Please turn in your Bibles to Luke chapter 10 and verses 38 to 42. Since this is our first Sunday in the new year, I decided to preach a one-off sermon to help get us in perspective and keep things in proportion for 2025. Next week, I'll be beginning a series called Shadows, no, that was Advent, Savoring the Savior. series in Mark's gospel. That's where we'll begin next week. But this week, it's a one-off on getting our perspective in 2025. As we come to God's word, let me pray for us. Father, your word is a light to our feet and a lamp to our path. And so we pray that you would now shine your light into our minds and hearts and lives and guide us, we pray, at the beginning of this new year. And we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Luke chapter 10 and verse 38. Now, as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 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. The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God endures forever. Have you ever been in someone's home as a guest when a domestic tiff occurs? You know, you're there for a meal and next thing the husband and the wife are having a wee bit of an argument. You can feel the tension growing. Or boys and girls, maybe you've been in one of your friends' houses and one of the children's misbehaving and they get taken out of the room for some discipline and the tension builds in the house. It's awkward, isn't it? Have you ever had such an experience? Well, I had an experience a number of years ago in the house of my friends, Clark and Lee. They had just come back from honeymoon and I thought I would call in and see them and talk about the wedding and catch up with them. And while I was there, they invited me to stay for dinner. And so there we were eating our dinner and next thing the doorbell goes and it's his business partner and wife and their child who's about five or six years old. And so they invite them to come for dinner. And there we all are sitting around enjoying our dinner. And then the business partner decides that he wants to take his little boy to go and meet Clark's dog in the room off the kitchen. It was not a pet poodle the little boy was going to meet. It was a big, excitable boxer dog. And when I say big, I mean big. And when I say excitable, I mean excitable. Well, we were minding our own business just talking away and next thing we heard this huge scream and this little boy comes running through the kitchen with this boxer dog after him. Everybody's up on their feet trying to grab the dog. The boy jumps into his mother's arms crying and screaming. And then she flips out at her husband. You always take it a step too far. And next thing, the two of them just go at each other. This massive ding-dong argument. And there we were, caught in the middle of it. What do you do? Anyone for a pickled onion? They're really nice. I mean, what do you do in such a situation? Perhaps you haven't experienced something that intense, but I'm sure you've all had that experience. A little argument begins, the conversation goes quiet, you can hear the cutlery scraping on the plates. It's awkward, isn't it? What do you do? Well, the one thing you don't do is take sides. Can you imagine that day in Clark's house when the husband and the wife were going at each other? I said, mate, I'm with your wife. I think you took it a step too far. Or can you imagine I said to her, come on, relax. Just give the boy to the dog and we can all have our dinner. Can you imagine? No, you can't imagine because when you're in someone else's home and there's a domestic tiff, you don't get involved. You don't take sides. You stay quiet. You keep your eyes down. You ask for the salt or pepper. You change the subject. The one thing you don't do is take a side. Well, Luke tells us the story of Jesus caught in the moment of a domestic tiff between two sisters. But it's a domestic tiff in which Jesus takes a side. and out of which he brings a profound lesson for our Christian lives. The story is quite simple. It's only five verses long, but the point of the story is often missed because we tend to read this story as an either or choice that Mary and Martha faced. On a superficial reading, we tend to think that this story is about the choice between serving or listening. The choice between the busy life or the quiet life, the hyperactive life or the contemplative life. But a closer look at the story reveals that that's not the point at all. In fact, we really only get Jesus' point if we first feel the tension of this disagreement and understand why Martha is so upset with Mary. Because the case that Martha brings to Jesus about her sister's actions has some merit to it. Picture the scene. Martha has invited Jesus and his disciples into her home, verse 38. She's the host, and so the pressure rests on her shoulders. And what a pressure it is. There are at least 13 men staying in her home, all with hungry mouths to feed. A, because they're men. B, because they're on a journey. Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem and so they would have been hungry. The numbers alone would bring some stress into the home. There are rooms to prepare, there's water to fetch, there's food to buy, prepare, cook, serve. Any person here who has practiced hospitality or entertained guests knows exactly how Martha would have felt. Now add to the mix the issue of Mary, Martha's sister, verse 39. