Preachrblog

Luke 10:38-42 Martha, Martha What a great story Luke shares with us today about Jesus with Mary and Martha.   He visits their home and is teaching, but while Mary listens intently to Jesus, Martha is busy and distracted with many things.   We can imagine all the cooking and cleaning as she buzzed around the house, fluffing pillows, checking on the bread in the oven, makings sure the table was set, sorting out all the loose ends to make Jesus’ visit a success.   After all, he is an honored guest.   And she wanted to make everything just right. But there was a problem for Martha.   That lazy sister of hers.   Mary wasn’t helping.   Instead, she just sat there listening to Jesus.   Martha wasn’t too busy to notice, and to begin to resent her sister for not helping out.   In fact she goes so far as to just about scold Jesus, “don’t you care that my sister isn’t helping me?” and then presumes to tell him what to say to her.   “Tell my sis...

  Last Sunday we heard from Luke’s Gospel how Jesus “set his face toward Jerusalem”.   That is to say, he knew his goal – that he had to go to Jerusalem to suffer and die for the sins of the world.   We are called, also, to set our face – to never look back – and to follow Christ who has gone before us. Along the way, Jesus passed through some Samaritan towns, one of which rejected him (because they didn’t like that he was going to Jerusalem).   Here, today, also, we will see that some individuals (and even whole towns and cities) reject Christ and his preachers, and others receive them gladly.   And all of this the lectionary readings set before us as we say farewell to one vicar and welcome another – the preaching office is very much on our minds.   The same Jesus who calls workers and preachers back then, still provides for his church today – and we are glad to be a part of that. So Jesus sends out the 72.   He had previously sent out the 12, ...