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Sixth Sunday after Pentecost
July 17 – 23
“Unexpected and Intentional Distraction”
Dear Friends in Christ,
As we journey through these long, hot days of summer, it’s easy to slip into the rhythm of constant motion. Even our rest, at times, feels scheduled. Our phones chirp, our calendars fill up, and the world continues spinning faster than we can keep up. Yet, the lectionary readings for this Sixth Sunday after Pentecost extend to us a gentle but firm invitation: slow down.
In our gospel reading, Martha and Mary show us two ways of responding to the presence of Jesus. Martha is hard at work, tending to all the details of hospitality, while Mary sits quietly at Jesus’ feet, listening. And though both sisters love the Lord, Jesus gently points out that Mary has chosen the “better part”—to simply be present and attentive.
It’s not that Martha’s service was wrong—after all, it was for Jesus! But her busyness became a distraction. Her worry overtook her worship. Her doing overshadowed her being.
This calls to mind Abraham’s story in Genesis 18. While resting in the heat of the day, Abraham receives three mysterious visitors. Had he been rushing around, he might have missed them. But in stillness, he was able to offer welcome—and in that moment of hospitality, he received a promise from God: that Sarah would bear a son. What seemed like an interruption was really an encounter with the divine.
So many of us are like Martha, caught up in what needs to be done. And yes, there is work to do in the church, in our homes, and in the world. But Christ invites us to take moments to pause—like Abraham in the shade of his tent, like Mary at the feet of her teacher—and simply listen. For when we do, we discover, as Colossians proclaims, the One “in whom all things hold together,” the One “in whom the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.”
This is more than just a reminder to take a Sabbath day or a quiet moment for prayer. It’s a deep call to reorient our hearts. To live not only as doers of things for God, but as people who dwell with God. People who are willing to be interrupted by grace. People who know that sometimes the most faithful thing we can do is be still and know that God is God.
In these days of heat and hurriedness, may you find rest for your soul. May you be given the eyes to see divine appointments in unexpected interruptions. And may the “hope of glory”—Christ in you—give you strength and peace.
In Christ’s abiding love,
Pastor Will
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