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. We don't really feel the offense of what Mary does here in our 21st century Western world, but at best, Mary's actions are culturally inappropriate. At worst, they are downright thoughtless and insensitive. In this culture, women were generally not allowed to be disciples. Yet Mary's posture of sitting at the feet of Jesus is the posture of a disciple. The apostle Paul said that he sat at the feet of Gamaliel, his teacher. It was the posture of a disciple. And in this culture, only men were allowed to be disciples of rabbis. Only men would sit at Jesus' feet. Yet, here is Mary, sitting at the feet of Jesus, listening to his word in a room full of men. So it is outside the bounds of cultural etiquette. But that actually isn't really Martha's beef. Martha's beef is that Mary's not helping with the corned beef. That's her issue. Mary has left her to serve alone. Verse 40, Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? In this culture, Women prepared and served food in the home. It was simply the done thing. Men sat. Women served. That was the culture. I experienced a similar culture a number of years ago when I was in Malawi. And one Sunday after we had been doing some ministry in a village, we went back to the pastor's house, and he invited us into his living room. And there we were as guests, all sitting on the couches. And his wife and daughters were sitting on the floor at the kitchen door. And we all got up and said, please come and have a seat. And he said, no, in my culture, guests sit in the living room and my wife and daughters will serve us when the food is ready. It was the cultural thing to do. And that was the same in Jesus's day. As a woman, you did not go into the main room and sit yourself down. Yet here's Mary. in the main room, listening to Jesus, leaving Martha alone in the kitchen. So Martha's annoyance is surely understandable. There are at least 13 hungry men to feed, and it's not like Mary is an invited guest. She is Martha's sister. How can Mary think that it's reasonable to leave Martha on her own to prepare everything? No wonder that Martha has had enough. Verse 40, Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me. It's a rhetorical question. Do you not care, Lord? Well, of course you do care. So now tell her to help me. And notice that Mary has become a her. It's not tell Mary to help me, no, tell her to help me, Lord. Martha doesn't even use her name. As one commentator puts it, Martha is miffed at Mary. Can you feel the tension in this domestic tiff? It's not such a small one, is it? Given the cultural etiquette, given there's 13 hungry men to house and feed and serve, Martha has a point. Doesn't she? How can it be appropriate for her sister to leave her alone to do all the work? It's a reasonable rant, wouldn't you agree? Well, actually, no, it's not. And that's what's so surprising about Jesus' response to Martha. He's not on her side. He's on Mary's side. Verse 41, 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. Notice Jesus's tenderness with Martha. Martha, Martha. The double pronouncement of her name conveys affection and compassion. He's not on her side. He's about to offer a rebuke, but he couches his words with love and affection. Martha, Martha. But then comes the stinging rebuke. Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but only one thing is necessary. Notice how Jesus juxtapositions the words many and one in contrast to each other. The one thing clearly relates to Mary sitting at his feet listening to his teaching. Mary has chosen the one thing that is better, the spiritual food of Jesus's word. That's what Jesus means by she has chosen the good portion. He's talking about his teaching being like a portion of food. Just like we would say to somebody at the dinner table, can you pass me a portion of the Brussels sprouts, please? Well, Jesus is referring to his teaching as being a portion of food. In other words, Mary has chosen to be involved in a different kind of meal with Jesus. Behind his words, there may be Deuteronomy 8, verse 3. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. But there are some other Old Testament texts that I think are closer. Psalm 73, verse 25 and 26. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Or Psalm 16 verse five, the Lord is my chosen portion. It's the language of spiritual food. And Jesus is saying that Mary has chosen him and his teaching has her portion, her good portion. In other words, she is feasting on Jesus. She's feasting on him through his word. And notice that she's feasting on him, not some doctrine about him. Just like on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24, where he taught the disciples that the whole of the Old Testament was about him, not about a proposition. It was about a person. Mary is feeding on the person of Christ as he teaches her. And this is what Martha feels to do. She feels to do the one necessary thing, to listen in humble submission to the word of the Lord. When this is your food, Martha, it won't be taken away from you. This is the one thing that is needed when life is frantic and busy, listening in humble submission to the word of the Lord. Now, I said at the beginning, we mustn't misunderstand Jesus's point here. He isn't presenting Martha with an either or choice, serving or listening, busyness or quietness, the hyperactive life or the contemplative life. There are a number of things in the passage that show us that Jesus isn't giving Martha an either or choice. Look again at verse 42. But one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her. Jesus doesn't lambast Martha for doing the wrong thing and Mary's done the right thing. No, he simply says that Mary has chosen what is good. Some translations say better. She's chosen the better meal, which means that what Martha is doing is at one level good and right. It's just that what Mary is doing is better. Jesus' issue with Martha is that she is worried and upset by many things, not that the many things in themselves were wrong. Jesus is not saying to Martha, forget about the beetroot. It's about the Bible, Martha. That's not what he's saying. He's not a Platonist. He doesn't have a separation between physical and spiritual, as if food doesn't really matter. He wasn't on a fast. If you read the gospels, what do we see Jesus doing most often? Eating and drinking. As one commentator says, Jesus literally eats his way through the gospels. So much so that he is accused of being a glutton and a drunkard. Which means that he must have enjoyed his food and drink enough for there to be an accusation in the first place. He loved his wine. He loved his lamb steak. He was the man of Ecclesiastes, who knew what it was to properly enjoy and handle the good gifts God had given. The gifts of food and wine and drink. So he's not opposed to food. In fact, he's expecting some food. Glance back at chapter 10, verse eight, when he gives his disciples instructions as they go out on their mission. Look at what he says in verse eight. Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. Now look at verse 38. Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. So Jesus is expecting a meal from Martha. He's on a journey to Jerusalem. He and his disciples need to eat. And he's no male chauvinist who is unsympathetic to the many important things that need to be done to feed and house 13 hungry men. So when Jesus says, only one thing is needed, He's not saying, Martha, Martha, forget about the beetroot. It's all about the Bible. Come to the Bible study. That is not what Jesus is saying. He's expecting a meal from Martha. Indeed, when we look closer at the text, it seems that Mary was most likely initially serving alongside Martha. Look again at what Martha says in verse 40. Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Sounds like Mary had been serving, but then she left her alone. That's the nuance in the story. Jesus doesn't present Martha with an either or choice here between serving and listening, or a right or wrong choice between the busy life and the quiet life. No, the point is that Mary served and listened. And her listening ordered her service. Her listening gave perspective and proportion. to her serving. Martha's serving consumed her listening. And in the end, she lost all perspective and proportion. Verse 40, but Martha was distracted with much serving. She got the serving out of proportion. And that, in a nutshell, is what this story is all about. It's about perspective. It's about proportion. It's about priority. It's about choosing the better portion so you keep everything in the right proportion, in the right perspective. In one sentence, it's about this. The many important things of life need to be ordered by the one necessary thing in life, listening in humble submission to the word of the Lord. The many important things of life need to be ordered by the one necessary thing in life, and that is listening in humble submission to the word of the Lord. And when we do that, when we allow the many important things of life to be ordered by, prioritized by the one necessary thing in life, listening and humble submission to the word of the Lord, then life is not as complicated as we may think it is. Life is not as stressful as we might feel. Jesus' point is that we can't serve effectively with the hand without first listening humbly with the ear. That's the one necessary thing that's needed. The ear gives perspective and proportion to the hand. It's ear first, then hand. And when we get the order right, then we have chosen the better thing. As we begin a new year and you think of all of the things that you have to do this week and this coming year, what a timely message for us. that we might not get caught up in the busyness of our lives so much that it consumes us listening in humble submission to the word of the Lord. Because it's so easy to be busy with much serving, with much activity, with many important things, that we lose perspective and proportion. I'm sure even as you've sat here this morning, you've been thinking of things you need to do after the service. This week, this year, texts and emails that need to be replied to, food that needs to be bought, children that need to be cared for, exams that require revision, schoolwork that needs to be done, meetings that need to be arranged. Well, the first thing we need to recognize is that the Lord Jesus does not present us with an either or choice when we are faced with all of these things. He doesn't say, forget about all those things. They're temporary, they're earthly, they're fleeting. Don't worry about all that. Just read your Bible. That's not what he's saying. He knows the many important things we need to do tomorrow, this week, this year. He knows them. He understands. He believes they need to be done. He knows we have diapers to change, and emails to reply to, and school runs to do, and lunches to make, clothes to clean, and grandchildren to look after, and vacuuming to do, and leaves to pick up, and shopping to do, problems to administer, family to care for. He knows our to-do list. And He doesn't ask us to bin it. Just read your Bible. No, he doesn't ask us to stop doing those things and just meditate on him. That is Platonism. That is monasticism. It's not biblical Christianity. Jesus views our to-do list as full of good and important things that need to be done. He knows every single one of them. And what he says to us at the beginning of 2025 is, Those many important things of life need to be ordered by the one necessary thing in life, and that is humbly listening to my word. If I am your portion, then you will keep everything else in proportion. Jesus wants us to keep perspective this year. And we keep it by listening in humble submission to his word. That's what Mary does. She centers and orders and prioritizes her serving around her listening. And so she keeps perspective and proportion. Mary made Jesus her portion. and so she kept everything else in proportion. Martha, in contrast, loses perspective because she gets so taken up with the many important things of life that they consume the one necessary thing, which is supposed to order the many important things and give them perspective and proportion. And that's what God wants to say to us this morning at the beginning of 2025. Let the many important things of life be ordered by the one necessary thing in life, and that is listening in humble submission to the word of the Lord. Now in case you think that this is a sermon about making you feel guilty about your quiet times, some which you've already missed, I hear, this year, Don't worry, I missed one. No, it's not about quiet times. It's about church times. Mary is at church. Think about it. She's sitting at the feet of Jesus, the head of the church, with the apostles on either side of him, with other believers. Mary's at church. Quiet times are great, and I would encourage you to have a time each day that you spend with the Lord, reading his word and praying, but church times are more important than quiet times. Getting together as believers and listening to Jesus speak to us through his word, that is the highest