“An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.”  Mahatma Gandhi

“Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”   Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”   Luke 10:37-42

When Jesus tells the lawyer (the one who wanted to justify himself from the parable of the Good Samaritan) to “Go and do likewise” – Jesus is telling him to show mercy to people regardless of their religious, cultural, ethnic or gender identity. The lawyer believed that there were only certain people to whom he should be kind, accepting, and merciful. And, not allowing him to justify himself, Jesus put him in his place. Showing mercy can mean many things to different people, especially depending on the situation. But immediately after this parable, Jesus enters into the home of Mary and Martha. Martha complains that Mary is not helping her out as she would prefer, and Jesus supports Mary that “She has chosen the better part” by not “going and doing”. So, what does it mean to “go and do”? In one instance Jesus implies that it means “Go” – in the other instance it seems to mean “Sit”. The secret to living the Christ-like life is finding a balance for both “going and doing” and “sitting and listening”.

There are certain ways that we Lutherans believe that we receive the Holy Spirit – through hearing the Word, reading the Word, and receiving the Word in the Sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion. If we are always “doing”, we will eventually run out of the strength to continue to “do the works of G-d” because we all only have so much in our Spiritual Tanks. There need to be times when we sit at the feet of Jesus, or in the worship service, to receive some preaching, and to take part in the Sacraments, so we can fill up our Spiritual Tanks, and then continue to “go and do”. 

My friends, find time to be filled by G-d’s word and the Holy Spirit through participating in worship, bible study, Word and Sacrament. And when you feel your strength has been renewed, remember the words that Jesus spoke to the lawyer – “Go and Do likewise”.

Pastor Dave