Sentence

In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and trust shall be your strength. Isaiah 30:16

Collect

Eternal God,

you draw near to us in Christ

and make yourself our guest:

amid the cares of our daily lives,

make us attentive to your voice and alert to your

presence, that we mat treasure your word above

all else.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ,

your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the

unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever.

Amen.

Readings

Amos 8:1-12
Psalm 52
Colossians 1:15-29
Luke 10:38-42

Next week:

Hosea 1:2-10
Psalm 85
Colossians 2:6-15 (16-19)
Luke 11:1-13

A Thought to Ponder

Pentecost 6 – Luke 10:38-42

“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”

The sisters Martha and Mary mirror the two expressions of the disciple’s call: loving service to others (Martha) and prayer and contemplation (Mary). But, as Martha comes to realise in today’s Gospel, discipleship begins with hearing the Word of God, with opening our hearts and spirits to the presence of God.

We are all like Martha in our own anxiety over making all the pieces fit; we obsess about the details and peripherals at the expense of the important and lasting. “The better part” embraced by Mary transcends the pragmatic and practical concerns of the everyday and sees the hand of God in all things; the “better part” is to realise the gratitude all of creation owes its loving Creator for the gift of life.

With so many agendas demanding our time and attention, Jesus calls us to consciously choose and seek out “the better part”: to make a place in our lives for the joy and love of family and friends that is the presence of God.

It is a motto of Benedictine monasteries around the world: “Let all be received here as would Christ” (The Rule of St. Benedict, chapter 53). Like Abraham’s welcome of the three strangers (today’s first reading from Genesis 18) and the welcome Martha, Mary, and Lazarus extend to Jesus in Bethany, hospitality is not only a holy responsibility but also a joyful opportunity to welcome and serve Jesus in the persons who come to our tables.