priority and the chosen means that God has given to his church to feed us with spiritual food. There's something good and healthy about the rhythm of the Lord's day every seven days where we set it apart to listen to God through his word as we gather as a church. So may I encourage you to consider committing yourself to coming to 10th every Lord's Day in 2025 and sitting in humble submission under his word. Of course, there's work trips, there are vacations, but when you are here, be here, sitting at the feet of Jesus, listening in humble submission to his word. Because when you do, then you will keep everything in perspective and in proportion. This week, I woke up one morning and I said to Jackie, I feel depressed. It was only January 2nd. She said, what are you depressed about? I said, I don't even know. I'm sort of stressed. I've just got this on and this. She said, you need to get some exercise and read your Bible. And so I did. I went for some exercise and then I read my Bible. And with the endorphins flowing through my blood and the Spirit of God blowing that breeze of God's word through my mind, I got my proportion back again. I got my perspective back again. But yes, even as a minister of the gospel, I struggle to keep things in perspective. I struggle to read my Bible some days. I missed a day. The 1st of January, I did not read my Bible. So as I pray for you this year, as individuals and as families, and I really will commit to pray for you this year, that you read your Bible. Pray every day if you want to grow, grow, grow. As I pray for you, would you pray for me and for all the ministers who will stand in this pulpit this year? We all need help immersing ourselves in the word of God. And boys and girls, we don't expect you to read a whole chapter of the Bible, but a verse a day keeps the devil away. So, ask your parents to teach you a verse a week, and that will keep the devil away. But I want to close by asking a question, and that is, how did Martha lose perspective while Mary kept perspective? How did Martha lose perspective while Mary kept perspective? A number of years ago, I heard an evangelical minister tell the story of a time he was at a ministerial fraternal with other ministers, and he got talking to a charismatic pastor who told him that every morning when he was shaving, Jesus would come into the bathroom and speak to him. And this evangelical minister said, You're telling me that Jesus comes into your bathroom in the morning when you're shaving and talks to you?" And he says, yeah. He said, let me just get this right. You're saying that Jesus of Nazareth, who lived 2,000 years ago, comes into your bathroom in the mornings when you're shaving and talks to you? And he said, yeah. He said, let me just get this right. You're saying that Jesus of Nazareth, who lived 2,000 years ago, who was crucified on a cross, rose again three days later, is ascended to the Father's right hand, that that Jesus comes into your bathroom and talks to you when you're shaving? He said, yeah. He said, it sounds like you don't believe me. He said, I've only got one question for you. Do you keep shaving? Do you keep shaving? And then he said to him, because of Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory who died and rose again and is exalted at the Father's right hand, if he came into my bathroom while I was shaving, I would fall down and worship him. Because when Jesus is in your home, you get your priorities right. And that's why Martha lost perspective. Because she didn't realize who was in her home. The problem was, she didn't see who Jesus was. But Mary did. And so Mary got things in proportion. It's interesting that the title Lord is used three times in these five verses. And in just one verse, Martha speaks about herself three times. She lost all perspective because she missed who was sitting in her front living room. And because she did, it all became about her. Me, me, me, me, me, me, me. Martha, Martha, he whom angels worship and before whom demons tremble is in your front living room and you're worried about three different ways to do the potatoes. Should we fry them or roast them or boil them? Martha, Martha, prophets and kings wanted to see what you see and hear. Prophets and kings, Martha, but you're worried about the cauliflower. Should we do a cream sauce or do it plain? What way should we do the cauliflower? Martha, Martha, the queen of Sheba came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon, to listen to Solomon. And one greater than Solomon is in your front living room. And you're worried about the banana fritters. She would do them with honey or lemon juice. Martha lost all perspective because she didn't grasp Jesus's identity. The Lord, the one upon whom the ends of the ages had dawned, the savior of the world was in her home. And she was more worried about whether it was cream or ice cream with the apple crumble. What Jesus was really saying to Martha was, Martha, Martha, in light of my identity, a simple meal would have done. And then you also could have come and had another meal that would never be taken away from you. Because Martha, when I am your portion, it puts everything else into proportion. Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we gather Lord's Day by Lord's Day in 2025, let us not forget who it is that we come to hear from. It is Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, the one upon whom the end of the ages have dawned, the savior of the world, he before whom angels worship and demons tremble. And when we remember that and listen in humble submission to his word, then we will get the right perspective for 2025. When Christ is our portion, then we will keep everything else in proportion. May God help us to do so. Let me pray. Father, we thank you that your Son is that bread from heaven given for us to feed upon, that he is our chosen portion. And we ask that this year you would help us to feed upon him through your word, Lord's day by Lord's day, and in our own personal devotions, give us, oh Lord, that commitment and discipline we ask, so that we might keep all things in perspective and in their true proportion. And we ask this for Jesus' sake, amen.