Homily for July 21, 2013: Proper 11 C

My sisters and brothers let us be people of prayer as well as people of learning and of compassion. 

In the reading from Amos we heard a poetic expression of God’s displeasure with the rampant corruption of the day.  The Lord knows that merchants, royalty, and other well-off members of Israelite society have been cheating at business and exploiting the less fortunate.  He will hold them accountable for their abuse of power and wealth.  In sort, God expects his people to act with justice. 

In the beginning of this reading there is a play on words: in Hebrew.  “Summer fruit” and the “end” sound alike.  God will not “pass them by,” i.e. he will no longer ignore the Israelites’ corruption: “the end has come.”  To Israelites of this day, sin was understood as literally polluting the land.  In this way earthquakes (rising and falling of the land) was the result of human sin. 

From Colossians we heard an early Christian hymn which speaks of how they understood Jesus the Christ.  Analogy used in this hymn was popular at the time.  Thrones and powers were orders of angelic beings and each had its origin in Christ, and exists for Christ.  Any power they have is subordinate to his’.  The whole of creation – both heavenly and earthly – were created with his participation.  He is also the “firstborn,” the inheritor from the Father, of created-ness; he governs it, and is the cohesive power of the universe. 

From Luke’s gospel we heard the story of Martha and Mary.  Mary assumes the role of a disciple; I’ve explained before that “sitting at the feet” of Jesus is a metaphor of discipleship and it was a role normally reserved for males in the day.  Martha assumes the role of a hostess but is bothered by Mary attention to Jesus rather than the work of hospitality.  Both are good and fitting and neither should look down upon the other but there is obviously tension. 

Today’s gospel was often used to exalt intellectual life (theological studies, etc.) above the practical tasks.  In this biased view, the role of cooking, maintenance and the like was judged as beneath the role of student, teacher and ordained ministry.  The text is not that simple.  Among the disciples of Jesus, in every generation, there are many responsibilities, ministries, etc., but one is central, attentiveness to Jesus himself.  Martha is “distracted” by the work of hospitality (vs 40) when she needs to be paying attention to Jesus. 

Attentiveness to Christ in prayer and worship (as we do today) is the primary option for us today.  Reading and taking classes in our Christian heritage is also important; so we may learn as Jesus’ disciples.  It is also important that we be about the work of justice, charity and compassion. But none of these important things can take the place of our relationship with Jesus the Christ and the attention we should be investing in that relationship. 

My sisters and brothers, let us be people of prayer as well as people of learning and of compassion and of justice.