Luke 10:38-42 (Pentecost 6C)
St. John, Galveston 7/20/25
Rev. Alan Taylor
“The Good Portion”
+ In Nomine Jesu +
Grace and peace to you, from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
This morning’s message is based on the Gospel reading from Luke 10. I’ve chosen to titled it, “The Good Portion.” “Mary (Jesus said) has chosen the good portion and it will not be taken away from her.”
Jesus came to the home of Martha. Martha’s sister, Mary, was there too. When Jesus arrived, Mary sat at His feet and listened to Him teach. Martha, on the other hand, 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.
Jesus wouldn’t do as Martha asked. In fact, He did quite the opposite. He affirmed Mary and what she had chosen to do, saying, “”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.”
For the longest time, I struggled with this passage. After all, Martha is the go getter, isn’t she? She’s the one that didn’t sit around and expect other people to do what needed to be done to prepare for such a monumental occasion. She recognized that the food wouldn’t cook itself and the table wouldn’t set itself and the house wouldn’t clean itself. All these things had be done to properly receive such an honored guest as Jesus. So, Martha put on, if you will, her servants heart and she went to work to get everything done that needed to be done.
When she to said, Jesus, I’m serving here, and Mary isn’t doing anything to help, don’t you care, she no doubt expected Jesus to say, ‘you know, Mary, Martha is right. Service is fundamental to your life as a child of God. You need to get up and help your sister.’ You need to do your part and stop sitting around doing nothing. After all, if everyone did what you’re doing, Mary, nothing would ever get done.
Over the years, I’ve read many sermons on this passage, and generally Martha’s error, her fault, is said to be her allowing herself to be “distracted” from listening to Jesus. Attention is then given to all of the different ways in which we too are distracted from reading or hearing God’s word, be it television, or social media, or sporting events, or what have you. Ultimately, the message is, ‘don’t let things distract you from reading and hearing God’s word!’
But should we really consider the service of others a distraction in regard to our faith? Aren’t we called to love our neighbor as ourselves? Aren’t the words we hope to hear from Jesus on the last day, something akin to, “well done, thou good and faithful servant?” In that regard, is the service that Martha rendered in her home that day any less laudable than what Mary chose to do? Well, in this case, the answer is YES. Why? Well, because Jesus Himself distinguished between the two, saying of Mary, “she has chosen the good portion.” Perhaps then those words of Jesus regarding Mary, “that she has chosen the good portion,”are more crucial to a proper understanding this passage than are the various distractions that engulfed Martha.
Jesus’ visit to Martha’s home is actually quite unique. God walked through the front door of Martha’s house. None of us, I should think, have ever experienced a visit from God in quite that way. When Jesus came to Martha’s home, all of the ordinary conventions of service and servanthood were set aside. Martha chose to serve Jesus, rather than be served by Him.
Mary though, chose “the good portion,” because she sat at Jesus’ feet to be served by Him. As such, she listened to and absorbed the life giving words of the Christ of God. From what He said and taught, she received forgiveness, life and salvation. Her guilt was erased, even as her sins were washed away in a crimson flood of forgiveness. She came to see herself as God’s dear child, one for whom Jesus was willing to give up everything, including His own life, that she might find purpose and meaning in life in Him.
Surely when you enter into the presence of God, the ordinary conventions of service and servanthood are set aside. God does not come to you in order that you might serve Him. Rather, He comes to you that He might serve you. You are, after all, the object of His great love in Christ Jesus.
And so, the Divine Service is as close as we come, this side of heaven, to what Mary and Martha experienced in Martha’s home. God comes to you in bread and wine, and through water and His word, to give you those invaluable gifts that only He can give. Words like “I forgive you all of your sins,” and “given and shed for you,” and “The Lord bless you and keep you,” are uttered, not by you, but by God’s servant, who comes in the stead and by the command of Christ. These gifts of God are bestowed upon you in such a way that you are immeasurably blessed.
The primary movement of worship is from God to us. We do not gather to do something for God. We don’t worship to stroke God’s ego or as slaves obligated to show up for an oppressive overlord. It’s quite the opposite. Our God knows the depth of our sin, the deadening reality of our transgressions. He endured this sin on the cross. When we gather in worship around His Word, He serves us with His forgiveness. Worship is the place heaven touches earth and God delivers to us forgiveness that renews and strengthens our faith. As Jesus said elsewhere, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them (Jesus said), and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant.” Greatness in the kingdom of God is measured in servanthood. And yet, Jesus continued His words about servanthood, saying, “the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Indeed, this is “the good portion.” Angels and Archangels gather, along with all the company of heaven, to partake of God’s service to His Church, His people. God’s glory is poured out, not as a substitute for what is come, but as a sure and certain promise of what is yours in Christ Jesus. The good portion is Jesus, crucified and risen from the dead. It is the giving heart of God, “who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
Martha wasn’t wrong in her desire and her willingness to serve. She was only wrong in her desire to serve when she found herself in the presence of Jesus. For, as He Himself said, “I did not come to be served, but to serve and to give My life as ransom for many.” The good portion is the service of God to His people. It is bread and wine. It is the body and blood of Jesus. It is water and the word combined to bring about life. It is the word of God that gives, that conveys the very things of which it speaks. Along with Mary, you too have chosen the good portion, and it will not be taken from you.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting. Amen.
+ Soli Deo Gloria +