Claimed, gathered and sent

This is the sermon I preached two Sundays ago at St. Timothy Lutheran Church. The text was Luke 10:38-42. Ah, another story that we know. It’s not only familiar, but we’re pretty sure we know what it means, don’t we? Devotional books tell us to be like Mary and not like Martha, but is that what this gospel says? This episode begins with a journey motif, tying this scene to the preceding one, of last week’s Good Samaritan. This is part of Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem. Here Luke highlights the overarching concern with extending or refusing hospitality to those on the road. The fact that this is Martha’s home tells us that there is no man around as head of the house. We have no mention of Lazarus, but because of the similarity to the Gospel of John’s telling of this scene, we can assume these two women are Lazarus’ sisters.  Being Martha’s home tells us about her status. Martha is portrayed as one of the women who supported Jesus and his mission from their own resources (8:1–3). Of cou...

Here are some thoughts on this Sunday's gospel that were shared with the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church. 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 into her home. 39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’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 b y many things; 42 t here is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”   We know this story, don’t we? Martha got it wrong and Mary got it right. Right? Well…there’s a bit more to this gospel text than that. The real issue is not what one was doing and one was not doing. Jesus’...

This is the sermon I preached Sunday, 7/21/19 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church . The text was Luke 10:38-42. We are presented today with a radical story. Jesus upends the cultural norms of the day, which is what usually happens when Jesus is on the scene. The first person Jesus encounters is Martha who welcomed Jesus into her house. This in itself is radical.   First of all, it was unusual that a woman owned the home. She’s in charge and the responsibilities of the household fell on her. If this is the Mary and Martha John wrote of in his gospel, where is their brother Lazarus? We may assume he had died if the house was Martha’s. Martha is distracted. Wouldn’t you be? For one thing, it wasn’t just Jesus who arrived, but his disciples as well. Now, was it just the 12 or did this include the 70? That makes a lot of difference. Her complaint to Jesus about Mary not helping is certainly reasonable. After all, how many of the disciples or even Jesus ever had to prepare a meal ...

Here are some thoughts on this Sunday's gospel. Please let me know what you see in these verses. Thanks! 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 into her home. 39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’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 there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.” Just five short verses…but oh does this passage pack a punch. It also raises some questions. On an initial reading, this is what jumps out at me: 1. Is this the same Mary and Martha that were Lazarus’ sisters. If so, where was Laz...

  It was so difficult to know how to preach this passage from Luke. So many horrible things have happened in the last few weeks. God did give me the words for God's people at St. Timothy and St. Mark Lutheran churches . Much thanks is owed to David Lose and his insights. The text was Luke 10:38-42. I preached this on Sun., 7/17.  Does Jesus seem a little mean to Martha? After all, Martha was taking on the role that was expected of her in first century Palestine. She was being a good hostess. When we are hosting an important guest, don’t we want everything to be just so? After all, we want to make a good impression, don’t we? We want people to have such a wonderful meal and visit that they will want to come back. Martha had become less concerned with Jesus, her guest, and more concerned with her tasks. It was not a matter of what she was doing, but how she was doing it. She became task focused rather than Christ focused. Listen to Martha’s complain...