Luke 10:38-42
Confession and Forgiveness
In the name of the Father,
and of the ☩ Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Baptized into Christ, let us confess our sin.
Silence is kept for reflection.
Merciful God,
you free us to love others,
but we neglect our neighbors and follow our own way.
You lead us by the Spirit of joy and peace,
but we turn away from the abundant life you offer.
You surround us with patience, kindness,
and generosity,
but we grow weary in doing what is right.
In your mercy, forgive us.
Do not give up on us.
Heal us, break our bonds,
and show us the path of life.
Amen.
You belong to Christ Jesus
and you are God’s children through faith.
In the cross of ☩ Christ,
and through the power of the Holy Spirit,
your sins are forgiven.
Clothed with Christ, you are a new creation.
Amen.
Gathering Hymn: Lord, Speak to Us, That We May Speak – ELW 676
Prayer of the Day
Eternal God, you draw near to us in Christ, and you make yourself our guest. Amid the cares of our lives, make us attentive to your presence, that we may treasure your word above all else, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
Amen.
First Reading: Genesis 18:1-10a
1 The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. 2 He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them and bowed down to the ground. 3 He said, “My lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant. 4 Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. 5 Let me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” 6 And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah and said, “Make ready quickly three measures of choice flour, knead it, and make cakes.” 7 Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it. 8 Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared and set it before them, and he stood by them under the tree while they ate.
9 They said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” 10a Then one said, “I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son.”
Word of God. Word of Life.
Thanks be to God.
Psalm:15
1 Lord, who may dwell in your tabernacle?
Who may abide upon your holy hill?
2 Those who lead a blameless life and do what is right,
who speak the truth from their heart;
3 they do not slander with the tongue, they do no evil to their friends;
they do not cast discredit upon a neighbor.
4 In their sight the wicked are rejected, but they honor those who fear the Lord.
They have sworn upon their health and do not take back their word.
5 They do not give their money in hope of gain, nor do they take bribes against the innocent.
Those who do these things shall never be overthrown.
Second Reading: Colossians 1:15-28
15 Christ Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation,16 for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.
21 And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him, 23 provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven. I, Paul, became a minister of this gospel.
24 I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. 25 I became its minister according to God’s commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make known how great among the gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 It is he whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.
Word of God. Word of Life.
Thanks be to God.
Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia. Blessed are those who hold the word fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance. Alleluia. (Luke 8:15)
The Holy Gospel according to Luke
Glory to You O Lord
Gospel: Luke 10:38-42
38 Now as Jesus and his disciples went on their way, he entered a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him. 39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at Jesus’s feet and listened to what he was saying. 40 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.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things, 42 but few things are needed—indeed only one. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”
The Gospel of the Lord
Praise to you O Christ
Today we have the tale of two sisters.
- One is in the kitchen and the other is not.
- Martha is the diligent one.
- She is working hard…and she does not have any help.
- She wants Jesus to tell her sister to help her.
- No doubt she is frustrated…as she has cooked up an enormous meal while Mary sits there.
- Who could blame Martha for being annoyed?
Then…we have Mary…who sits at the feet of Jesus.
- She listens to his voice…sets her agenda aside…receives his instruction and ponders his words in her heart.
- Well…if Jesus came to our house…wouldn’t we want to sit at his feet? The Lord be with you.
OK then…Which one are we?
- Are we the industrious Martha…pursuing the tasks at hand…
- Making the necessary preparations behind the scenes…
- Watching the clock and tending to all the necessary details?
- Or are we devoted Mary…gazing into the face of Christ…free from worry…
- Focused on the deep significance of the moment…
- And not bogged down with unnecessary details?
- Some of us are drawn to Martha…some of us are attracted to Mary.
But then…the Marthas who love details need their Jesus-time too.
- They intend to get it…but first the potatoes must be peeled and the meat cooked.
- The Marys cannot float in the clouds of contemplation.
- There are necessary life tasks that cannot be neglected.
- We cannot divide life into action and contemplation.
- For us to be fully alive…we must hold together the work to be done…
- With the necessary reflection that finds wisdom and meaning in what we do.
Our souls need both action and contemplation…to do and to be…
- To work and sit still.
- At first hearing…the tale of Martha and Mary suggests the value of sitting…listening and receiving the word of Jesus.
- ..it immediately follows Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan…
- A story that challenges us to go and do likewise.
- One story invites us to listen to Jesus.
- The story before it urges us to care actively for neighbors.
- And…we miss the point of the Christian life…if we pursue the message of one story…without the other.
But…here’s the thing…it is difficult to hold these stories together.
- What most of us do is work hard…and then go on vacation.
- Alternating between labor and rest.
- We put in time at the office and keep weekends free.
- But that is easier said than done.
- We tend not to keep our weekends free.
- We look at our calendars…and see every available moment is jammed full.
- For many of us…it is all Martha and no Mary…and we are exhausted.
Well…can we be like Mary and Martha at the same time?
- To get the work done and to be still…
- To stay contemplative while active…
- To remain active while contemplative?
