The story of Mary and Martha lately gives me pause. Living where I live now, I have this great opportunity to play host to guests. And the extended period of this pandemic has made both Becky and me hungry for human interaction. I also love to cook. And one thing I notice sometimes is how I can get really focused on cooking and not necessarily on being our company. This obviously isn't a huge problem, when we are eating and afterwards I can be present to company that has come over, but the division of labor between Martha and Mary reminds me of how Becky and I complement each other well when hosting. Becky is a much better engaging conversationalist than me, and while I am cooking (or finishing cooking) she can easily keep guests entertained. But what if someone came over that I wanted to spend a lot of time talking with? How would I feel if I still had to cook and got jealous of Becky's face time with a guest I would prefer to have more conversation with? Mary and Martha li...
But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, 'And who is my neighbor?' We are starting a new worship series this Sunday we are calling "Hello, Neighbor!" In our Scripture passage this week to start out, we encounter Jesus' answer to a challenging question that I still think has significance for us today: "Who is my neighbor?" When Jesus answered the question about how to get into the Kingdom of Heaven he said simply, "Love God and Love your neighbor." So this whole thing is really about love, but the question of "who is my neighbor" for 1st century Jews like the lawyer in Luke also had legal and even theological significance. Who your neighbor was as a Jew had to do with who had the same responsibilities you had. It's analogous to asking "Who is my fellow citizen?" Jesus' answer was profound in his telling of the Parable of the Good Samaritan. And it puts a new spin on the Great Commandment for us. I look forward...