You've probably heard that joke about the man who asked his wife what she'd like for her birthday.
"I'd love to be six again," she replied.
So, on the morning of her birthday, he got her up bright and early and off they went to a local theme park. What a day! He put her on every ride in the park. Five hours later she staggered out of the theme park, her head reeling, her stomach upside down. Right to a McDonald's they went for a Big Kids Meal with extra fries and a refreshing chocolate shake. Then it was off to see the latest Star Wars epic, complete with hot dogs and popcorn. What a fabulous adventure. Finally she wobbled home with her husband and collapsed into bed. He leaned over and lovingly asked, "Well, dear, what was it like being six again?"
One eye opened. "You idiot," she said, "I meant my dress size." (1)
Well, that poor guy got it wrong, didn't he? But then, who among us hasn't gotten something important wrong. Or misunderstood what was being said or done?
That's what was happening in today's passage of Scripture. Let's look at Luke 10:83-42, the story of Martha and Mary, the sisters of Lazarus and followers of Jesus.
[38] Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.
[39] She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he was saying.
[40] But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me."
[41] But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things;
[42] there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her."
What makes this story so interesting is that by all social standards, Martha was in the right. Martha was doing what was the accepted and expected. She had guests and so she went about preparing food for them. She was being the perfect hostess. Not only were these folks guests, this was Jesus and his disciples, the one she thought was the Messiah. Of course, she was up and about trying to do everything possible to please him and make his stay comfortable.
It was Mary who wasn't pulling her share. She just sat there. But I think Mary sensed something that Martha didn't, not that Martha was wrong, just that Martha was too busy preparing stuff FOR the guest to pay attention TO the guest.
This wasn't the first time Jesus had been in their home. So, what was different? If you remember the context of this story, Jesus had set his mind and his mission on Jerusalem and the cross. He realized this may very be the last visit in this home of his dear friends, Mary, Martha and Lazarus. He didn't care what they ate. He didn't care what the house looked like. He didn't care if the table was dusted or the windows were clean. He cared about them and he wanted to spend time with them.
I think that's why he told Martha she was too distracted and that Mary had chosen the better part. Mary seemed to have sensed his need to simply be with them, even if she didn't know why.
Sometimes, we too, get too busy and distracted in our service to God. We don't take time for that simple companionship. So today I want us to focus on this passage through: Cleansing The Clutter Of Our Soul, Setting Priorities For Life, and Savoring The Best First.
I. Cleansing the Clutter of Our Soul
A. How many of you have ever watched the TV show on the Learning Channel, Clean Sweep. Well, my sister, Pam, could have used their help. Most of her house was always impeccably clean, even though she had three kids who, given a hammer and an anvil, could have destroyed the anvil. I know, I used to baby sit for them. It was more like being in animal control.
Anyhow, Pam hated to do laundry. Consequently, her laundry room was an absolute disaster. They lived in an absolutely gorgeous house, with a full basement. It was the biggest house I'd ever seen. She and my brother-in-law, Kenny designed and built it. Kenny was a contractor/carpenter. It was a 5 bedroom home. All three kids had their own room, plus, there was a guest bedroom.
In one portion of that full basement, there was a laundry room. There were laundry chutes from every bedroom in the house that funneled into that laundry. But I don't know why, because Pam never did laundry. She would rather buy new clothes than wash.
You think I'm kidding don't you? I remember piles of clothes in the laundry room almost as tall as I was. My oldest son, Paul, benefited from her aversion to laundry. He received hand-me-downs that had only been worn once or twice. And he thought that was cool because my sister had great taste and liked her kids to dress in the current fashions. So, she was always buying clothes.
My nieces and nephews learned how to do the laundry out of self defense, so they could wear their favorite shirt or pair of pants or whatever more than once. That suited my sister just fine. Pam told my Mom, that the best gift anyone had ever gotten her was when her second son was born. Mom, got her a year of diaper service. (This was before disposable diapers.)
But eventually, she would have to clean up the clutter and do laundry.
As my sister's laundry room, the TV show, Clean Sweep and this passage of Scripture teach us, sometimes you have to clean up the clutter.
B. The same is true for our souls. That's part of what Jesus was talking about to Martha. You see, sometimes there is emotional and spiritual baggage that we've carried around that should have been gotten rid of long ago.
The other night on Clean Sweep, there was a woman who had 3 jewelry boxes. The host asked her why. She said, because one of them had belonged to her mother but sadly, she couldn't remember which one, so she kept all three.
The host very gently told her that she was carrying excess baggage. And the main reason was the guilt of not being able to remember. He helped her see that her memories didn't need to be tied to a thing. He helped her clean up the clutter not only of her house, but of her soul, as well.
That's what spending time with Jesus helps us do. It helps us clean up the clutter of our souls.
II. Setting Priorities for Life
Spending time with Jesus also helps us set priorities for life.
Most of you are familiar with news reporter Diane Sawyer of 60 Minutes fame. In 1985, she was in the West African country of Mali to report on the drought and famine for 60 Minutes. They came across an 11-year-old orphaned boy who, despite all the suffering and starvation, had this radiant, magical smile. His name was Mohammed.
Little did Ms. Sawyer know that when Mohammed's face was broadcast into living rooms across the country, a woman in Indianapolis would turn to her husband and say, "He's my responsibility."
