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God showed people how we should live through Jesus Christ.
Serving others was at the core of Jesus’ life. Serving others is the essence of a good life.
This is how Jesus identified his life’s purpose:
For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45)
Life is not meant to be sitting on the sidelines. You can never live a good life by just sitting off to the side.
A good life is one where you engage in life and offer yourself for others.
Martha had this desire to serve.
Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. He was beginning to lose supporters.
But Martha believed in Jesus. She wanted to feed Jesus and give him rest.
I like Martha. I like her willingness to welcome Jesus. It shows that her heart is big.
Any family or community needs a Martha to flourish. Without people willing to do the hard work of serving, nothing can thrive.
This church flourishes because people are willing to serve. So many people work tirelessly behind the scenes to keep things going.
In our own little church, so much work goes in so many areas.
Snacks and Fellowship: Jisook coordinating, people buying items, preparing, cleaning. Men who take care of building needs. Washrooms: small group of women who replenish paper towels and soap.
I am so thankful for them. They enable the church to function.
We need Marthas in every community.
Every family needs Marthas too.
So much work goes into maintaining household. Food. Laundry. Cleaning.
I feel a lot of empathy for Martha.
I can just picture the scene: Martha is running everywhere trying to take care of things. It was not just Jesus she was hosting, but all of his disciples too. So it was a big group.
Martin Luther King Jr. was a famous figure.
They would go to different cities to lead a movement. But they needed a place to stay. They would stay at the homes of local supporters.
But it wasn’t just him. He had a whole entourage with him. There were a lot of mouths to feed and host.
It was usually the woman of the house who spent all their hours feeding the guests and providing places for them to stay. It was not easy work.
I hear the frustration in Martha’s voice:
Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her, then, to help me. (Mark 10:40)
Her frustration is that she felt all alone.
Why am I left to do all the work by myself?
That is a common frustration of those who serve. They feel unseen. Unappreciated.
Many people interpret this story to mean that Martha was focused on the wrong things.
You shouldn’t be so busy with the work of serving others. You should only focus on listening to God.
But I don’t think that’s what Jesus meant.
As I reflected, without people who serve, nothing can function.
What was the real issue then?
The real issue is that in the busyness of her actions, she was apart from Jesus.
She was doing things for him, but she was not with him.
By focusing on doing things for him, she lost connection with him.
Serving is living, but serving can be an isolating journey. It can isolate you from the reason you began to serve in the first place.
This happens with many parents.
Parents love their children. So they work hard and do many things for them.
But sometimes, they get so busy with all the things they’re doing, they lose connection with their kids.
That was the real problem with Martha. She lost connection with Jesus.
The result was that it was creating resentment toward Mary as well.
The real danger of serving is that it can make you frustrated and ruin relationships with those around you.
People begin serving because they want to contribute. But when others don’t have the same commitment as you do, you get frustrated. You get resentful of others. You get burnt out.
Serving is living, but you have to overcome the feelings of being alone.
Jesus had to overcome that on the cross.
The greatest difficulty of the cross was not the physical pain. It was the pain of being all alone, abandoned by others and even by God.
To me, this passage is not about Mary. She doesn’t even say anything in this story. This story is about Martha.
Martha was a leader. Jesus saw her heart.
He wanted to teach her and prepare her to do greater things. But she had to learn an important lesson.
What was his message to her?
Stay connected to me.
Don’t lose yourself in your busy actions.
Be close to me. Be by my side.
Let me serve you. Let me care for you. Let me teach you.
You are not alone.
That is the most important thing.
Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things, but few things are needed—indeed only one. (Luke 10:42)
Serving is living. But that serving must come from your deep connection with Jesus.
Then serving becomes an expression of that connectedness. There is joy in serving.
When you are connected with Christ, serving will bring you closer to others, not further apart. Your focus will be less on the tasks. Instead, you will get closer to the people you’re serving with.
The passages the last three weeks have been about discipleship.
In the life of discipleship, there are two central elements: serving others and being connected to God. To Jesus, one is clearly more important.
Being connected with him is the most important thing.
This is why in our church, there is nothing more important than worship. Being connected to God through worship is the most important thing.
It is the untouchable part of church. Nothing else happens during worship. We expect everyone who is serving to stop and be fully in worship.
Our summer is filled with many activities. It is the season for many things.
But for much of the year, we don’t do much that’s very active. Instead, we have many weeks of Bible study.
Why? So we can be connected with God’s Word.
God’s Word is the very life for your soul. It gives life to your service.
When God’s Word is alive in you, serving others flows out from your heart.
The irony of this story is that this past week was the busiest week of the year for me.
I try to spend a lot of time meditating, reflecting and reading to prepare for sermons. This week, I had zero time for any of that.
I was fully consumed with running the summer camp. Every minute of the day, my mind was fully occupied with the camp. So many details to think about at all times.
I was so tired and exhausted by the end of the day – I really felt my age.
As went into our final day of camp, I was very worried. We had a final performance and BBQ celebration for all the families. There were so many things to think about just like Martha.
But I am thankful that I had this passage for my sermon today.
It’s as if God used it to get me through the week. It helped me so much.
Jesus’ words became the prayer in my heart all throughout the week.
They kept me connected with him. They kept me calm even when things were crazy. They gave me peace to think clearly.
Jesus’ presence gave me the strength I needed to carry on.
His presence shone through powerfully on our last day. We had a final performance on the last day.
Before the parents arrived, the campers and counsellors had a special moment together.
We prayed for each of the kids. We laid our hands on them and would pray for them one by one.
We really felt the presence of God there. I was moved to tears.
And I realized then that more than all of our fun activities, it’s the presence of God that made this camp have such a powerful impact on the kids.
This is what the apostle Paul meant when he said:
I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)
When you are connected with Christ, that becomes your strength. You can get through anything with him.
God used this past week to teach me that truth and prepare this sermon.
Serving is living, but you are not alone.
Be connected to him. Sit at his feet. Let him care for you. Let his words give life to you.
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