Feast of Mary And Martha Of Bethany

VERMEER, Johannes - Christ in the House of Martha and Mary - 1654-55(?) - Oil on canvas, National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

Readings:

Psalm 36:5-10 or 33:1-5,20-21
Romans 12:9-13
Luke 10:38-42

How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on the abundance of your house,
and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.
(Psalm 36:8-9)


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.’
(Luke 10:38-42)

PRAYER

O God, heavenly Father, whose Son Jesus Christ enjoyed rest and refreshment in the home of Mary and Martha of Bethany: Give us the will to love you, open our hearts to hear you, and strengthen our hands to serve you in others for his sake; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever.

I've always seen myself as more Mary than Martha, and in my younger days, I patted myself on the back for it, just like the Pharisees. However, as I've grown older, I've come to see that there's too often an element of a desire to avoid work in the mix. I no longer pat myself on the back, or, at least, I try hard not to fall into the trap of doing so. Whatever the motivation, I'm not to be about the business of patting myself on the back anyway.

Image from the Web Gallery of Art.

Mishmash Of A Message

The latest missive from the Archbishop of Canterbury reflecting on General Convention 2009 is so very depressing. I resolve to put it out of my mind, but commentary on it is all over Anglican Blogland. Few seem pleased with it. "Revisionists" and "reasserters" alike are unhappy. I'm yet to read an approving commentary. I wish that I could get it out of my head.

Mark Harris at Preludium shares his reflections on the ABC's reflections, which are well worth reading. The words below, taken from Mark's post, brought forth a rueful smile even in the midst of the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.

The essay is a mishmash of reheated sausage, dry toast and a dropped egg or two. Hardly a good breakfast here in the US, and for that matter a sorry mess of a breakfast even in England.

Yes.

Sue-z Update (ongoing)....

From JimB:

We did CAT scans today. What we did not do is get any results. Sue-z is still retaining a lot of fluid, her feet and legs are swollen and we do not know what is going on. I suspect there will be a flurry of new tests and some new meds in the morning.

FWIW
jimB

Jim, I'm sorry. Prayers continue for Sue-Z and for you and your family.

You Couldn't Script This

Also from Doug.

If A Dog Was Your Teacher...

...you would learn things like:

When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.

Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.

Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure Ecstasy.

Take naps.

Stretch before rising.

Run, romp, and play daily.

Thrive on attention and let people rub your head.

Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.

On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.

On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.

When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.

Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.

Be loyal.

Never pretend to be something you're not.

If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.

When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by, and nuzzle them gently.

ENJOY EVERY MOMENT OF EVERY DAY!

Thanks to Doug.

"Video Wrap-up Of GC"

From Lisa at My Manner Of Life:

Thanks to Susan Russell for drawing attention to this fine video by Jim DeLa (Director of Communications, Diocese of Southwest Florida). As Susan writes, "You could just cue up this 6-ish minute video in the Parish Hall on Sunday, do a Q&A after and call it a day on the "What did they do at General Convention" Forum!"

The video has already made the rounds of many of the blogs, but here it is again, at 6 minutes plus, if you have not seen it and care to watch.

A Great Big Thank You!

Ever since I returned from Anaheim, I've wanted to post about the very hard work of the members of both houses at GC. I'm late, but you know how the saying goes - BLTN. It was no vacation at Disneyland for the bishops and deputies. In addition to the regular sessions of the two houses, there were endless committee meetings which started early in the morning and others that lasted late into the night. A good deal of the work of the convention was moved along with the help of the committee meetings.

From my heart, I thank all deputies and bishops for their dedication and hard work at the convention. Most of them returned home exhausted. Being on the premises, I witnessed their diligence firsthand, and I gained insight into the great gifts that they contribute to the well-being of our church.

Several delegates who have served at more than one convention told me that GC09 was one of the best-organized in their experience. I thank those who worked for months, and even years, before convention to ensure that the actual work of the meetings proceeded smoothly.

Bishop Katherine and HOD president, Bonnie Anderson, deserve a good deal of credit for the calm, assured, and fair manner in which they conducted the meetings of the two houses.

And last, but not least, because the convention could not have happened without them, I commend the many volunteers who gave so generously of their time and presence. In my dealings with volunteers, in nearly every case, I found them to be helpful and unfailingly polite and patient.

Thank you all! Virtual hugs and kisses to all, including those of you whom I don't know and will never know.

The Things I Do For My Grandchildren

 

Do you want to hear about my day? I know that you do. I know Lindy does. Lindy said at Facebook that she lives for the minutiae of my life, and I believe her, because Lindy ia a truth-teller. Here goes.

