Living WORD: Mary, Martha, oh the irony... (Ninth Sunday after Pentecost, Year C)

So I am trying to adopt a new habit of blogging about the lectionary again, this time not from the perspective of preparing to journey with the text, but rather from the space of living with the text after hearing or reading it on Sunday. You know, sort of where God has taken me as I live with the text each week...

I was beating myself up this week for having procrastinated about this for the entire month of July... There is always something else to do - my last online course to finish up for ordination requirements, kids' schedules to manage, food to cook, bathrooms to clean, dog hair to vacuum. Next month my attention will turn to refining my ordination papers and the back-to-school parenting chaos, as well as the fall cultivation rush at work.

And that's so sad, because this week's selections were rich - the prophet Amos wringing his hands over Israel's failures to pay attention and love God first and God's response - to leave them in the dust of exile.  Jesus familiarly chastising poor Martha for her misplaced busy-ness.

Oh, wait a minute.  Spirit you are a sly one.  Therein lies the rub. Sitting at the master's feet requires setting things aside, making relationship a priority. 

If only it were that simple.

Aren't we glad then for grace?  Because when I can catch myself, remind myself, ignore the dog-hair induced dust bunnies, God is still right there waiting for me.

And I think he might be chuckling at my antics.

I know that might be an offensive gender-specific anthropomorphism (c'mon, Laura, use a normal word -- PERSONIFICATION) of God.  But in this situation, with the backdrop of what is a somewhat troubling tale of Jesus scolding a woman for providing nurture to him and his uninvited entourage, it's what I have. It's not a gender neutral story.

But maybe my songs are turned into lamentation and my joy to weeping by my own distraction.

And so this week, here on Friday, I give up. And do what I am called by a creative and imaginative God to do - to set things aside and remember whose I am and what I am to do.

I will thank you forever because of what you have done. In the presence of the faithful, I will proclaim your  name because it is good.

The lectionary readings for this week, beginning Sunday, July 21 are:

Amos 8: 1 - 12

Psalm 52

Colossians 1: 15 - 28

Luke 10: 38 - 42