Stop And Smell The Roses
Scripture References
Genesis 18:1-14
Abrahams Visitors
1 And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. 2 He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth 3 and said, “O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. 4 Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, 5 while I bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” 6 And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quick! Three seahs of fine flour! Knead it, and make cakes.” 7 And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a young man, who prepared it quickly. 8 Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree while they ate. 9 They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “She is in the tent.” 10 The Lord said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?” 13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.”
Colossians 1:21-29
The Preeminence of Christ
21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister. 24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.
Luke 10:25-42
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” 29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.” 38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
Sermon Script
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer. AMEN
Stop And Smell The Roses
Stop and smell the roses! Has anyone ever told you that? If they did, they were probably telling you to slow down a little bit to enjoy the sweet fragrances of life that might be passing you by… I saw this sign in Cambridge a couple months ago and I started thinking about my daily planner… which, by the way, is loaded to the brim with activities, appointments, and meetings; possibly like many of you. Our schedules are like a continual treadmill we just cannot seem to get off of. Checking one “activity” off the list and putting two back on… This sign told me what I needed to hear, but there still seems to be no time to stop and smell the roses…. I guess you could say that would make me a “Modern Day Martha.”
Busy Like Martha
Martha is in our Gospel lesson today and we learn that Jesus entered the village where she and her sister Mary lived. Jesus was welcomed into their home along with His disciples that traveled with Him. So being a custom to prepare a meal for traveling guests, Martha… got right on it… preparing a meal for Jesus and His companions.
This same custom surfaced in the Old Testament reading as Abraham also had traveling guests. In this Genesis reading he and Sarah immediately began preparations for a meal. It is interesting to note that in both readings the guest of honor was the Lord.
What a process it must have been for either household to prepare a meal with such distinguished guests on short notice, especially without a microwave… We are not told what Martha’s menu was, but it soon become clear that she was overwhelmed with the tasks at hand and frustrated that her sister was not helping.
I have no experience preparing a meal so I can relate only through observation what it takes to ultimately get a meal in front of a group of guests. I watch the process from a safe distance away. Alexia set a five-minute timer, Alexia give me the recipe for meatloaf and add brown sugar to the shopping list. Mix, stir, a dash of this a dash of that….and at the precise time…. two ovens, a microwave, and a crockpot get utilized to cook the feast to come. Throughout this process, not a minute wasted and definitely no time… to smell the roses.
I envision a similar whirlwind situation with Martha. She was busy in the kitchen and Mary was sitting at Jesus feet in the living room. I fully understand the resentment from Martha as there are a lot of moving parts in preparing a meal. I would also venture to say that I might be the source of irritation if I wasn’t willing to help with preparations for our dinner guests….
At least set the table, fill glasses, or whatever preparations I would be qualified to do while the meal is being prepared.
Have a Mary Heart in a Martha World
This pericope is well known for the difference of opinion between Mary and Martha and the plea to Jesus for reconciliation. However, there is a lot more in these verses to understand about this event. Jesus says “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” Now Jesus didn’t say that Martha’s service was unimportant, as He has always made it clear in His teachings that service to others is an important part of our ministry. He just wanted Martha to realize what was the most important. The good portion… which was to stop and smell the roses if you will…. The good portion is knowing and trusting in Jesus from your heart, before serving Him with your feet.
Last year the women’s Monday night Bible Study group meditated on this text through a book called “Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World.” This book connected the similarities of Mary and Martha in Luke’s narrative… to you and I today. Like Mary, we desire to sit at Jesus’ feet…. But the daily demands of a busy world get in the way. Or on the other hand, it’s like Martha… you love Jesus and dearly want to serve Him… yet struggle with weariness, anxiety, resentment, and feelings of inadequacy. Then it happens… when you least expect it… Jesus is right there in the living room…. Inviting you to choose “the better part…” a joyful life of intimacy with Him through prayer that flows from a loving undivided service to Him.
This is what I found as I was studying this text… I came to the conclusion that we probably have a little bit of both Mary and Martha inside all of us… maybe that is because we can identify with both of them. As we listen to this conversation with Jesus, it is hard not place ourselves into one or the others shoes.
Not only do we identify with either Mary or Martha depending on who you are, we read this story about two ways of being a Christian. Either a Christian duty of service or a Christian act of prayer, and ultimately in this case Jesus choses the act of prayer as the better portion.