- Our distracted era makes this difficult.
- Cell phones tempt us to stay connected…and distracted.
- Hundreds of television channels call out for our attention…without offering much benefit in return.
- We know there are emails waiting for our answers…even if many are inconsequential.
- The calendar on the kitchen wall is much too full.
So…then Jesus offers us a corrective.
- When Martha storms out of the kitchen with her dirty apron…Jesus makes it a teaching moment.
- With a gentle voice…Jesus says to Martha…there is a time for hard work…
- But…there is never a good time to be distracted by many things.
- Anxiety is a real emotion…but it is usually counterproductive.
Jesus worked hard.
- He healed one person after another.
- Spoke to enormous crowds…never had a minute’s rest from his own disciples.
- He was always on when people were around.
- Yet…he could also say:
- Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns…and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field…how they grow…they neither toil nor spin…yet I tell you…even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.
Here is a gospel word to Martha and all of us like her.
- If we are burning the candle at both ends…we are invited to look at the birds and admire the lilies.
- If we are weary…we are invited to rest.
- That sacred pause is the essence of Sabbath.
- It is God’s gift of kairotic time for the restoring of our souls.
- It is an invitation to rest in the Lord and to let God run the world for a while.
- In our story…Mary has chosen what Jesus calls the better part.
So…it is a tension we know all too well…the practical…no-nonsense housekeeper verses the romantic free spirit.
- We discover there is both Martha and Mary within each one of us.
- Our Martha side is consumed with the work and necessities of living and surviving in the 21st century:
- Careers…homes…mortgages… college tuition.
- But our Mary side seeks something more meaningful and purposeful in our lives.
- The Mary within us longs to spend more time with our children.
- Longs to be able to give more of ourselves to causes we believe in.
- Longs to turn off the world and be at peace with God…ourselves and others.
The Martha within us is always there to remind us of our responsibilities:
- The things to do list that is never completed.
- The calendar that is always full.
- The appointments and deadlines that constantly loom.
The better part is not what’s left over when everything else is done.
- We must consciously choose and seek out the better part.
- Jesus calls us…whether we tend to Martha-like efficiency or Mary-inspired sensitivity…
- To seek the better part…welcoming into our lives the joy and love of family and friends that is the very presence of God.
Jesus looks to Martha and tells her not to be worried.
- He tells her to avoid distraction by all the things she must do.
- Can we imagine what else he says to her?
- It is the same thing he says to us:
- Here I am. Come…sit with me.
- For what does it profit a person to stay busy all the time if they cannot sit for a while with Jesus?
Hymn of the Day: Jesus, the Very Thought of You – ELW 754
Prayers of Intercession
In solidarity with all creation, we join our voice to the voice of the whole church and pray for the needs of the world.
A brief silence.
Inspire your church, like Sarah and Mary, to listen with eager longing for your words of life. Equip biblical interpreters and teachers with faithful discernment, that your word may be more fully known. God of grace,
hear our prayer.
Every creature under heaven has been promised the hope of the gospel. From that promise, generate in humankind an eagerness to protect and care for creation. Bring healing to the earth with your words of life. God of grace,
hear our prayer.
Peel away the distractions, worries, and fears of all who govern the nations of the world. May your word of love and life dispel all other voices. Provide gracious hospitality in places where hostile forces hold sway. God of grace,
hear our prayer.
Speak your word of comfort to any who suffer pain, illness, grief, depression, or despair especially: John & Lisa Mountain, Terry Vernon, David & Carol Beazley, Margaret Miller, Bill Treichler, Shirley Treichler, Hope Garrett, Julia Busby-Morgan. Chad Rudzik, June Gust, Stacey Bryant, Pam Hendry, Erin Shayota, Michael Bender, Don Bevers, Rick Lauber, Keith Waldron, John Shaffer, Jan Johnson, Chis Poe. Bring honor to any who experience slander and evil intent or are discredited by others. God of grace,
hear our prayer.
Enliven and uphold all siblings in Christ who strive to provide hospitality and safe spaces where everyone, without exception, can receive and be transformed by your word of life. God of grace,
hear our prayer.
Awaken new life in this place. Open our hearts to ways you are calling us to be at work in the world and our community. We pray for neighboring congregations and ministry sites especially: Church of God – SDA – Bay Point Christian – St. Barts – Blessed Trinity…St. Matthew…DayStar Life Center…Canguros Day School. Give us courage to boldly share your love for all people beyond our walls. God of grace, hear our prayer.
For Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, Mary, Martha, and all the saints who attended to your word, we give thanks. Open our ears to your voice until that day when we realize the promise of the gospel with all creation. God of grace,
hear our prayer.
Trusting in your lovingkindness, we place our prayer and hope in you, in the name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Pray with me:
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
Blessing
The love of God abound in you;
the grace of our Savior Jesus Christ fill your hearts;
and the life of the Spirit
☩ bless you and give you peace.
Amen.
Sending Hymn: O Savior, Precious Savior – 820
Dismissal
Go in peace. Live by the Spirit.
Thanks be to God.