My grandson (or part of him) is pictured above, proudly wearing his T-shirt that his dad bought for him. He had the persistent ear infection that I mentioned in my prayer request. Thanks be to God, the ministrations of doctors, and the prayers of all of you, the infection is much better.

The doctor who treated him at urgent care on Friday night, told my son that he should see his pediatrician today, my first destination after I picked up my grandchildren at their house. My granddaughter, the little mother to her brother, made the doctor's appointment. I would have done it, but she wanted to do it herself. After his pediatrician pronounced his ear free of drainage and visible infection, the children wanted Blizzards. If there's anything I can't resist, it's a Blizzard. I don't need a Blizzard, but if I'm in Dairy Queen, I will have a Blizzard. We each had our Blizzard.

After we slurped our Blizzards, we came to my house for an hour until it was time for GS to go to his handwriting class. Then I was off to drop him at the handwriting class, which lasts an hour, and then on to my son's house, which is nearer to the location of the handwriting class. After about 45 minutes, I left to pick up GS at his handwriting class, returned to his house, and waited there for my son to get home from work. Then I came home.

When I was much younger and had young children, I disliked running around and dropping children here and there and everywhere. That was NOT one of my favorite activities as a mother. It made me cranky. Now here I am approaching a quarter century the three quarter-century mark on this good earth, running around and dropping children off again. I don't know how or why, but I'm doing it with a good deal more grace than in my younger years. It was exhausting then, and it's exhausting now, but I do it, for the most part, with good humor. Isn't that amazing?

About my grandson's T-shirt - my husband and my sons are responsible hunters, and my grandson will likely join them when he is of age. I eat and enjoy what they kill on their hunts. I won't listen to complaints about hunting from any meat eaters. Vegetarians amongst my readers are free to complain. If you eat meat, I won't listen. At my house, the game is there, and I eat it and enjoy it. Eating game seems more humane to me than eating plastic-wrapped meat from the market.

The Archbishop Of Canterbury Reflects On GC2009

At the Archbishop of Canterbury's website, you will find Dr. Rowan Williams' reflections on the recent General Convention of the Episcopal Church in Anaheim, California. Read it and parse it, if you like.

My quick and unofficial reflections (which I may come to regret) follow:

Dr. Williams' response is so very Dr. Williams. He suggests, once again, the two-track system that will reflect the differing paths that members of the Communion may choose with respect to signing on to the Covenant. Of those provinces which choose not to sign the Covenant:

If those who elect this model do not take official roles in the ecumenical interchanges and processes in which the 'covenanted' body participates, this is simply because within these processes there has to be clarity about who has the authority to speak for whom.'

Translation: I wanna be the Anglican pope.

However, a realistic assessment of what Convention has resolved does not suggest that it will repair the broken bridges into the life of other Anglican provinces; very serious anxieties have already been expressed.

TEC needs to get out the tools to begin repairing the broken bridges. What a laugh!

“Whatever the human respect and pastoral sensitivity such persons must be given, their chosen lifestyle is not one that the Church's teaching sanctions.” Therefore, he stated, they should not be ordained priests and especially not bishops.

To teh gays: The Church won't recognize same-sex unions.
Those who are not married to their partners are living in sin.
Those living in sin can't be in leadership positions in the church.

Mind-boggling! Then Dr. Williams should be consistent and defrock those priests in the Church of England living in "their chosen lifestyle".

He throws the word "church" around with such abandon that it's hard to know to which "church" he refers. There is no world-wide Anglican Church.

So much fodder, but how much effort should I devote to this reflection by Dr. Williams?

The Times news story seems to imply that Dr. Williams is a tad, just a tad, unrealistic about the state of the Anglican Communion.

Please Pray

Aitchellsee, who sometimes comments here, writes to ask for prayers for a friend of hers, S., who may suffer from Aspergers. S. had been living with her mother, until her mother died 6 years ago. Now she's having health problems, and her life is deteriorating to the point where it seems she may not be able to live on her own. She's calling on Aitchellsee to help her, and A. wants to help, but S. is quite needy and wants more help than A. feels she is able to give at the present time. The two live about 35 miles away by train from each other.

S. wants A. to visit her, because she feels she might die due to circumstances that seem to A. unlikely to cause death, and she wants to be assured that her parakeets will be taken care of, should she die. A. wants to take another mutual friend along with her to help her assess the situation when she visits, but S. doesn't want the other friend to visit. A. is uncomfortable about visiting S. alone, but she wants to help her long-time friend.

I'm condensing a long email as best I can. In short, please pray that A. finds a way to help S. that she is comfortable with and that S. gets the help she needs.

Lord, have mercy.