A Time to Learn and a Time to Serve Luke 10:38–42; Genesis 18:1–14 

Grace, mercy and peace be with you, from God, our Father, and our Lord, Jesus Christ.

We’re going to talk about taking time to learn and to be fed with God’s Word as we serve.

A few weeks ago, we saw in our Gospel how Jesus missed having a place to call home, since He had been rejected by His family and His hometown of Nazareth.

Jesus’ ministry kept Him and His disciples on the move. There were those who heard His message, and believed, and were so thankful that they welcomed Him and His disciples into their homes, to eat and rest, and to be honored.

Today’s Gospel is one of those times. This is the first time we hear of two sisters Martha and Mary, who became close friends of Jesus, along with their brother Lazarus, whom, four days after he would die from a fever, Jesus would raise back to life.

Having heard Jesus teach, and perhaps having seen Him do miracles, or certainly having heard about them, Martha and Mary invited Jesus to be their guest in their home. 

Martha, who seems to have been the older sister, took charge, and Mary seems to have been content to let her do so.

Mary lounged, while Martha labored. But there was more than that to the story, which we’ll come back to in a few minutes.

First let’s consider another story of hospitality, from today’s Old Testament, when Abraham welcomed three strangers into his home.

In the ancient, near east, with the harsh climate, and accommodations being scarce, being hospitable to travelers was considered an essential courtesy, and a great honor. 

It would have been considered dishonorable to NOT show hospitality.

In that context, Abraham and Sarah welcomed three travelers to their home, one who would dramatically change the course of their lives, and the course of our lives. 

It was the Lord, in the appearance of a man, accompanied by two angels, also appearing as men, as they typically did.

Our text says, The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre, 

about 25 miles south of Salem, which would become the city of Jerusalem.

We understand, “the Lord”, here appearing to Abraham, to be the second person of the Trinity, the Son, appearing as a man, about 1800 years before He became eternally human, as well as being fully divine, in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.

So it was a hint or glimpse of when God would become man to die and rise for us.

The Lord, the Son of God, appeared to Abraham to tell him that in one year’s time, he and Sarah would become parents.

Even in their old age, they would have a son, and the Messianic line would go through him; and would continue until the Messiah was born. 

So in so many words, the Lord, the Son of God, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, was saying to Abraham and Sarah, “You’re going to be my great-great-great-great-great, however many greats, grandfather and grandmother.” 

I’m not sure how much of that Abraham and Sarah understood, but that’s what would happen! Centuries later, from their line, the promised Messiah, Jesus, was born. 

It’s kind of hard to wrap your mind around this, it’s so incredible that the Lord would be saying that to them, but this is the divine mystery of the Holy Trinity: God could do this because He’s not just the Father, but also the Son… and the Holy Spirit.

So as Abraham and Sarah welcomed the Lord, the Son of God into their home, so centuries later, Martha and Mary would welcome the Son of God, the Lord Jesus into their home, to eat and rest and be honored.

Which Jesus did; but first, He taught, because He knew, as He had told the devil in the wilderness, paraphrasing from Deuteronomy 8:3, that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. 

A good reason for us to have the habit of giving thanks to God before we eat.

In this story, we have an example of first taking time to learn, and then, taking time to serve – doing both.

Before eating, Jesus took time to teach, and Mary sat at His feet, soaking up every word.

This would have been the place for the master’s disciples, at his feet, learning up close, and the others would have listened from farther away.

Here was this young woman, sitting right there at Jesus’ feet among his disciples. 

According to Jewish custom, that would have been completely unacceptable, entirely out of place for a woman to do. 

But Jesus wasn’t offended; He was pleased with this young woman who wanted to be close to Him and learn from Him.

That’s the kind of heart and mind we pray for the Holy Spirit to give us, a heart that yearns to be close to and follow Jesus, and a mind like a sponge, always wanting to soak up and learn more from His Word.

Jesus was happy with Mary, but her sister wasn’t. 

Martha scolded Mary for being lazy. But it really wasn’t Mary she was correcting, it was Jesus.

“What’s the matter with you that you let my sister just sit here and listen while I do all the work alone. Make her get up and help me.”.

Jesus answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about so many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

“Instead of your sister getting up to help you, why don’t you sit down here with her… and listen and enjoy and appreciate the things I teach you.” 

“First, let’s feed our souls, and then we’ll feed our bodies.”. “There’s a time to serve and a time to learn; both are important, but this is a time to learn.”.

To try to serve without God’s Word to teach and encourage us, doesn’t work well; it can lead to us burning out, or being anxious and frustrated; and we end up losing the joy of serving. Staying in God’s Word helps to keep us excited and happy to serve.

Without God’s Word, its’ like we’re serving alone; with His Word, we always have His help as we serve.

On the other hand, to be forever learning but never serving isn’t what God has in mind for us, either.

We’re called to serve in our church, in our home, in our community, in our world, at work, at school, wherever we are, to serve others by being like Jesus to them.

And as we strive to serve and honor God, and be like Jesus wherever we are, we have His Word in our hearts and in our minds, to guide and empower us.

In sin and selfishness, we sometimes fail to serve and be like Christ to others. Since by faith we carry His grace in our soul, we repent and are fully forgiven. 

Fed by His Word and His body and blood, we’re restored to rejoice and serve others in His name; and to share with them, the Word that’s been shared with us.

May we always take time to be at the feet of Jesus, close to Him, learning from Him, our souls fed by Him, our hearts uplifted by Him, our minds enlightened by Him, that we might rise, and go, and serve with joy.

And as we take time to learn and to serve, His peace, which passes understanding, will be with us, and will guard our hearts and minds, in Christ Jesus, our Lord and our Teacher. Amen.