed, practical worker. In John’s account of the raising of Lazarus, Mary and Martha act remarkably like they do here in Luke. Mary and Martha are very different. But in John 11 we read that Jesus loved Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. And they love Him. They honor Him.

Have you ever been an honored guest? While I was Pastor at Trinity Presbyterian in Oroville our congregation sponsored the resettlement of a Vietnamese refugee family. In their home I was an honored guest. In fact, I was so honored that I never fully looked forward to visiting them although they were good and lovely people.

The problem was the milk.

When I entered their home, a chair was brought from the kitchen and placed in the center of the wooden floor in the living room. I was seated in the chair. The family would then gather about me. So far, so good. But then the nine-year-old daughter of the family would go into the kitchen and return with a glass of warm milk.

I hate warm milk. I put it right up there with liver and the song "Kum By Yah" as some of my unfavorite things.

But to them, a gift of warm milk was a great honor. So they would all stand and watch me attentively while I drank it down. It wasn’t good enough to take a sip. I had to drink it all. Before I would go to visit, I had to ask myself if I was prepared for everything the visit would require.

But when Jesus came to Bethany, I don’t think He normally had to prepare Himself for what the visit would require, Usually Jesus could relax. But once it fell apart into a powerful teachable moment.

In Luke 10 Jesus comes to Bethany along with His twelve disciples and the other people who traveled with Him. Martha and Mary welcome them into their home.

Now this is a sizeable event. First century hospitality isn’t all that easy. You can’t just defrost a lamb roast in the microwave and pop it in the convection oven. If you are going to offer your guests a lamb roast, it means that you first go out and butcher a lamb. You are going to cook it over a wood fire on a primitive stove. There was no Costco in Bethany in those days -- there still isn’t as a matter of fact -- so you don’t have boxes of pre-made hors-de-ouvers. Entertaining isn’t easy -- especially for a large group. So Martha’s frustration, anger, and temper tantrum may not be excusable, but they are at least understandable. In fact, my own Mom understands Martha’s point of view so well that she is pretty convinced that Martha is in the right -- no matter what Jesus says.

As Luke starts the story nothing is out of order. Martha's heart is right and her motives are right. Martha knows who Jesus is. In John 11:27 she says to Jesus: "I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world." She is excited to have him in her home.

But then things fall apart.

Martha is checking the meat, and Mary is setting the table. As they work, Jesus talks with both of them. But after a while, Martha stops listening so she can work harder while Mary stops working so she can listen harder.

Something about the character and conversation of Jesus cause Mary to stop what she is doing. Our Lord may have been telling them about the coming events in his life. The shadow of the cross will shortly become reality. He is near Jerusalem. He knows that within six short months he will offer himself up as the final Passover Lamb. Jesus may have spoken of his forthcoming death, burial, and then the resurrection and ascension. The conversation and perhaps the tone of Jesus’ voice draws Mary to the point where she finds herself sitting at the feet of Jesus. She is hungry, but not for the food in the kitchen. She is hungry for spiritual food -- starving for some spiritual reality although she lives only six miles from the temple in Jerusalem. She wants to hear the words of eternal life, and here He is in her home. Mary is being fed, and fed deeply. And I believe that Jesus is also being fed by Mary’s attentive presence.

Meanwhile, back in the kitchen, Martha's dinner preparations have caused her to lose the focus. There she is, slaving over a hot first-century stove. And where is Mary? Good question! That's what Martha wants to know. The older sister's resentment comes to a boil while the lamb roast sizzles on the grill.

Everything has been going along fine with Martha up to this point. Now she makes two mistakes at once. The first mistake is when she crosses the line from being a gracious hostess to becoming a critical spirit. Her second mistake is that she tries to involve Jesus in the whole affair -- to get Him to take her side.

Martha comes out of the kitchen looking for Mary. There she is at Jesus’ feet. It’s possible that the words just boil out. She may have immediately wanted to take them back. But she can’t. They’re out there. They even end up in the Bible which is as permanent as you can get. "Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work myself? Tell her to help me!"

