READ | SERMON NOTES
Summary l Jesus was traveling throughout the country. When He entered a certain village, Martha and Mary welcomed Him into their home.
Relationship with Jesus
We too may have heard about Jesus, but there comes a time when we know that He is here and at home with us. The apostle Paul described this as being in Christ — having a relationship with and maturing in Christ. (2Cor.5:17, Col. 1:27) It marks of our personal relationship with Jesus, when we welcome Him into our home.
Some people mistakenly believe that one can become a Christian by osmosis. Christianity will soak in when we are immersed long enough. But being in such a culture and environment (coming to church, taking Holy Communion regularly or studying in a mission school) does not make us Christians by osmosis. We also cannot become Christians by birth; based on our parents’ faith. We can be born again Christians, but there is no such thing as being born Christians.
Each one of us must find faith and have a personal relationship with Christ. We need to welcome Jesus into our home, as Mary and Martha did. It is only when we have such a relationship with Jesus, that the sacraments have great significance for us. When Christ dwells in us, the sacraments become an outward and visible sign of the inward spiritual grace that we have.
Place of Jesus
For Martha, Jesus was primarily her guest. As the host, Martha was distracted and complained to Jesus. She asked whether Jesus was even bothered that her sister Mary did not help to do the work of making the preparations. In contrast, Mary sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to Jesus. She was being tutored as His disciple (Acts 22:3) and submissively waited upon the Lord. (Lk.8:35) She sat at His feet and listened; while Martha, as the leader in her household, treated Jesus as her guest.
Who is Jesus when we invite Him into our house? Is Jesus merely a guest? Do we still run our lives, hold on to our dreams and ambitions and have the final say; or is Jesus the Lord and master over our lives, and we submit and obey. When Jesus is our Lord, His words are our command. They instruct and direct our ways.
Focus on Jesus
Mary was focused on Jesus, while Martha was distracted by many tasks, even though she called Jesus Lord. There was work that needed to be done and it was easy to get distracted. The issue is whether we are focused on the Lord. Jesus commended Mary, because although there were many things to do, she chose to wait on Jesus, listen and submit.
This is also our challenge. As a living sacrifice, we have many choices in daily living. We can easily be distracted and shift our focus away from Jesus. Do we resist the distractions and choose to serve the Lord? (Joshua 24:15) We can be easily distracted by the many values and attractions in the world. If we turn our focus away from Jesus, we will miss the will of God – that which is good, acceptable and perfect. It is not a one-time event that happens at our baptism. We need to run the race with perseverance because Jesus is the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.
What does it mean to be an intentional disciple of Jesus? It means that we have a personal relationship with Jesus. He is our Lord and Saviour and we constantly focus on Jesus and are not distracted by the world or the gods in our world.
(Sermon notes by Denis Koh)
PONDER | REFLECTION QUESTIONS
- Read Luke10:38-42 in different English versions and consider the two different postures of Martha and Mary with regard to Jesus in their home.
- Recall the three key points about being in Christ. How have these been often disregarded?
- Which of the three key points about being in Christ a great struggle for you?
- What are some of the action steps, you will commit to, in your discipleship journey in Christ?
