It will be interesting how people a hundred or more years from now will refer to the age we are living in right now. Just as we look back and refer to the dark ages or the age of enlightenment or the industrial age, some day people will look back and refer to this as the global age or the information age or, my favorite, the age of distraction. We have so many more choice today than not too very long ago. Remember when we only had three channels to choose from on TV? Remember when we just had mail, and not email, snail mail and voice mail to check each day (not to mention tweets, skypes and instant messages)?

Some of the ways we have responded to these multiple claims upon our attention have included multi-tasking where we respond to several inputs simultaneously, such as driving and texting at the same time (BAD IDEA), and multi-image presentations. Most music videos are made up of a barrage of images that flash in quick succession. But even the evening news is becoming a multi-image presentation with an announcer reporting one story while a scroll runs on the bottom of the screen with another story entirely, which an attention deficit person like me finds very distracting.

In the same manner I find pop-up messages on my computer distracting. I am researching a topic for a newsletter article when all of a sudden I get a pop-up ad for a product. I click "No Thanks," and another pop-up offers a service I might need. What I need is a pop-up blocker to save me from these distractions. What I need is a remote gizmo that, with the push of a button, automatically turns off everyone’s cell phone in the sanctuary so that I can preach without distraction. What I need is an occasional escape from this age of distraction.

The title of our message for this morning is "Driven to Distraction." We are driven by our Protestant work ethic, we are driven by our need for increased productivity and we are driven by our need to get ahead and not fall behind. These are not bad drives to have in moderation, but they can drive us to distraction in excess. They can distract us from the most important things in life that are just as needful of our attention—our primary relationships and even our relationship with God.

That is why God has provided a Sabbath day of rest—so that we may cease from our labors, turn off our TV’s, silence our cell phones and sit quietly in a sanctuary of his presence to listen for his Word and commit to his way. That is an ancient commandment, so apparently distraction is not unique to this age. Maybe it is a perennial human struggle that has challenged humankind down through the ages. That seems to be the case in our text this morning about a woman named Martha who was driven to distraction.

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made (Verses 38-40). This must be how Martha Stewart got her name. You know Martha Stewart: America's goddess of domestic perfection, founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, convicted fellon (talk about being driven to distraction). When Martha Stewart entertains, she wants everything to be perfect.

And so it was that the Martha in our text wanted everything to be perfect when the Son of God came to call. But just like Martha Stewart requires a lot of help to properly entertain her guests, so the Martha in our text needs help to entertain Jesus. She expects her sister Mary to lend a hand, but Mary is sitting at the Master’s feet like a disciple. How rediculous is that? First of all, everyone (with the possible exception of Jesus) knows that only men can be disciples. Women are for women’s work—tidying up the place, fixing the food, serving the guys.

The guys know that. Martha knows that. But apparently Jesus does not get it, so Martha informs him. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" (Verse 40). Excuse me, we thought this was about Jesus but it is really about Martha—about Martha’s needs and Martha’s wishes. Martha actually scolds her guest, "Don’t you care?" and then orders him around, "Tell her to help me!"

Jesus’ response reminds me an episode on the Brady Bunch. Everything was always about Marsha, leading her sister, Jan, to respond: "Marsha, Marsha, Marsha." Our text continues: "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her" (Verses 41-42). Only one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen it. Mary has chosen to prioritize spiritual needs over worldly needs.

Jesus spoke of this one thing that is needed in his Sermon on the Mount when he addressed people like Martha who were worried, anxious and upset about many things. He said: So do not worry, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we drink?' or `What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6:31-33). First and foremost is seeking his kingdom, which is what Mary is doing sitting at his feet. Jesus will not take that away from her.

I was reminiscing with Sara Akins a few days ago about a last minute trip she and Bill took a few years ago. Following worship they had received a call from a dear friend in Circleville, Ohio whose terminally ill husband had taken a turn for the worse. Bill and Sara grabbed a few items, hopped in their car and drove 175 miles to spend a little time with their friends face-to-face. Sara said, "I didn’t even tell her we were coming because I didn’t want her running around cleaning the house and preparing a meal. I just wanted us to be together one more time.

When Jesus stopped by Martha’s home he was on his way to Jerusalem where he knew that he would be arrested, tried and crucified. I don’t think he was interested in the menu or the finished touches on everything. I think he just wanted to be with people in the way he was being with Mary—able to talk and listen from the heart without distraction. Martha’s intentions are good, but Mary has chosen what is better—has prioritized better. Sometimes even the way we serve the Lord can distract us from a personal, saving relationship with him.

Charles Swindoll, an outstanding preacher, once found himself with too many commitments on his platter. He was tired and harried and short with his family. Choking down food before running off for a meeting or obligation, he wasn’t much fun at the dinner table. One evening his young daughter, Colleen, wanted to tell him something important that had happened to her at school that day. She began hurriedly, "Daddy, I wanna tell you somethin’ and I’ll tell you really fast." Charles answered, "Honey, you can tell me—and you don’t have to tell me really fast. Say it slowly." He never forgot her answer: "Then listen slowly."

Unfortunately, as a preacher and pastor, I can relate to that story. It takes hard work, some talent and a little luck to be a successful pastor. Even so, a person can be a successful pastor and a failure as a spouse and parent at the same time. When serving the Lord comes at the expense of those the Lord has given us to love, how can the Lord be pleased with that? That is when our service for the Lord becomes a distraction (a la Martha) from listening to the Lord and choosing what is better (a la Mary).

This past week I got two calls, first from the Choir Director of the church I served in Milwaukee and then from the Senior Pastor. We shared fond memories of being yoked together in ministry for almost 8 years. But while the staff has not changed all that much over the intervening years, the congregation sure has. Most of the folks in the pews would have no idea who I was. And some day that will be the way it is here. Then the relationships I have cultivated with my wife and children and friends will remain. When that time arrives, I doubt I’ll be wishing that I had spent less time with my family so I could work harder as a Pastor.

Erma Bombeck tells of when her children were growing up and her husband would look at the back yard. Surveying the muddy patches where the lawn should be, he would wonder: "Will the grass ever come back?" Before you knew it, the children were grown and gone. Her husband continued to look at the now beautiful green lawn, immaculate from lack of use, and wondering: "Will the children ever come back." There is nothing wrong with a nice lawn, there is nothing wrong with working hard, there is nothing wrong with entertaining guests so long as such things do not become distractions from choosing that one thing that is needed—that one thing that is better.

Have you ever been in a hurry and buttoned up a long overcoat with lots of buttons only to discover that the coat was uneven? When you don’t get the first button in the right hole, all the rest are out of sequence too. But when you do get first things first, all the rest fall into place as well. If first we seek the kingdom of God, all other needful things will be added as well. It is possible to be successful in our livelihoods and successful in our marriages and parenting at the same time so long as we do not allow lesser things to distract us from the really important things.

The most important thing is our relationship with the Lord. Cultivating that takes a little time free from distraction. As was said before, that is why God has provided for a Sabbath day of rest and that is why he has commanded us to Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy (Exodus 20:8). Thank you for keeping that commandment today, for keeping the Sabbath Day holy, for not being driven to distraction in putting first things first and for taking time to be holy.