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LUKE: GOSPEL OF CERTIFYING THE CHRISTIAN FAITH
Part XXXIX: The Credibility Of Christianity Via Its PRIORITIZING Communing With God Over Service
(Luke 10:38-42)
  1. Introduction
    1. Extra-biblical religions tend to move in two extreme directions when it comes to religious functions: some religions promote mystical contemplation to the neglect of service while others tend to promote expansive works of service with precious little contemplation, Norval Geldenhuys, Luke, p. 317.
    2. True, Biblical Christianity does neither extreme, and just what it does do, and how demonstrates its uniqueness and credibility as portrayed in the Mary and Martha incident of Luke 10:38-42 as follows:
  2. The Credibility Of Christianity Via Its PRIORITIZING Communion With God Over Service.
    1. Luke's Gospel was written to demonstrate the credibility of the Christian faith, Luke 1:3-4.
    2. One of the ways Christianity reveals its credibility is in the way it promotes both contemplative communion with God and actions of service to Him, putting a priority on communion over service actions as follows:
      1. When Jesus, the Founder of the Christian faith, visited a village we know from John 11:1 as Bethany, He entered the home and thus accepted the hospitality actions of homeowner, Martha, Luke 10:38.
      2. Now, in looking at the event, we learn an important lesson on the balance of communion with God with acts of service to Him, and of the priority God places on communion over service: (Lk. 10:39-42)
        1. Luke tells us that Martha, the homeowner had a sister named Mary who made it a priority of sitting at the feet of Jesus to hear Him teach spiritual truths, Luke 10:39.
        2. On the other hand, though apparently trying to listen to Jesus, Martha became distracted or pulled away from focusing on hearing Jesus by her being overburdened about doing an excellent job of showing hospitality (periespato), Arndt & Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon, p. 656; UBS Greek New Testament, p. 254. The tense of the verb "distracted" is in the imperfect (The Analytical Greek Lexicon (Zondervan), p. 319, indicating that Martha was in the process for some time of b eing distracted from her focusing on Jesus' words with the result that she was drawn into the state of mind to make the statements that she made in Luke 10:40b!
        3. So, after some time of not being able to enjoy the teaching of Jesus like her sister, Mary did because Martha had burdened herself with her expectations of what the hospitality needed to be for Jesus, she blurted out her annoyance at M ary and at Jesus for His not having gotten Mary to help her. In so doing, her service efforts lost their value as now she was now impolitely disrespectful to Jesus, v. 40
        4. Jesus responded with understanding and sympathy, repeating Martha's name twice, Luke 10:41.
        5. He then said Martha had become anxious (merimnas) and thus distressed (thorubadzay) concerning many things opposite the proper priority of focusing on one thing as necessary, Luke 10:41-42.
        6. That one thing Mary had chosen as necessary, that of her communion with the Savior, Luke 10:42b.
        7. Consequently, due to this proper choice of priority, Mary would not have her joy of communion with Christ taken away as Martha had lost her joy, and thus turned sinfully hostile in demeanor, 10:42c.
Lesson: (1) Christ did not focus on communing with God at the cost of service, nor on service at the exclusion of communion with God as do many extra-biblical religions. (2) Rather, Christianity includes BOTH communion AND service, for Jesus accep ted the service and communion of Martha and Mary by visiting their home. (3) However, there is a PRIORITY where God prefers we first commune with Him so that our service is a JOYOUS OVERFLOW of fulfilling communion. Otherwise, by making service a priority over communion with God, we dry up inside from our joy through getting distracted from communion by our own value system of service expectations. That eventually ruins communion altogether and harms the effectiveness of our service!

Application: In Christ's view, communion is the root, and service the branch: We do not make sense if we focus on just having a root that does not produce fruit; nor do we make sense in working to have a branch to bear fruit if there is no root. G od asks that we merely keep the root of our communion with Him healthy so that we can have a productive branch of service actions!