Listen to Readings and Sermon 8th Sunday after Pentecost The Good News Written Psalm 52.8-9 (NRSV) 8I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever. 9I will thank you forever, because of what you have done. In the presence of the [...]
Listen to Readings and Sermon
8th Sunday after Pentecost
The Good News Written
Psalm 52.8-9 (NRSV)
8I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever. 9I will thank you forever, because of what you have done. In the presence of the faithful I will proclaim your name, for it is good.
From the wisdom of Paramahansa Yogananda
“You demonstrate success or failure according to your habitual trend of thought… If your mind is ordinarily in a negative state, an occasional positive thought is not sufficient to attract success. But if you think rightly, you will find your goal even though you seem to be enveloped in darkness…
Don’t mentally review any problem constantly. Let it rest at times and it may work itself out; but see that you do not rest so long that your [discernment] is lost. Rather, use these rest periods to go deep within the calm region of your inner Self. Attuned with your soul, you will be able to think correctly regarding everything you do; and if your thoughts or actions have gone astray they can be realigned. This power of divine attunement can be achieved by practice and effort.”
Luke 10.38-42 (NRSV)
38Now as they went on their way, [Jesus] entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the [Teacher’s] feet and listened to what he was saying. 40But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, “[Sir], do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.” 41But [Jesus] answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; 42there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”
The Good News Proclaimed
Preached by the Reverend Doctor Durrell Watkins at the Sunshine Cathedral on Sunday, July18, 2010.
In the gospel story today, Martha is “playing the good host” but she isn’t really being attentive to Jesus. She is fussing, she is worrying, she is trying to be controlling…she is mostly stirring up anxiety and discord. She is more concerned with appearing to be a good host than she is about really spending time with Jesus and learning from him and then being part of his mission and message in the world. Martha isn’t a healing presence, but a source of aggravation.
Mary, by contrast, pays Jesus the highest compliment. She makes herself totally available to him. She gives him her undivided attention. She listens to him, taking the posture of a disciple, sitting at a great Teacher’s feet. And disciples are not only learners, they are then practitioners of what they have learned. So, by taking the posture of a student, she is also becoming a teacher herself. Mary is giving her attention to Jesus, and is wanting to extend his light to the world. Mary, Jesus says, has made the better choice. Continue reading »
