People's Prayers

Monday, April 7, 2025

Prayers of the People: Palm Sunday/The Sunday of the Passion ~ 6th Sunday in Lent '25 WLWC Yr C

For Sunday, April 13, 2025, Readings: Liturgy of the Palms ~ Matthew 21:1-11, Psalm 118:19-29; Liturgy of the Word: Isaiah 49:5-16, Psalm 22:1-11, Galatians 3:23-4:7; Mark 14:32-52

The disciples went and did just as Jesus instructed them…A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road and other cut branches…and spread them on the road…shouting “Hosanna to the Son of David, Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Holy One! Hosanna in the highest!” [Matthew 21:6, 8-9]

This is the gate of the Holy Presence…This is the day that the Fount of Creation has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. [Psalm 118:19-29]

“…I will give you as a light to the nations, for it will be that my salvation reaches to the end of the earth.” [Isaiah 49: 6b]

“Commit yourself to the Saving One; let God rescue and deliver the one in whom God delights!” [Psalm 22:8]

Now before faith came, we were garrisoned and guarded under the law…Therefore the law was our instructor until Christ came…But now that faith has come…in Christ Jesus you are all daughters and sons of God through faith. [Galatians 3:23-26]

Jesus and his disciples went to a place called Gethsemane and he said…”You all sit here while I pray…and stay awake…” Jesus came a third time and found them sleeping… “Enough! The hour has come. Look! The Son of Woman is betrayed into the hands of sinners…” [Mark 14:32,34b,41]

Of course, regular Church-goers know that Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday, for many decades now, are at once separate and yet one commemoration. And even non-regular Church-goers know the basic elements of both. The recounting of the procession with palm branches celebrates the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. The Passion narrative develops the details of his Last Supper, the betrayal by Judas, and the machinations of the Chief Priests whose local standing and power among the Jews and Rome were clearly threatened by this acclaimed and unorthodox prophet and miracle-worker.

Although there are differences in the texts used for this Sunday between the Revised Common Lectionary and this, Dr. Gafney’s Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church, they are minimal given the theme. Dr. Gafney uses the Gospels of Matthew and Mark instead of Luke in the RCL. Within the synoptic Gospels, the basics remain fairly constant with more or less detail and slight variations. And, Dr. Gafney uses her own translations and emphasizes the feminine presence by her language and expansive titles for God yet does not change the context of the readings in any other way.

We remember that the arrival of Jesus created quite a stir. To this day in the Palm Sunday processions our hymns and shouts with "Hosanna" ["Hoshana" in Hebrew], praise to God with great elation, are as exuberant as when Jesus was greeted by the throngs that lined the road from Bethany to Jerusalem. They sang and shouted Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord [Ps 118: 26]. Cloaks and branches on the pathway for Jesus were a sign of the highest honor. The palm was the symbol of triumph and victory in the Greco-Roman culture of the times. The donkey or colt was itself a deliberate choice of Jesus sending the disciples to specifically retrieve it. The prophet Zechariah says in the Old/Hebrew Testament: Rejoice greatly, O daughter, Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter, Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey [Zechariah 9:9]. Jesus was accused later in the week of proclaiming himself "King of the Jews," yet riding into the city of Jerusalem on a donkey would have been a known and understood symbol that he was coming in peace, as one would do to show a peaceful arrival rather than a warrior King riding in on a grand horse, bent on taking power and war.

All these elements were carefully noticed and recorded by the Roman occupiers and the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Council, who had its own police force and trial court and who set the deadly wheels of what is to come in motion. How easy, it seems, to go from enthusiastic cheers of the crowd to the politically manipulated yet equally enthusiastic and malevolent jeers by the same people mere days later. How altogether and suddenly eerie now.

The tone is set for this new journey through Holy Week in our own times of political machinations, violence, crowd wrangling, and manipulation. It is also time for me to acknowledge to my innermost self the moments of my own betrayal of Jesus through denial in thought, word, action, or plain inaction. Turning away from the unpleasant, the insincere, and especially the dangerous is safer and less stressful in the short run, but, going with the flow by participation or neglect reaps far more tyranny and destruction than standing up to oppression.

Dr. Martin Luther King said it best, "A time comes when silence is betrayal." That time came for Peter, that time is now for us. We, together, are the voice and power of Christ’s love in times of Palms and in the ensuing Storms. Let us always sing HOSANNA in the name of Jesus, our Redeemer Lord.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader:  ~ O Faithful One, a Light to the Nations, jolt us out of merely listening or re-reading to know now the sudden joy of Your continuing Holy Presence in our midst. Open us to the shudder of feelings, today, and in this coming week, as beguiled minds turn to riotous, politically-manipulated, and deadly betrayal. Inspire us in this day, and every day to come, to experience the breadth, the depth, and the power of Your love, and to never deny You within ourselves or to another.

Jesus, our Saving One
         RESPONSE:                   We commit ourselves to You

~ O Faithful One, a Light to the Nations, we turn to You for the courage to stand up, expect, and require that all who hold or seek office in the governments of this Earth, this Country, and this Community be exemplars of principled justice, mercy, and peace. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                     Jesus, our Saving One
                                                       We commit ourselves to You

~ O Faithful One, a Light to the Nations, in Your loving-kindness make Your face to shine upon those who suffer through chronic pain, distress in spirit or in life, and refresh all who give them care. We now join our hearts to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

                                                     Jesus, our Saving One
                                                       We commit ourselves to You

~ O Faithful One, a Light to the Nations, fill the hearts of all who mourn with the comfort of the joyful and jubilant welcome that those we love received in their new and eternal life. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                     Jesus, our Saving One
                                                       We commit ourselves to You

~ O Faithful One, a Light to the Nations, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials, aloud or silently… add your own petitions

