{"id":3199,"date":"2019-07-21T19:56:14","date_gmt":"2019-07-21T19:56:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pattinghamchurch.org.uk\/web\/?page_id=3199"},"modified":"2019-07-21T19:56:14","modified_gmt":"2019-07-21T19:56:14","slug":"sermon-21st-july-2019","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.pattinghamchurch.org.uk\/web\/information\/sermons\/sermon-21st-july-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Sermon – 21st July 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sermons index<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fifth Sunday after Trinity \u2013 morning<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Sunday 21st July 2019 <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Trinity 5 – Proper 11 \u2013 morning
\nColl.1. 1-28
\nLuke 10. 38-42<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Revd Preb Maureen Hobbs<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"Maureen<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\nA tale of two sisters?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nMary and Martha. They are\noften taken to stand for the contemplative and activist sides of our\nnatures and of the church itself. And it is true that we need a\nmixture of both to be good disciples of Jesus. So which one do you\nfeel yourself most drawn to?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nI suspect that most of us have\na sneaking sympathy for poor Martha. There she is \u2013 an honoured\nguest in the house \u2013 of course she wants to put on her best show of\nhospitality for him. And all her sister can do is sit at his feet\nmaking \u2018cow eyes\u2019 at the Teacher! She is no help at all! Is it\njust an excuse for laziness?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nWell, I don\u2019t think so of\ncourse. And Jesus himself seems quite firm on the matter, \u201cMary has\nchosen the better part\u201d; you can just imagine how frustrated Martha\nmust feel when that is said to her!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nBut it is worth reflecting on\nwhy Luke may have included this little story \u2013 an apparent\ninterlude of domestic detail in his Gospel at this point?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nJesus, we are told a few\nverses earlier, had set his face to go to Jerusalem. He is travelling\ntowards his fate \u2013 his final destination. The place which is most\nholy to him but also where he knows he is likely to meet his death.\nHe knows that he may not pass this way again. Not this side of the\nresurrection at least!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nOn the way he has had one\nencounter with the young lawyer that we met last week. Someone who\nwas eager to justify himself to God and to Jesus with his piety and\ndevotion to duty. And who was told in Jesus\u2019 parable that\njustification comes from God and not from anything we do or do not\ndo. What matters is our motivation \u2013 what lies in the heart. And it\ncan be anyone who demonstrates that. Not just the likely suspects.\nEven the apparently despised can do good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nNow here we have someone else\nwho is putting duty and practical issues before attending to what is\nperhaps the most important thing. Listening to what God is trying to\nsay…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nI wonder how often we are\nguilty of the same thing? And I know I include myself in that. How\noften do we take a perverse delight in how busy and how occupied we\nare \u2013 how important and needed and yes \u2013 Justified – that makes\nus feel. When all God is looking for is for us to stop. Stop with all\nthe frantic activity. Stop with rushing around trying to look after\neveryone all the time. Yes, of course those actions are important and\nsomeone has to attend to them \u2013 but maybe not always us \u2013 or\nmaybe not at this moment. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nMaybe what God is wishing is\nthat we just stop for a moment and try to listen to his words… for\nhe may not pass this way again \u2013 or at least not for a long while.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nNow this is easy for me to say\n\u2013 especially having just taken a few days\u2019 holiday away from the\nparish. And it is always difficult to make space in the diary. There\nare inevitably important meetings or events that I have to miss when\nI do this. But you know what? The world does not stop turning! \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nAnd sometimes, – when we stop\npretending that we are the only ones that can get anything done \u2013\nwhen we raise our hands and say \u201cNo, I don\u2019t think I can manage\nthat…. or, I won\u2019t be there for that, …. or, I don\u2019t think I\nknow how to manage that…. Sometimes it is amazing how someone else\ncan step forward \u2013 into the space that we have made, and offer\nthemselves to have a go… And sometimes to our shock (and maybe to\nour chagrin a bit too) they make a pretty good job of it! Dare I\nsay, a better job than we would probably have done! And that can be\nuncomfortable to admit, even if only to ourselves!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nSo how readily do we fall into\nthe same pattern as Martha? Is it all too easy to find perfectly good\nreasons why we cannot commit to spending some time in prayer, or in\nreading that book you always meant to get round to, or in time spent\nattending to God\u2019s word? Maybe that is what Paul is getting at when\nhe refers to those who are mature in Christ?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nAnd sometimes, do we occupy\nour time with things that no one really wants or needs? Martha was\nset on forcing a well-prepared meal on Jesus as she imagined the laws\nof hospitality demanded. Maybe all he wanted was her attention while\nhe was in the house \u2013 knowing that he was unlikely to pass that way\nagain. Perhaps the equivalent of a simple cup of tea would have\nsuited him better!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nMake time your friend, not\nyour enemy. Make time for the things that are really\nimportant to you \u2013 even if some of the urgent, but less important\nthings have to get left by the wayside. Summer is a good time to\nstart!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nAmen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fifth Sunday after Trinity \u2013 morning Sunday 21st July 2019 Trinity 5 – Proper 11 \u2013 morning Coll.1. 1-28 Luke 10. 38-42 Revd Preb Maureen Hobbs A tale of two sisters? Mary and Martha. They are often taken to stand for the contemplative and activist sides of our natures and of the church itself. And … <\/p>\n

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