This sermon series for Advent 2019 is taken from and based on Concordia Seminary's Series, "Come, Lord Jesus." The text of the sermon is included and you may play the audio of the study here or by clicking the post's title.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
The texts this day are from our readings:
Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away… As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. 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.” But the Lord answered her, “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.” Thus far the text.
My dear friends in Christ,
I like to joke that Advent and Christmas are like a 10k for a pastor, and Lent is like a marathon. But, in reality, when you add in all the extra responsibilities and parties and shopping and concerts, December is a month that just seems like it’s out to kill you. So many things happen to us this month, and the Christmas season only seems to exacerbate them. Oh, no! I broke a pencil! I can’t handle it… But, that’s the ridiculous one. Ultimately, jobs, relationships, bills, all these things seem to just be harder this season. I hear it all the time. Who would have anticipated that a season that’s supposed to be all about Jesus could lead us into suffering under such stress?
Martha finds herself in a joyous time, not unlike what we imagine Christmas should be. But for her, she missed the joy and began to be more concerned about getting everything ready for Jesus in her own home. Martha had high expectations, for sure, and she wanted to make sure that everything was ready in just the right way. So, when Mary, her sister, ignored the preparations for the sake of sitting at Jesus’ feet, Martha got upset at her. She wanted the help; she needed the relief.
But Mary had chosen the better thing, the good portion. She was listening to and learning from her Jesus. Martha didn’t have time to that right then and there. She was too busy. She was hitting her breaking point. And because the concerns of this world sat more in her heart than her Lord, it was literally taking her away from God.
In the parable of the sower, we find that there are many things that take us away from the word of God. Last week, we especially focused on the devil, that he comes and eats the seed away before ever it can be planted in the ground. He works to take us away from the good portion that Christ would have us receive. Today, in the same parable, we’re looking at the rocky ground, where the seed fell, sprang up as if with joy, and withered away under the sun because they had no root. This is what happens when the Word of God cannot penetrate our hearts. The Word is not at fault, but it our rejection of it that makes it so. Our faith never becomes rooted and so it withers and dies.
This is where Martha was heading in all of her business. Jesus was speaking to her. The joy she had in the fact that this man was in her home, this amazing teacher, this man whom she likely began to suspect was more than just man, the joy was incredible. That she should be so blessed. But the cares of the world took her away. The faith she had in this man began to quickly die. And if this can happen, right in Jesus’ bodily presence, like He’s standing right before you, what of us who are still awaiting the day when we seen Him face-to-face?
But Jesus doesn’t just leave her faith faltering, just as He would not yours. He speaks to her a word of law, rebuking her lack of faith in Him, her distraction from His gifts, and brings her back to the one thing needful. But the call of the Law is never alone; Jesus calls her to repentance and then brings the Gospel. There is a better part, there is a needful thing and she can have it, she has access to it. She has access to Jesus, He who is the way, the truth, and the life. By sitting at His feet, by hearing His Word, Martha would receive eternal life, for the hope she has in Him would grow, rooted in faith.
This is good for her. In the coming years, her brother, Lazarus, would die. Jesus would be crucified. The whole Church would look to her family for leadership. It’s going to be a hard life for her. But, that her weak and withered faith could be turned to that of a deeply rooted one would be for her a blessing. Thus she could endure all things, even as she looked to the one who was the resurrection and the life until her last and final day.
This same hope that grew in Martha with Jesus today is the same hope that we should be focusing on through this Christmas season. Centered in the hope that Christ is returning, and there will raise all the dead, we can go through Christmas, and especially this Advent with joy in our hearts, despite the cares of this world.
Now, one of our objectives this Advent season is the encouragement of devotions, beginning in this season and prayerfully becoming a part of your daily routine. Just as Jesus comes to the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, so, too, does He come to be present with you. He does this by His Word. That is a wonderful thing about daily devotions; every time you devote yourself to His Word, Jesus is there present with you. Of course, devoting yourself to that is difficult, but when it is, we need to see that we are too busy being Martha and must repent to sit at the feel of Jesus.
When we are then in the Word, we are called, just as Martha was, to repentance and faith. It’s not just that it takes root, though that is mightily important but that daily we are called back to the foundation of our faith and that root grows ever deeper. When we begin again at the foundation of our faith, each and every day, then we are brought deeper and deeper into Jesus Himself. When we strive to become less busy with the world, or at the least, less distracted by it, even as we go about our tasks in it, we will focus ever more on Jesus.
You can certainly and you will certainly get this Jesus present with you, just by being where He’s promised to be, which happens to be the easier thing to do over against devotions: going to Church. He is absolutely here each and every time we gather together. But, as we give ourselves over to the devotions we are able to do on a daily basis, we see that He is always where He’s promised to be: in His Word. As we meditate on what we read or what we hear in God’s Word, these is the very real presence of God with us. It is literally putting God in our hearts, in our minds, in our ears, and on our lips. It is making sure that He is with us in this way each and every day and there is great joy had in that.
That’s very much the one thing needful, the better thing, the good portion. To have Jesus with us in our hearts, minds, ears, and lips is a blessed thing and it is what we should seek after. In this way, we receive the invitation of the crucified and risen One to come to us and strengthen us through His Word and Sacrament each and every day. Our holy habit brings the Holy One to us as He has promised to be present. Our habit reminds us of all that Christ has done for us and how He has brought us into everlasting life.
This is what Martha truly needed. She didn’t need the distractions and the chaos; she needed the peace found in the very presence of Jesus. She did get it, and she placed her hope in He who would raise her from the dead. So, too, are you invited to forget your distractions this season and look to the Jesus who is present for you now in Word and Sacrament. He is here, in this place, to bring you Himself, and He has promised to be with you wherever His Word is proclaimed, read, or heard. There He shall root your faith deep into what will nourish it, Himself. And there you shall find everlasting life. And so we pray, in our daily lives, in our devotions, that we should be rooted and not wither, “Come, Lord Jesus.” In Jesus’ name, amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
Premium
Plus
Comentarios