Now this is one of those cases where the literal meaning of words is different from what they really mean. You know, like when people start a sentence with "I don’t want to contradict you..." you can be certain that they are about to do just that! Martha begins with the respectful title "Lord," and she frames it as a question. But it’s neither respectful nor a question. It’s an accusation. She’s not really unsure whether the Lord cares. She’s pretty sure he doesn’t. She’s angry. "You don’t care about me, and I’m angry that you’re spending too much time with my lazy sister who isn’t doing what she should be."

She’s not treating him as the Lord either. If Jesus is really the Lord, than Martha must accept that Jesus knows what needs to be done, knows exactly what Mary is or isn’t doing, and has the right to set the priorities for the evening. But Martha doesn’t see it that way. She is willing for Jesus to be the Lord if it doesn’t interfere with Martha’s area of expertise.

Martha should have taken a lesson from Peter when Jesus told Peter how to do his job. Peter and his companions have been fishing all night and haven’t caught a thing. Jesus comes along and tells them to go back out on the lake and let their nets down on the right side of the boat. Peter says, "We’ve fished all night and haven’t caught a thing. But at your word we will do it." They end up with several boatloads full of fish.

Martha isn’t this way. She likes to give Jesus advice. Remember how she says to Jesus before the raising of Lazarus, "I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world." That’s what she says but it’s not how she acts. Just a few verses later when Jesus tells them to remove the stone to the entrance of Lazarus tomb, Martha is quick to protest. "Lord, by this time there is a bad odor -he’s been in there for four days!" "You may be ‘the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world’ but you don’t know what you’re doing. You’d better listen to me."

Martha is not jealous that Mary is spending time with Jesus, but angry that Mary is not helping her. If Martha had said, "Dinner might have to wait. I’d like to sit at your feet, too, Jesus", that would have been one thing. But Martha does not have the longing which Mary displays -- the longing to do nothing else than to sit at Jesus’ feet, and to hear Him teach. She’s rather be up and doing.

Martha accuses both Mary and Jesus of doing wrong to her, and anoints herself as the innocent victim. But Jesus doesn’t buy in. Jesus refuses to grant Martha’s demands for Himself or for Mary, although Martha speaks with a great deal of heat and although he loves her. Her tears and her rebuke don’t put Jesus on the defensive. He refuses to let Martha send Him on al all-expenses-paid guilt trip.

Jesus does not try to clear Himself. He simply defends Mary’s decision as the better one, and pronounces Martha’s outburst unjustified. He also says that it is a symptom of more serious problems. Angry accusations and outbursts, especially those which are disproportionate often point to deeper problems. It is to these problems that our Lord’s words point.

"Martha, Martha..."-the repetition of the name is an expression of affection and concern. "...you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only a few things are necessary, really only one..."

You see, Martha is only responsible for her attitude and for her service. But Martha has extended her responsibility to "many things," things which are not hers to assume. Martha has overstepped. She feels responsible to direct Mary’s ministry. Martha seems to have felt that working in the kitchen was the "better thing," not only for her, but also for Mary. She even tried to dictate our Lord’s responsibilities by demanding that He correct Mary. She calls Jesus "Lord". But she acts like she is the Lord.

There’s a "Calvin and Hobbs" cartoon where Calvin inadvertently pushes his dad’s freaky buttons. Calvin strolls in to where His dad is reading and asks: "Dad, what’s a control freak?" His dad jumps out of his chair and explodes: "It’s a name lazy and slipshod workers use to unfairly describe those of us who really care!!!" Calvin gets a wondering look on his face and asks, "Am I in the presence of their king? Should I bow?"

If Calvin’s dad is king, Martha is queen. We can also try for places in the royal family. We can overstep. We can become critical. We can get caught up in the comparison game. "Why isn’t this person doing it the way I’m doing it or why am I doing all the work while they get all the credit?" That’s a dangerous, joy-sucking attitude. That’s why Paul asks us in Romans 14:4: "Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls. And He will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand." Did you get that, Martha? The Lord will make our fellow servants stand. We won’t.

What are the other "many things" Martha is worried and bothered about? Well, she has a "hidden agenda." She has invited Jesus and his disciples to dinner in her home. But once he arrives, she has a predetermined plan. Martha assumes what Jesus wants -namely a banquet fit for a king.