But bear with me for a moment. As each of us have different circumstances or hardships in our faith journey (struggles, frustrations, and certain situations beyond our control), we find ourselves in a position where somebody needs to be in the kitchen and someone else needs to be in the living room. So, Jesus isn’t choosing Mary over Martha. He isn’t affirming life of prayer over a life of service. Jesus wants to teach us to know the difference; it’s the story of Mary and Martha.
Choose The Better Part
Listen to what Jesus says again in verses 41-42, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.” Jesus isn’t addressing what Martha is doing…. He is concerned about how she is doing and her well-being.
No matter what we face in our circumstances, Jesus has the same concern for you and I. Jesus wants us to choose the better part as we ask ourselves these questions. How can I not give in to anger and despair?
How can I overcome worrying about what others are doing or not doing? How can I be involved in service and not need served? Jesus is inviting Martha to see her work in a different mindset; to focus on the one thing that matters; to stop and smell the roses, the part that cannot be taken away.
Remember two years ago when the pandemic restrictions wanted to close our church doors and take our worship away? We, as elders, were in a frenzy like Martha, but Jesus invited us to look at our work in a different way. A different way that was the important part. The part that cannot be taken away… No one can take our time away from Jesus. No one can stop us from worshiping. No one can stop us from doing good to others… As long as the Good Portion is chosen in whatever we do, that cannot be taken away from us. Matthew says in chapter 6 verse 33, “If we seek Him first, everything else will fall into place” Hebrews 12 teaches us that; we belong to a kingdom that cannot be shaken.
These verses challenge us to overcome roadblocks in our faith. And it just might start by sitting at Jesus feet. As Paul tells us in Romans 10:17, “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Through our faith we have a close relationship with Jesus. Both Mary and Martha had great faith, but it is easy to get distracted with all those commitments marked on that calendar… Don’t let the noise of the world dominate what that faith looks like…. Stop and smell the roses.
Priorities
The priorities I choose do matter. Sure, I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength, but the better portion is going through all things with Christ.
The calendar I mentioned earlier where I take one event off and put two back on…. Is Martha, who yes, wants to do it all. But I must have a Mary heart through the process as it is still essential that I continue to sit at Jesus feet! My friends, when there is so much to do… We get so caught up with the work that needs done in the kitchen “the busy ness” of life, that it is easy to lose track of what needs done in the quietness of our living room.
The story of Mary and Martha shows us two women who Jesus loved dearly. But He would rather have you sitting at His feet while He feeds you before you go out in the world to preform acts of service in His name. May we see from this story that He desires the worship of Mary and the work of Martha in the correct balance!
A balance where we choose our Christian path in the paradox of the world we live. A time of a “modern-day Martha” in and amongst a world where we spend more, but have less. Our houses are larger but families are smaller; more medicine, but less wellness.
We live in an age where it is no problem to go all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. This is exactly why Jesus points the way to the better portion in our Christian life.
When Mary chose the good portion, she was choosing to keep her priorities straight, and that resulted in Jesus, the Messiah, receiving her full and undivided attention and affection. She was choosing to sit at his feet, listening to his words, and devoting full obedience to His Word.
Eternal Fragrance
Your good portion may not look as serine and beautiful, but it can still turn your face toward the Lord. Choosing the good portion requires consistently aligning and realigning your heart to the greatest commandment to love Him first.
Yes, our walk with God might be on our knees… so many “things” pull us away from our time with God it is easy to get distracted… But the “cure” for a busy distracted mind is a steadfast and intentional heart of faith in everything you and I do. (Here is where we must seek the Lord’s guidance). When life gets busy, time with God gets pushed to the side. What God wants us to do is ask for help and take the necessary steps to get back on track. When we choose to spend time with Jesus, the benefits cannot be taken away from us.
That, my friends, is the good portion. That is where our hearts find relief, our souls find rest, and our lives find right priorities. When Jesus said “It is finished,” That in reality is a message to us of “it is just beginning.” The beginning of a new life in Christ…. Forgiven so a Mary heart can dominate in a Martha World. Brothers and sisters in Christ, by making God a priority in your life, you will always choose the better portion… and it will not be taken away from you… The eternal fragrance when you stop to smell the roses.
And may the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Amen.