Livestream
This Week’s Theme: No Strings Attached.
In our current environment of packed schedules and the relentless pursuit of productivity, we often measure our worth (success) by how busy we are, by how much we accomplish, or by how well we meet the expectations of others. We can often feel pulled in multiple directions, and unable to focus fully on any one task because our minds keep leaping to all the other distractions. In our gospel reading on Sunday, we hear again the story of Mary and Martha, and Jesus’ gentle rebuke to centre ourselves – “to sit and rest in his presence, to hear his words of grace and truth, to know that we are loved and valued as children of God, to be renewed in faith and strengthened for service. There is need of only one thing: attention to our guest. As it turns out, our guest is also our host, with abundant gifts to give.” ~Elisabeth Johnson workingpreacher.org
This week’s Gospel Passage – Luke 10: 38-42
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. 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!”
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Luke 10:38-42
Questions to consider while reading the text:
- In what ways do you identify with Mary and/or Martha?
- What types of distractions pull you away from Jesus?
- What are some concrete and practical steps you could take to diminish distractions to your own devotion and service?
- Mary is often held up as a paragon of virtue – going against societal expectations of women to instead be a student of Jesus, while Martha is seen as whining, angry and in the wrong. But at the same time, service is an important aspect of Spiritual health – “faith without works is dead” ~James 2:17. How do we reconcile these ideas? Is there more than one way to be a disciple? How? What could Martha have done differently, while still fulfilling her duties as hostess?
This week’s Bulletin