A few months ago, I was with a good friend as we went to a worship event in the city. We went, worshipped, and on our way back I remarked to him how much I was thinking about what I needed to do and how to do it. He responded, “You’re not supposed to think about yourself, ya know?” In that moment, I realized he was right! I had sat through that entire service thinking about me, me, me. But not sitting in silence, allowing the music, silence, and the experience overall to wash over me, waiting on a word from God. You see, even us clergy can get caught up in our own ego and need to be reminded that to be in relationship with God requires us to check ourselves and be aware that God might have something to say.

In this Sunday’s Gospel, a short little pericope with Jesus and sisters Mary and Martha (the only time outside of the Gospel of John we encounter these two sisters). We have Martha, doing busy work, and her sister, Mary, who is sitting at the feet of Jesus hanging on to every word. Martha is questions Mary and why she isn’t helping her, egging on Jesus to do something. But, in fact, Mary has done the correct thing, by paying attention to the guest. The work that Martha is doing is work that distracts her. The language being used implies that Martha is putting this all on herself and allowing herself to be distracted, when she should be listening to the logos.

The world today is distracting enough without having to blame ourselves for it. We are bombarded with distractions each day. Yet, Jesus offers us a word in order to regulate and exhort us to do what is right and just in our lives. Are you listening? Do you sit at the feet of Jesus? Or, do you, like me some months ago, come to church and think about all the stuff you did last week and all the stuff you have to do this week? Surely, we need to place our anxieties and frustrations at the feet of God. But then, we need to listen to God. We need to remind ourselves that we come to church, not as a social club or nonprofit service organization (as good as those things can be), but as a community of believers who seek God’s Word and comfort in our lives and giving Him praise and thanksgiving for what He’s done for us.

I pray that each of us listen and through listening experience God speaking to your heart. Amen.

In Christ,

Fr. Zach

In this weekend’s Scripture readings, we read a few times of the intimacy of God in our lives. How close He is to us and how much His word and presence can be with us. This also shows in the Gospel reading, which is the very famous parable of the Good Samaritan where Jesus asks of his disciples, both then and now, to show mercy. “Go and do likewise,” he instructs. To be an ambassador of God in the world, we must know our God and what He speaks to us and places on our heart. But how can we do that if we are not listening?

Theologians Jacques Ellul and Gabriel Vahanian both wrote about God’s silence in the world today. Both decried the “God is dead” philosophy because it leads to nihilism and hopelessness. It isn’t that God is dead, both argue (they were compatriots and peers), it’s that we have turned our back on God. We no longer listen to him. We are even forgetting to how to listen to him. The Deuteronomy reading instructs us to, “turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” This is the only way we can truly hear from our God. Our God is not silence because His Word is always speaking.

One of my favorite Ellul quotes says that we must, “demand God be God.” We need Him to speak to us. And He wants to! Many of our hearts are yearning for something new. We are waiting on a word from God. I know I am. My prayer is that we can always be turning toward God. Contemplating with a silent and open heart and ever knowing that our God is here and now waiting to show us his mercy and truth, so that we may live mercifully and in truth. Amen. God bless!

In Christ,

Fr. Zach