Mondays with Martin – July 23, 2007

Yesterday’s sermon was about hearing what Jesus has to say. The passage read in worship was the story of Martha and Mary. Martha is busy serving everyone in the house, while Mary quietly sits at Jesus’ fit, listening to the Master’s teaching. Martha, filled with the frustration over the busyness that we all sometimes feel, requests that Jesus turn Mary loose to do her share of the work Jesus, surprisingly, suggests that Mary has made the better choice: stopping the busyness of life in order to hear the words of Christ.

The preacher can’t include every appropriate illustration of the topic in one sermon (thankfully!). The following is something that had to be excised in the interest of keeping to an hour-long service.

William Willimon, Methodist bishop in Alabama, writes:

“I’m confident that Luke means this to be a story that reveals much about Jesus’ nature and his mission. Still, the story also has implications for us. To be a disciple of Jesus, one must not only leave the dead to bury the dead and move out without regard to the folks back home (last Sunday’s gospel) but also be willing to risk, to open one’s door, sometimes in the middle of the night, and let Jesus into the living room.

“For this Sunday then, here’s a definition of a Christian disciple: A Christian is anyone with the guts to open his door and let Jesus in, to listen to Jesus even when he criticizes the way the Christian spends his time. A Christian is anyone willing to be mystified by Jesus, to stay with Jesus, and to let Jesus work within him.”

May we always be willing to be mystified by Jesus …

-mra

WHAT DOES GOD REQUIRE?

Sermon series during the final weeks of July:

Join us on Sunday mornings in the final weeks of July for a sermon series delivered by Rev. Ankrum which answer the question: What Does God Require?

-That We See Others: Luke 10:25-37 (Sunday, July 15)

-That We Hear Jesus: Luke 10:38-42 (Sunday, July 22)

-That We Seek God: Luke 11:1-13 (Sunday, July 29)

What Might Have You Deleted Six Years Ago? (An Archival Journey into the first year of Mondays with Martin):

Mondays with Martin – July 23, 2001

Is anyone up for a little jazz? I’ve always responded well to jazz and appreciated a good bit of the biographical material surrounding the lives of some of the genre’s greatest aficionados. One particular quote that was taped to my office door for years was from Miles Davis. He said:

“When you hit a wrong note, it is the next note you hit

that makes it good or bad.”

I’ve always liked that. I find a lot of grace in such thinking. Sometimes, we can adversely convince ourselves that the next move we make may have such dire consequences that we refuse to take the leap. Such fear about the future can create paralysis in some, causing them to never consider a risk for fear that they may just make a mistake.

Given the parables that our Lord Jesus Christ told to his followers, I think he would advocate a little risk now and then. The Good Samaritan was not “good” until he took the risk of actually “getting involved” in the life of a suffering soul. The Prodigal Son would never have been welcomed back until he took the risk of actually returning to his father. The host of the great banquet, insulted by the lack of attendance of his friends, took a risk in inviting all those “from the streets and fields.”

Somehow, with grace, we are given enough room to take risks for the good of God’s kingdom and for our own growth as human beings. In some ways, it’s all a matter of trust, really …

Trust in the Lord,

-mra

Our Mission Statement

In response to God's love, we at First Presbyterian Church of Greensburg commit ourselves to worship God with joyful praise and thanksgiving, to share our understanding of the love of God, to serve God's children and creation by being a caring conmmunity, to seek the will of God and the guidance of the Holy Spirit through study, prayer and the Presbyterian form of worship and government, and to cooperate with other Christian fellowships in sharing the Good News.