We have made some copies of a book by Karen Mains, Open Heart, Open Home available at our 50 Day book table, In this book Mains wonderfully describes the contrast between Mary and Martha. Martha, the entertainer, could have been saying, "I want to impress you with my beautiful home, my clever decorating, my gourmet cooking. (In fact, I want it to be so perfect that another obsessive hostess two thousand years from now will be called by my name -- Martha.) Karen describes this as "secular entertaining." Its source is human pride. Demanding perfection, fostering the urge to impress, it is a rigorous taskmaster that enslaves. On the other hand, Mary is truly hospitable by being more concerned with her guest than anything she can do to impress Him. She puts Jesus first in her life and experiences joy in beingwith Him. Martha is entertaining. Mary is hospitable. Both serve, but only one pleases the Lord.

Martha has decided for herself how she is going to serve the Lord, and nothing, not even the Lord himself, is going to get in the way of her plans! Never in this passage does it tell us that she asks Jesus what he would like. Maybe he wanted only some fellowship and prayer because the coming events had erased his desire for physical food.

Now the things --the plates, knives and the food --there is nothing wrong with them. What is wrong is that you are bothered and filled with worry about them. That's what's wrong." The issue of life is the kingdom of God. And Martha, you are bothered about things which aren't necessary."

It is not that Martha and her responsibilities and tasks are unimportant. They just aren’t central.

In the same way, there are many concerns in our lives and in our world which demand our attention, our energy and devotion. But, here’s the point, they do not demand infinite attention nor our total, perfect response. They do not demand that we take our eyes off people. They, are important, but not of ultimate importance. Martha’s mistake is the mistake we make when we worry about the unimportant things and let the inconsequential things upset and overwhelm us. We allow misplaced priorities and values to wear us down. We rush along and don’t take time to ask, to open ourselves to God's presence. That is what Jesus wants Martha to understand and realize.

Now I have to confess that I am preaching this sermon as a Martha. I’ve written it against a self-imposed deadline in order to move on to more work. "Show me what You want me to do for You Jesus and I’ll do it. But don’t ask me to be idle. Don’t ask me to swim in Your Word just because it’s Your Word -- without thinking how I can use what I’m reading for a sermon or a class. Put a lot of stuff in my in basket. But don’t ask me to leave my briefcase home so I can sit in the beach and listen to You.

Jesus wants Martha to realize what all we type A activists need to realize. You can be running around, serving on committees, visiting the sick, teaching scripture, even preaching from the pulpit, thinking that you are being Oh so good, oh so Christian, and why are there so few others doing it and why do I have to do everything myself, and -- you can be missing out on the main course -Jesus Himself.

Jesus would have preferred Martha's fellowship to her service. But Martha's idea of what had to be done was different from Jesus’. Her sense of what was necessary was in fact depriving the Lord of what he most wished for and depriving her of what was most necessary. And it had come about precisely because she had not first sat at his feet and listened to him long enough to find out what he regarded as the central issue.

Now remember. Martha is a follower of Jesus. Martha is a truly converted woman. He loves her. If you are a follower of Jesus, then what Jesus says to Martha, also applies to you, and that’s what Luke intends to say to us here. Martha was precious to Jesus. But he rebuked her out of love. Even as friends of Jesus, sometimes we go off half-cocked. We don’t listen to what he really wants from us, and He needs to call our names twice, like he did to Martha, to get our attention.

Jesus reminds Martha of the first principle in the Father's recipe for Christian hospitality: People take priority over property. Let me say it another way: Relationships matter more than a clean floor. That's what Jesus was trying to say to Martha when he refuses to reprimand Mary for not helping in the kitchen.

This week you will talk about principles of Christian hospitality in your small groups. The Bible says a lot on this important topic. But remember what Luke tells us in this text. Keep the focus on people -- but not on yourself. That’s the difference between entertaining and hospitality.

An invitation to your house might be just the means God will use to lift you out of doldrums you've been battling for far too long. It might also be the means God will use to reach somebody he loves -- but who feels no one loves them. Your invitation just might be a means of tangibly demonstrating to your family that your house is not just a home, but a place where ministry happens.

Martha’s problem is that she had lots of starters, but no main course. She did lots of things to serve the Lord, but acts of love are only part of the Christian’s diet. She was missing out on the main course -- the main reason Jesus had entered her house - -to be with her.