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Last Sunday’s Gospel lesson was the cherished parable of the Good Samaritan. If you weren’t here to hear Don’s excellent and thoughtprovoking sermon, I hope you will read it soon on our website. The Samaritan was an unlikely hero. Samaritans were total outcasts to the Jews, but this excluded and even despised Samaritan was the only passerby who reached out to care for a severely injured man who lay on the side of the road. The Samaritan compassionately, lovingly ministered to the wounded man when everyone else looked the other way and continued on their journeys. The Parable of the Good Samaritan is all about the second part of the “Great Commandment”: Love God and your neighbor as yourself. Today’s Gospel lesson with the story of Mary and Martha is about the first part of the Great Commandment: loving the Lord your God. Mary sat at Jesus’ feet lovingly and intently listening to every word spoken by her Lord. Mary is also an unlikely example of being a faithful disciple because of her gender. She is female and women in that day were excluded from opportunities to listen to important teachers. She would have been seen as unworthy to sit at the feet of her Lord and to learn from His teachings. An unlikely Samaritan and an unlikely woman are depicted in these two back-to-back Gospel lessons as stellar examples of loving discipleship. Together the two stories fulfill the Great Commandment: Loving God and neighbor. Loving God: Mary and Loving neighbor: the Samaritan. These two stories in the Gospel according to Luke illustrate how all of God’s people….even those seen as unlikely….are to love God and their neighbor. “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.” Martha welcomed Jesus and His disciples into her home and promptly went into high gear…..frantically preparing a meal for her guests. You can almost hear the chop, chop, chop of veggies being diced, the clang, clang, 1

clang of pots being stirred and meat being basted and dough being rolledout and kneaded. Whew! I am exhausted just thinking about it! Maybe that’s why I gave up cooking years ago! Somehow Mary just knew there was absolutely nothing more important than listening to what the Lord had to say….to what Jesus had to teach her. How often do we find ourselves worried and distracted by many things….things that might seem important at the time but in comparison to listening to the Word of the Lord…..seem to be just worries and distractions? Pam, Pam, you are worried and distracted by many things……………Things like Vestry agendas, proofing bulletins and Newsletters, things like finding a next call. Search Committee, Search Committee, you are worried and distracted by many things…..Things like profiles, interviews and meetings. Vestry, Vestry, you are worried and distracted by many things…..Things like financial reports, maintenance of buildings and grounds, by-laws. Emmanuelites, Emmanuelites, you are worried and distracted by many things…..Things like …..Well, each of you can fill in the blank of your own personal worries and distractions. We all need to constantly be reminded to keep our priorities in order. We all need to be reminded to not let anything distract us from listening to the Word of the Lord spoken directly to us. To let the Lord’s Word touch our hearts and souls. To listen as the Lord speaks to guide, direct and inspire me as your Interim Rector. To be open to let the Lord’s Word guide, direct and inspire the Search Committee as they discern the best possible candidate to lead your parish. To let Jesus’ Word guide, direct and inspire the Vestry as they seek to make decisions that will shape the 2

mission and ministry of Emmanuel. To sit at the feet of Jesus and listen as He seeks to speak to all of you as you each strive to be a faithful follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is only after we have sat still and intently listened to the Lord speak to us that we can faithfully spring into action. Being the “Marthas”, who do the work they are called by the Lord to do. A perfect example is your Search Committee, who have been working diligently: in compiling surveys, hosting focus groups, disseminating the results, writing ,editing, rewriting and finalizing your Parish Profile, carefully reading volumes of information submitted by potential candidates, conducting phone and Skype interviews, travelling to hear candidates preach and conducting face-to-face interviews, culling the list of many potential candidates to a just a few finalists, inviting finalists to visit here. As Yul Brenner said in The King and I, “et cetera. et cetera, et cetera, and so forth.” Through-out this labor and time intensive process the Search Committee has been prayerful and intentionally reflective on what the Lord is calling them to do throughout this important process. Laura Farrell has been designated as the “spiritual advisor” to keep the Search Committee on track at keeping their priorities in order. Not worried and distracted by many things…..To keep “the main thing, the main thing”…..To choose “the better part”…..focused on the Lord and His Word to them. Tomorrow night your Search Committee will retreat…pause in the midst of their busyness…..at the point where they will whittle down the list of many candidates to just a few finalists. They will pause to sit at the feet of Jesus and to listen to the Word of the Lord spoken directly to them at this point in their important process. They will prayerfully seek to discern exactly what the Lord is saying to guide, direct and inspire them at this particular moment in their process. They will listen to the Lord as He 3

points them to who would best serve Him at Emmanuel at this particular time in your history. Please continue to pray for the Search Committee, especially tomorrow night. There is work to be done. Important work for all of us to do: Interim Rector, Vestry, Search Committee, Emmanuel…….YOU! But be reminded today and every day…..To first and foremost before any work is undertaken….Stop and listen to the Lord’s Word to you and to your life. Today, how does the Lord call you to love God and your neighbor? Today and every day….Sit at the feet of Jesus and say, “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.”

Amen.

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