Only One Thing – 17 July 2016 – 9th Sunday after Pentecost/ Lectionary 16/ Proper 11

Jesus tells us, “there is need of only one thing.” Find for this Sunday the one thing in each of the texts that helps us to know what Jesus means. That one thing is the gospel. How is it expressed?

Luke 10:38-42

The expression translated in our text as “Mary has chosen the better part” is probably better translated as “Mary has chosen the better portion.” Jesus is making a pun here. He means that Mary is consuming the only truly necessary food: she is feeding her mind and spirit as one of his students. . . And he's gently inviting Martha to sit down to the feast as well.

Contemporary society is full of Marthas. I am constantly amazed at the sheer busyness of many women's lives, especially those who have children—and of the busyness of their children's lives as well. . . . There is no time to be together as a family, nor, for the individual family members, any time to stop, to rest, or to be refreshed. Everyone is frantic—and exhausted.

. . . Who among us would want to have missed a chance to sit at Jesus' feet because they were out in the kitchen rattling pots and pans, or running the kids to soccer practice, or out in the driveway hosing off the car? This does not mean that it's okay to sit there being a couch potato when someone else is doing all the work. But it does mean that we—and our children—need to take time to refresh our spirits, to pray, read, dream, think. It is time, in short, to stop the busyness. To find time for one another. To find time for ourselves. And to find time to sit at Jesus' feet and, like Mary, to take the better portion for ourselves. – Judy Buck-Glenn

The good news in this story is the freedom Jesus offered to both sisters: for Martha, the freedom to let go of her anxiety and worry, in order to spend time enjoying the company Jesus offered at that moment. . . ; for Mary, the freedom to soak in the comfort and joy of Jesus' presence. . . – Carol J. Noren

Genesis 18:1-10a

Sarah’s laughter at the visitors’ announcement of her impending child is not part of this story. It is such a favorite moment in scripture, it seems almost cheating to know it is there around the corner but not included today.

What is the focus of this event if not Sarah’s incredulity? It is the hospitality shown to strangers who, as we are plainly told is the LORD, appearing in the guise of three men. The exact identity of the visitors is manifold and confusing – just as are we individuals to each other when we meet. There is always more "there" than meets the eye. Abraham and Sarah demonstrate the welcome due to those who drop into our lives. Those visitors bring surprising news and unfathomable joy. Can we see it?

Colossians 1:15-28

The beautiful Christ-hymn in verses 15–20 invites awe and wonder at the place of Christ at the center of God's work, celebrating the majesty of Christ as the image of God and firstborn of creation. Interesting and surprising are the echoes of claims made by imperial Rome concerning Caesar. When Colossians describes Christ in terms very similar to those used by the cult of the emperor to honor Caesar, the “hymn” becomes a prophetic word spoken against the empire's hubris. It is Christ, and not Caesar, in whom the fullness of God is present and through whom God is making peace in the cosmos. It is the way of Christ—forgiveness, generosity, trust and sharing—by which God is renewing the world. The way of Caesar—domination, violence and greed—embodies the evil from which Christ saves. – Aaron J. Couch

Judith M. M. Buck-Glenn is associate rector at Christ Church Episcopal, in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania.

Aaron J. Couch is a co-pastor of First Immanuel Lutheran Church in Portland, Oregon.

Carol J. Noren, a United Methodist pastor, is the Wesley W. Nelson professor of homiletics at North Park Theological Seminary. She served churches as pastor in Minnesota for twenty years.

Homily Service 40, no. 8 (2007): 31-38.

Responding to Salvation – 10 July 2016 – 8th Sunday after Pentecost/ Lectionary 15/ Proper 10

Consider that we who will come to hear the word of God on Sunday are both in the ditch and lifting up the one in need. What does that give the preacher to say? Here are some thoughts from commentaries in Homily Service from 2007. Wise words retain their help for preachers who want to dig deeply into these rich stories.

Luke 10:25-37

I'd be surprised if the Samaritan were the next traveler to pass by. There may have been a caravan of hard-working traders, just starting on their voyage home to the Far East. . . When they saw the man in the ditch, they shook their heads, wondering who would have been so unwise as to travel this road alone: he only got what he deserved for being so foolish.

There could have been a group who laughed at him, and said, if he would only stay sober, he wouldn't find himself lying in ditches. . . Or another who stopped and mumbled that helping this man would just encourage him to depend on others. There are always people getting themselves into some kind of predicament and expecting someone else to get them out. He just needs to crawl out of that ditch and help himself. . . .

Most of us haven't been beaten up and left for dead. Our ditch might be defined in broader terms: deep business troubles, lost marriages, nose-diving children; drugs, alcohol, gambling; anger, hatred. . .

Finally, a traveler stopped. Did the beaten man recognize the Samaritan by the hem of his garment? Did the man give up hope at that recognition, or fleetingly think it would be better to be left to die? What could the man have thought as this hated Samaritan cared for him with oils and bandages, helped him onto his animals, found an inn? Who in this world would you least expect to stop and help you? That's who the Samaritan was to this man. . . .  