Diane Sawyer figured Cheryl Carter-Shotts was no different from the hundreds of other viewers who called the next day in a temporary burst of generosity. But she was different. She was determined to do something about this young boy's plight.
U.S. Immigration told her that she'd be looking for a needle in a haystack trying to find this boy. Undaunted, Cheryl banged on doors and rang telephones until Catholic missionaries finally found the child.
Using money they'd put aside for a new car, Cheryl's husband, Charlie, flew to Mali to meet Mohammed. But more red tape had to be cut before Mohammed could be brought home. Armed with a photograph of her son-to-be, Cheryl sat down with immigration officials and said bluntly, "While you're talking to me, he's dying of hunger."
They listened. Cheryl and Charlie exhausted their life savings and took out a loan to bring Mohammed to Indianapolis. He already knew a fair amount of English and was soon so fluent that he was interviewed on local TV. He mentioned a friend of his whom he'd last seen lying sick in the street. And guess what? A woman watching in Bloomington, Indiana, turned to her husband and said, "He's my responsibility."
Mohammed's friend eventually came to Indiana, too, and later managed his American father's construction company. And not too long ago, Mohammed earned his bachelor's degree from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.
Diane Sawyer says, "To know that two children were lifted from the jaws of death because of an 18-second news item I did as a matter of course....well, it's the kind of thing we in this business only dream about." (2)
Just like Martha, Cheryl and Charlie had set priorities in their life. They had even set aside money to purchase a new car. But then they listened to the voice of God and those priorities changed.
They realized that God had a great plan for them. And they gave themselves to it completely. They stepped smack dab in the middle of Jesus' upside-down vision of life. They became servants and instruments of change.
They realized that it wasn't about attending the Jesus, as Martha was do, it was serving Jesus, as Mary was doing. And in that service, they discover the true meaning of life and were able to set priorities for their life.
III. Savoring the Best First
A. There's an old saying, "Life is short - eat dessert first." That's sort of what Jesus is telling Mary and Martha in this passage. Savor the best first.
I'm not saying we shouldn't work hard. I'm not saying we should shirk our responsibilities. No, what I'm saying is this. If you've cleaned the clutter of your soul and set the priorities of life, then you can take time to savor the best things first.
You see, I don't think Jesus minded Martha doing and fixing and being the good hostess. But at that moment in his ministry, that wasn't what was important. He would have settled for cheese and crackers. What he wanted was her company.
Maybe the best way to explain this is through the movie Daddy Day Care. Eddie Murphy plays an ad executive, Charlie, who, along with his partner, loses his job. As a result, their wives go back to work but they can't afford the exclusive Day Care their children have been in and they decide to save money by opening their own Day Care called, Daddy Day Care.
Of course the movie is about all the trials and tribulations of the Dads doing Day Care. At one point, after facing battle after battle to keep the day care open, Charlie decides to quit and go back to work at the ad agency because they've offered him twice what he was making before.
He goes back to work on an ad campaign to sell a brand new children's breakfast cereal called Cotton Candy Puffs. But having worked with kids has changed his perspective. The boss asks everyone to think about Cotton Candy and tell him what they think of. Somebody says, "Clowns." Somebody says: "Chocolate." Eddie Murphy says, "Cavities. Hyperactivity, cavities and dentist bills. I've been to the other side and I've seen what this stuff does to kids. Do you know what's in this stuff. Red dye #4 and Sugar."
His boss says, "Charlie's right. Parents aren't going to want to buy this stuff for their kids. Not unless those kids stomp and scream and bang their little heads on the floor." Then he asks Charlie for the figures and says: "We've had an independent marketing firm do some research to sort out the core value of this product."
Charlie, who is searching for the figures, runs across a drawing of "Daddy and Ben" which Ben, his son did. While he's daydreaming the meeting continues. His boss gets his attention and says: "Charlie, why don't you tell everybody what the core value is. What's the most import thing?"
Charlie thinks for a minute and says, "My kid. That's the most important thing, my kid. And I think I made a tremendous mistake. So, uh, I quit."
B. Charlie realized that the most important thing was his son. Through the experience of providing for his son's care, he had cleansed the clutter of his soul, set his priorities for life and now he was able to savor the best, first.
That's what Jesus was asking Martha to do. Savor the Best First. All the things she was doing, while appreciated, were really just keeping her from enjoying his company and being with him, which at that point in time, was the most important thing. The core value.
Conclusion
And I think that's the main message. Jesus wasn't trying to set up an anti work ethic. He wasn't calling us to be charter members of the procrastinators club.
No, I think Jesus wants our Spiritual lives Swept Clean of all the Clutter in our souls. All that excess baggage we carry and don't need. I think He wants us to realized that our walk with Him and God's will in our lives should be the number one Priority. And that if we Savor the Best First, our relationship with Him through simple things life worship, study, prayer and service, then life and faith will both be much more meaningful.
Cleanse the clutter of your soul,
Set the priorities for life
Set the priorities for life.
1. Original source unknown.
2. Interview with Diane Sawyer of PrimeTime Live, "The Story I Can't Forget," Lynn Harris. Ladies' Home Journal (November 1997), p. 156.