Sermon: July 18, 2010
Note to readers: This summer we are exploring psalms and
prophets and include modern day poets and prophets as we go…thus the poetry
included here.
SCRIPTURE
READING
Genesis
18:1-10a, Luke 10:38-42
Genesis 18:1-10a The Lord
appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent
in the heat of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When
he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed down to the
ground. He said, "My lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your
servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves
under the tree. Let me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves,
and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant." So
they said, "Do as you have said." And Abraham hastened into the tent
to Sarah, and said, "Make ready quickly three measures of choice flour,
knead it, and make cakes." Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf,
tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it. Then
he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before
them; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate. They said to
him, "Where is your wife Sarah?" And he said, "There, in the
tent." Then one said, "I will surely return to you in due season, and
your wife Sarah shall have a son."
Luke 10:38-42 Now as they
went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha
welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's
feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many
tasks; so she came to him and asked, "Lord, do you not care that my sister
has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me." But
the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by
many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part,
which will not be taken away from her."
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SERMON
MOCKINGBIRDS (Mary Oliver)
This
morning
two
mockingbirds
in
the green field
were
spinning and tossing
the
white ribbons
of
their songs
into
the air.
I had
nothing
better
to do
than
listen.
I
mean this
seriously.
In
Greece,
a
long time ago,
an
old couple
opened
their door
to
two strangers
who
were,
it
soon appeared,
not
men at all,
but
gods.
It is
my favorite story--
how
the old couple
had
almost nothing to give
but
their willingness
to be
attentive--
but
for this alone
the
gods loved them
and
blessed them--
when
they rose
out
of their mortal bodies,
like
a million particles of water
from
a fountain,
the
light
swept
into all the corners
of
the cottage,
and
the old couple,
shaken
with understanding,
bowed
down--
but
still they asked for nothing
but
the difficult life
which
they had already.
And
the gods smiled, as they vanished,
clapping
their great wings.
Wherever it was
I was
supposed to be
this
morning--
whatever
it was I said
I
would be doing--
I was
standing
at
the edge of the field--
I was
hurrying
through
my own soul,
opening
its dark doors--
I was
leaning out;
I was
listening.
~
Mary Oliver ~
The
adult fellowship has been learning about this story from Genesis and here we have
it today in our lectionary. Abraham
is sitting outside his tent in the heat of the day We can imagine the heat
rising off the desert Even the old
oaks of Mamre cannot provide much relief. And suddenly God appears before him along with two angels “O My!” he says and suddenly he and
Sarah go to work
Let a little water be
brought,
and wash your feet…
rest yourselves under the
tree.
Let me bring a little
bread, that you may refresh yourselves
"Make ready quickly
three measures of choice flour, knead it, and make cakes."
Abraham ran to the herd,
and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to
prepare it.
Then he took curds and milk
and the calf that he had prepared,
and set it before them; and
he stood by them under the tree while they ate.
Quite
a welcome. Quite a welcome.
The
servants and Sarah and Abraham all working together
We
have learned that this God who came to Abraham and Sarah was not
surprising. Gods could
appear at any time so this appearance was an honor but not unusual. The appearance called for all the
preparations of a party.
And
we see the very specific effort…three cups..choice flour..a tender calf…concrete
worshipful steps to make God and the angels welcome
And
as Mary Oliver says, the reward was great…there was great joy in the tent…God
had come into their midst and, of course, a baby was conceived… and the
beginning of a new relationship with God.
A
welcome made of meeting the moment with open arms and small acts of work and grace.
Our
new testament story is a similar tale. Jesus is in Mary and Martha’s home and Martha is bustling about,
distracted by her many tasks, until Jesus calls her back to herself, back to
the whole purpose of his visit, and the truth of what will make him welcome.
Let us all
sit down Together! How many
times have we heard this at dinner when the hostess is scurrying about tending
to details.
In churches
we know how important details are to true welcome…Can we all see can we all
hear, can we all enter, are the
chairs comfortable? Can we deny the importance of being able to know when we
come to church that worship will truly be a time when all are brought together
as one with God?
This
scripture, in fact, is said to be the counterpoint of the one which has gone
before it in the scripture which we heard last week—the story of the Good
Samaritan- in which two men walked by and one stopped and kneeled down and provided
all the acts of kindness to allow a battered man to heal…
Sigmund
Freud said the two most basic human needs are Love and Work…but that they are
not separate needs…we must do work which we love and know that love is
work. The good Samaritan showed
love but showed it with the fruits of his labors. Mary knew that coming to know and understand Jesus was not
something she could take lightly. She knew she needed to stop and love in a new
way, a way which might mean suspending life as she knew it and expected it to
be, listening in the only way she knew how.
I believe
churches are the place where this balance is well met.
Worship
calls Mary and Martha together, brings the priest, the Levite, the Samaritan, the
wounded man and the thief together in one place to find what they each need. First off we offer a time of rest and reflection,
of beauty and of peace, of song and celebration and a reminder that we are all
welcome at the table…then slowly we reveal that this love and community can
find expression and grow roots through work and love
It is no
accident that in this time of Pentecost we hang banners which show
a
tree in bloom with leaves that show the shade of dark and light, which balance
one another each drawing in the light, each drawing from the same root the
refreshment they need.
Love and
work find balance here, the more we find the Love of God the more easily see
what work it is which each of us is called to do, the more love we bring to our work, the more joy we find. That small tent in the desert
next to the Oaks of Mamre are the image we need to hold…of the times and places
where God and angels might appear at any moment and we might do the work of
welcome and feel the blessing of a time of rest.
May we open our hearts to
your presence, O God,
moving beyond all that
clutters our lives
and all that is waiting for
our attention.
May your Spirit calm us
amid the chaos,
and tune our ears to hear
your voice above all else;
calling us to find our
centre in you.
May your Spirit guide us in
our busyness –
the expectations of community,
the needs of others,
the necessary demands of
ministry –
help us to let them be for
a while.
Move us deeper into your
presence
where we can be fully
attentive
to the depth of Jesus’
teaching,
the stirring of your
spirit,
the gift of your listening.
May we create space within
our lives
to meet you, O God,
and to know you more.
Amen
(Prayer from Seasons of the
Spirit: seasonsonline: july 18)