Can we remember, or imagine, what it is like to be in a ditch? Who was it who soothed our wounds and provided a place of healing? Then we can begin to understand Jesus' description of our neighbors. Can we imagine, when we are the Good Samaritans, what it feels like for the one in the ditch to be so in need of help—how difficult it can be to ask for help? Then we can understand why charity is not always graciously accepted. – Hilda A. Parks

How difficult it is to ask for help. Maybe we can imagine that as the beaten one by the side of the road, we do not readily accept the gifts of healing and nurture we receive from the Good Samaritan who came to us as God-with-us full of mercy and compassion.  

Deuteronomy 30:9-14

Some Christians may feel uneasy about Deuteronomy's straightforward assertion that the law is not too difficult to obey, and that God delights to bless the people who are obedient. They may wonder whether these affirmations conflict with Paul's claim that the law is unable to give life (e.g., Galatians 3:21) and that it is not possible for any person to so fully obey the law so as to gain favor with God.

The preacher will want to make it clear that Deuteronomy is not concerned with the question of gaining salvation, but of how to live within the salvation God has already given. Deuteronomy does not state that Israel will earn covenant relationship with God by obedience to the law. Instead, Israel receives the covenant as a gift. The law is given as a further gift to guide Israel in faithful living with God. – Aaron Couch

Colossians 1:1-14

The theme of this sermon might well be words from Paul: “God has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the dominion of the beloved Son of God, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (vss. 13-14)

Aaron Couch is a co-pastor of First Immanuel Lutheran Church in Portland, Oregon.

Hilda A. Parks, ordained in the United Methodist Church, holds a PhD in Liturgical Studies from Drew University, Madison, New Jersey.

Homily Service 40, no. 8 (2007): 21-30.

Sent to Welcome – 3 July 2016 – Seventh Sunday after Pentecost/ Lectionary 14/ Proper 9

Jesus sends the disciples out to bless and preach. They go, they return, they are amazed that “even demons submit to us!” Jesus responds with a startling non-sequitur: “I saw Satan fall. . . like lightning. . . !”

Their/our mission is crucial: to contend with evil. And the gospel will win. Satan falls on a regular basis, even when it is never enough for those who are in need. In the face of continued struggles for so many, Jesus calls us to love God and love neighbor and see to the well-being of the poor. It all begins with learning to welcome and to receive.

The welcoming towns are places where God's grace can enter, where there is amity and peace and healing. . . places where a foretaste of the reign of God can be experienced. And all of this is made possible by acts of genuine hospitality, of self-forgetful extension to the stranger. The unwelcoming towns are places where suspicion and hostility and rejection draw hard boundaries that will not permit the stranger in. And without the possibility of invitation, the kingdom of God cannot enter into such a place, such hearts.

There is an old Celtic saying that carries in its underlying purport the same message and the same mix of warning and approval: “Often and often and often, Christ comes in the guise of a stranger.”

It is as we welcome—or fail to welcome—strangers that we allow—or forbid— the reign of God to draw near. This is why love of God and love of neighbor are yoked in Christ's teaching, and why “neighbor” for Christ is a word without boundaries or limits. This is why the only standard of judgment Christ ever gives is the need to receive one another as brother and sister. – Judith Buck-Glenn

Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

Although Jesus. . . referred to conflict and confrontation (“I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves”) when sending out his disciples, they were instructed to greet each homeowner with a blessing. According to Neil Douglas-Klotz, the greeting was this:

Whatever house you enter, let your first words be: “Shalama bayta”: Peace to this house and family—May it complete its purpose and tell its tale to the end. May it fulfill itself in surrender to the One.  [The Hidden Gospel (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1999)]

Blessings with words such as [these]. . . do more than bless a particular moment in time: they call us forward into wholeness and completeness. – Carol J. Noren

Isaiah 66:10-14

The prophet calls on the hearer to rejoice with Jerusalem, employing warm and maternal imagery for the superabundance of blessing God will give. The oracle pictures the city providing nurture through images of a consoling breast and a glorious bosom, using human love and care to suggest safety and intimacy with God. The postexilic community had faced hardship, deprivation and adversity, but the Lord now promises to bless the people with more than enough. . . . There is profound beauty in the picture of God caring for the people like a mother cuddling and comforting a baby. – Aaron Couch

Galatians 6:[1-6] 7-16

Paul. . . reveals the warmth of his regard for the Galatian community, addressing them as “friends” and giving a series of loosely related instructions for how they should live together. He urges members of the church to live with genuine love for each other, helping to lighten the burdens of those experiencing trouble. He indicates that they must not treat each other with smugness, judging, gloating, or anything else that suggests a sense of superiority. Instead, if anyone is in need of correction, it must be done with gentleness. . . – Aaron Couch

Judith M. M. Buck-Glenn is associate rector at Christ Church Episcopal, in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania.

Aaron Couch is a co-pastor of First Immanuel Lutheran Church in Portland, Oregon.

Carol J. Noren, a United Methodist pastor, is the Wesley W. Nelson professor of homiletics at North Park Theological Seminary. She served chuches as pastor in Minnesota for twenty years.

Homily Service 40, no. 8 (2007): 13-20.