SUNDAY’S COMING: BIBLE STUDY –
Bible Study for The Sixth Sunday of Pentecost (07/21/19)
Gospel Reading: Luke 10:38-42
As Jesus and his disciples went on their way, Jesus 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."
**************************************************************
Points to Ponder:
“Wherever you go, there you are.” – Jon Kabat-Zinn
Are we Martha, or are we Mary? Are we people of action, or are we contemplatives? Would we rather be quiet alone with God, or would we rather be out there doing something for God? In today’s Gospel Martha is anxious in the kitchen (Luke 10:40-41 – see Greek below), while Mary sits at the feet of Jesus (Luke 10:39). The two have often been contrasted, contemplation versus action, prayer versus deeds. But this is a false dichotomy. They are not really opposed; after all they are sisters.
Some spiritual guides try to connect the two by saying that what we plant in the ground of contemplation, we reap in the harvest of action (Meister Eckhart). True enough, however, there are ways to bring these two siblings ever closer together. Martha’s problem was not that she was busy in the kitchen. She was anxious and worried. Worry always takes us away from the moment. Worry is focused on regrets from the past, or on fear of the future. It is never here and now.
Jon Kabat-Zinn, writing from the Buddhist tradition, teaches us to be where we are, totally zoned into our present activity. That is contemplation, no less than sitting at the feet of Jesus. Mary is listening. We can also listen in our activity if we are “wherever we go.” Are we there? Or does fret take us elsewhere? Martha had a monkey mind (Buddhist term). She was not at peace. When Jesus says that Mary had chosen the better part (Luke 10:42), he did not mean to contrast action with prayer. Action can be prayer. Jesus was making a distinction between anxiety and peace. The monk and mystic Thomas Merton was speaking of this from the Christian point of view in his last book. The title itself says it all: “Contemplation in a World of Action.” -Bob Eldan
Some Greek of the Week:
Luke 10:40 says that Martha was “distracted” with much serving. The Greek word is actually much stronger. It connotes worry, and literally means “pulled or dragged from all around.” In Luke 40:41 Jesus says that Martha is “worried” about many things. Here also the Greek is stronger. It literally means anxious. There is a difference between anxiety and eagerness. These two Greek words (in verses 40 and 41) are rare. These rare words are called ‘hapax legomenon’, (literally, “something being said only once”). They are only found once in the whole New Testament, here in these two verses.
**************************************************************
The Take Away: What does this mean for my life? Some questions –
1. In what ways are you “Martha”?
2. In what ways are you “Mary”?
3. What are the things that distracts you from resting & listening to Jesus?
**************************************************************
After studying the Word, you might want to pray the Collect for Sunday:
Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom, you know our necessities before we ask and our ignorance in asking: Have compassion on our weakness, and mercifully give us those things which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our blindness we cannot ask; through the worthiness of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Bible Study for The Sixth Sunday of Pentecost (07/21/19)
Gospel Reading: Luke 10:38-42
As Jesus and his disciples went on their way, Jesus 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."
**************************************************************
Points to Ponder:
“Wherever you go, there you are.” – Jon Kabat-Zinn
Are we Martha, or are we Mary? Are we people of action, or are we contemplatives? Would we rather be quiet alone with God, or would we rather be out there doing something for God? In today’s Gospel Martha is anxious in the kitchen (Luke 10:40-41 – see Greek below), while Mary sits at the feet of Jesus (Luke 10:39). The two have often been contrasted, contemplation versus action, prayer versus deeds. But this is a false dichotomy. They are not really opposed; after all they are sisters.
Some spiritual guides try to connect the two by saying that what we plant in the ground of contemplation, we reap in the harvest of action (Meister Eckhart). True enough, however, there are ways to bring these two siblings ever closer together. Martha’s problem was not that she was busy in the kitchen. She was anxious and worried. Worry always takes us away from the moment. Worry is focused on regrets from the past, or on fear of the future. It is never here and now.
Jon Kabat-Zinn, writing from the Buddhist tradition, teaches us to be where we are, totally zoned into our present activity. That is contemplation, no less than sitting at the feet of Jesus. Mary is listening. We can also listen in our activity if we are “wherever we go.” Are we there? Or does fret take us elsewhere? Martha had a monkey mind (Buddhist term). She was not at peace. When Jesus says that Mary had chosen the better part (Luke 10:42), he did not mean to contrast action with prayer. Action can be prayer. Jesus was making a distinction between anxiety and peace. The monk and mystic Thomas Merton was speaking of this from the Christian point of view in his last book. The title itself says it all: “Contemplation in a World of Action.” -Bob Eldan
Some Greek of the Week:
Luke 10:40 says that Martha was “distracted” with much serving. The Greek word is actually much stronger. It connotes worry, and literally means “pulled or dragged from all around.” In Luke 40:41 Jesus says that Martha is “worried” about many things. Here also the Greek is stronger. It literally means anxious. There is a difference between anxiety and eagerness. These two Greek words (in verses 40 and 41) are rare. These rare words are called ‘hapax legomenon’, (literally, “something being said only once”). They are only found once in the whole New Testament, here in these two verses.
**************************************************************
The Take Away: What does this mean for my life? Some questions –
1. In what ways are you “Martha”?
2. In what ways are you “Mary”?
3. What are the things that distracts you from resting & listening to Jesus?
**************************************************************
After studying the Word, you might want to pray the Collect for Sunday:
Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom, you know our necessities before we ask and our ignorance in asking: Have compassion on our weakness, and mercifully give us those things which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our blindness we cannot ask; through the worthiness of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.