Sermon Audio: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ministrybymail

“Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. ³⁹ And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus ’ feet and heard His word. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” ⁴¹ And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. ⁴² “But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

11:1 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” ² So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. ³ Give us day by day our daily bread. ⁴ And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.” ⁵ And He said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him,`Friend, lend me three loaves; <sup>6</sup> `for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; ⁷ “and he will answer from within and say,`Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you ‘? ⁸ “I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.

⁹ “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ¹⁰ “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. ¹¹ “If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? ¹² “Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? ¹³ “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!""

Why do a lot of teenagers make such bad decisions? I know there are a lot of different answers, but the one I am going to focus on today is that they are worried and troubled about many things. It is the rare teenager who isn’t worried about what their classmates will think of them. Many say they don’t care, but they do. Why did they lie about the party they are going to? Because they don’t want to be the only one not there and afraid you won’t let them go. Why don’t they speak up when some classmates are gossiping about someone? Because they are worried about their classmates getting angry at them.

Do you want to try and claim you didn’t do some really stupid and sinful things because you were worried about what others would think? What about being troubled and I don’t mean in a good way? You see someone being picked on and you should be troubled. That is a good troubled. But Martha was troubled that she was doing all the work while Mary listened to Jesus. That was a bad troubled. Did you as a teenager make bad decisions because you were bad troubled? For example, you were troubled that your sister got to go to the movies and you didn’t so you let Satan fill your heart with anger and resentment. You were troubled that the teacher rebuked you so you were rude and disdainful of the teacher.

Oh yeah, we all did some pretty stupid and sinful things as teenagers because we were worried and troubled. And we still do! Martha is a grown woman and yet she sounds like a petty child whining that her sister got a bigger piece of cake. I remember one summer of high school I was working for a moving company. We were moving the office of the school principal because the building was being remodeled. We were moving them into a temporary office. All the principal’s staff was bickering and throwing fits because they were worried and troubled that so and so might end up with more space or a better view. The principal looked like he wanted to quit and or fire them all. That is one of many times in my childhood I realized that adults do all the same things children do.

Well, we might not like to hear it but Jesus’ words to Martha are for us too. We let ridiculous worries and troubles cause us to choose badly. Choose better. By God, choose better. How do we choose better? By God, showing us our sin and our forgiveness in Christ.

Think about this. How did Jesus say Martha’s name? Jesus said Martha’s name twice but our text doesn’t say whether Jesus said it very sternly or with disappointment or with sadness or with beseeching. I kind of imagine all those things were included. Jesus was calling Martha to see her sin. She should not have been worried and troubled by what she was worried and troubled about.

I want you to close your eyes and imagine hearing Jesus call your name as He called Martha’s. Why is He disappointed in you? What things are you worried and troubled about that Jesus is calling you to stop? Here is the thing about sinful worry and trouble, once they get going, stopping them is like trying to stop a runaway truck. Once you get really upset about something, once you get really troubled and angry, thinking you were treated unfairly, how likely is it that someone telling you to stop will work? Not likely which is why we should nip worry and being troubled in the bud. Jesus through our conscience and through others is calling us like He called Martha. He is calling on us to stop. He is calling on us to realize we are sinning by the things we are letting us worry and trouble us.

Go back to Jesus calling your name as He did Martha. What else do you hear? There is also beseeching in Jesus’ voice. He is beseeching us not just to realize how childish we are being but to come to Him for forgiveness. Why was Mary the more mature person in our text? How was it that she chose the better part? Because she knew what a sinful child she was and could be. Why was she so eager to hear from Jesus? Because she knew she was a sinful, childish person who could get worried and troubled about ridiculous things. She knew that. She felt sadness and guilt over it and so she was eager to hear from Jesus. She wanted forgiveness. And she knew that in Jesus she had forgiveness.

Isn’t it ironic? The way to be mature is to realize what immature, childish sinners we are. Mary was more mature in our text and chose the better part because she knew what a childish sinner she was and she knew how much she needed Jesus. By God, you too choose the better part. By God, know what a childish sinner you are. By God, know how much you need Jesus. By God, know that Jesus gave His life for you and me childish sinners.

That principal at the school at times looked like he was about to fire everyone and at other times like he was just going to quit. Jesus didn’t want to do that to us. He didn’t fire us or quit on us. He climbed up a cross and let them nail Him to it to pay for your and my sin. This can’t be taken from you so long as you believe. This is the better part. Put aside your worry and trouble. Hear His voice. It is in the Gospel beseeching you to come to Him for that forgiveness. Forgiveness that is full and free for Jesus paid the price for it.

But that is only part of our text. What about the second part about prayer? Prayer is very important in us choosing better. The Lord’s prayer is the shape the yearnings of our heart should take. Tell me- When what you care most about is God’s Name and His Kingdom and the forgiveness of sins and being delivered from temptation etc…, will you be worried and troubled that your coworker got a promotion and you didn’t? No you won’t. Jesus taught us what our heart should most want and when our heart learns from Jesus to care most about those things, the things we were so worried and upset about suddenly don’t seem so important.

By God, choose better what you most want and pray for. Jesus with the parable of the persistent friend teaches us to be persistent in prayer. But before that parable and after that story, Jesus teaches us the things we should be most persistent in praying for. What does Jesus suggest at the end of our text our heart should most yearn for? The Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit increases our faith. This is what Mary wanted because she knew what a childish sinner she was. She wanted Jesus for forgiveness of her sin. She wanted the Holy Spirit to do better.

We too want to do better. We should realize we are childish sinners and want to do better. We want to do better because Jesus loved us and gave Himself for us a redeeming sacrifice. We want to do better and so we bang on the doors of heaven. What are we banging for? For the Holy Spirit and for God’s name to be hallowed, for His kingdom and Will to be done, for us to be forgiven and to forgive as we have been forgiven, for us to be delivered from temptation and from evil. Oh, how many of our worries and troubles melt away when the Spirit teaches our heart to care most about those things.

But if you were paying attention you may have noticed that I left out one petition. Which was it? Give us this day our daily bread. It is okay to want and yearn for food to eat and for clothes and shelter and things like that. We should want those things. Our bodies are gifts from God and we should want to take care of them. But Jesus doesn’t teach us to pray for caviar and Italian sports cars. He teaches us to pray this day for our daily bread. By God, choose better. You don’t need caviar or the shiny car or the big house. God often gives more than we need so if He does, thank Him. But learn what to most desire and pray for.

There is a world of despair and worry and trouble in wanting the wrong things. Choose the better part. God teaches you what they are. They are His Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

—Pastor Aaron Ude

Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
Rapid City, SD

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