                                                     Jesus, our Saving One
                                                       We commit ourselves to You

~ O Faithful One, a Light to the Nations, may each of those who lead us in Your Church be granted the tongue of a teacher and the humility of Your human likeness, as they guide us all to stand up together with faith and trust in You. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Jesus, our Saving One
We commit ourselves to You

The Celebrant adds: Oh Christ, Son of Woman, agitate our spirits and provoke our desire to seek Your mind in all that we do. Urge us to empty ourselves of all distractions pulling us away, that we may find our true and everlasting life in You. We ask this of You, our Hope and our Redeemer; and the Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier of our Souls; who together with the Fount of Creation, is One God, now and forever. Amen

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Prayers of the People: Palm Sunday/The Sunday of the Passion ~ 6th Sunday in Lent RCL Yr C

For Sunday, April 13, 2025, Readings: Liturgy of the Palms: Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29; Luke 19:28-40; Liturgy of the Word: Isaiah 50:4-9a, Psalm 31:9-16, Philippians 2:5-11, Luke 22:39--23:49-56

Jesus said] "Go into the village...and as you enter you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden... [Luke 19:29a]

This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it…This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it…Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. [Psalm 118:20,24,26]

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself...humbled himself... [Philippians 2:5-7a,8a]

Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, addressed [the people] again, but they kept shouting, Crucify, crucify him. A third time he said to them, "Why, what evil has he done? I have found in him no ground for the sentence of death...But they kept urgently demanding with loud shouts that he should be crucified; and their voices prevailed." [Luke 23:20-23]

Then about an hour later still another kept insisting, "Surely this man was also with him...But Peter said, "Man, I do not know what you are talking about!"…At that moment…the cocked crowed…Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord…”Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times.” [Luke 22:59-62]

Of course, regular Church-goers in the Episcopal, Catholic, and other so-called main-line liturgical denominations know that Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday, for many decades now, are at once separate and yet one commemoration. The recounting of the procession with palm branches celebrates the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. The Passion narrative develops the details of his Last Supper, the betrayal by Judas, and the machinations of the Chief Priests whose local standing and power among the Jews and Rome were clearly threatened by this acclaimed and unorthodox prophet and miracle-worker.

We remember that his arrival created quite a stir. To this day in the Palm Sunday processions our hymns and shouts with "Hosanna" ["Hoshana" in Hebrew], praise to God with great elation, are as exuberant as when Jesus was greeted by the throngs that lined the road from Bethany to Jerusalem. They sang and shouted Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord [Ps 118: 26]. Cloaks and branches on the pathway for Jesus were a sign of the highest honor. The palm was the symbol of triumph and victory in the Greco-Roman culture of the times. The donkey or colt was itself a deliberate choice of Jesus sending the disciples to specifically retrieve it. The prophet Zechariah says in the Old/Hebrew Testament: Rejoice greatly, O daughter, Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter, Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey [Zechariah 9:9]. Jesus was accused later in the week of proclaiming himself "King of the Jews," yet riding into the city of Jerusalem on a donkey would have been a known and understood symbol that he was coming in peace, as one would do to show a peaceful arrival rather than a warrior King riding in on a grand horse, bent on taking power and war.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ O Jesus, our Lord, jolt us out of merely listening to the re-reading of familiar texts to know now the sudden joy of Your arrival in our midst. Open us to the shudder of feelings, today, and in this coming week, as beguiled minds turn to riotous, politically-manipulated, and deadly betrayal. Inspire us in this day, and every day to come, to experience the breadth, the depth, and the power of Your love, and to never deny You within ourselves or to another.

O Christ, our Strength and our Salvation
         RESPONSE:                   We commit ourselves to You

~ O Jesus, our Lord, we turn to You for the courage to stand up, expect, and require that all who hold or seek office in the governments of this Earth, this Country, and this Community be exemplars of principled justice, mercy, and peace. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                     O Christ, our Strength and our Salvation
                                                       We commit ourselves to You

~ O Jesus, our Lord, in Your loving-kindness make Your face to shine upon those who suffer through chronic pain, distress in spirit or in life, and refresh all who give them care. We now join our hearts to pray for those in need…add your own petitions

                                                     O Christ, our Strength and our Salvation
                                                       We commit ourselves to You

~ O Jesus, our Lord, fill the hearts of all who mourn with the comfort of the joyful and jubilant welcome that those we love received in their new and eternal life. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                     O Christ, our Strength and our Salvation
                                                       We commit ourselves to You

~ O Jesus, our Lord, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials, aloud or silently… add your own petitions

                                                     O Christ, our Strength and our Salvation
                                                       We commit ourselves to You

~ O Jesus, our Lord, may each of those who lead us in Your Church be granted the tongue of a teacher and the humility of Your human likeness, as they guide us all to stand up together with faith and trust in You. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                     O Christ, our Strength and our Salvation
                                                       We commit ourselves to You

The Celebrant adds: Lord God in Christ, agitate our spirits and provoke our desire to seek Your mind in all that we do. Urge us to empty ourselves of all that draws us away that we may find our true and everlasting life in You. We ask this of You, our Hope and our Redeemer; and the Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier of our Souls; who together with the Almighty Creator is One God, now and forever. Amen.

Monday, March 31, 2025

Prayers of the People: The Constancy ~ 5th Sunday in Lent WLWC* ‘25 Yr C

For Sunday, April 6, 2025; Readings: 1 Kings 10:1-10, 13; Psalm 131:1-3,

1 Thessalonians 1:2-10, Luke 11:27-32

Now the Queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon…and she came to test him with hard questions…she told him all that was on her heart…Then the Queen of Sheba saw the whole of the wisdom of Solomon…She said to the king…“Happy are your women! Happy are your slaves, they who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom…God has made you king to deliver justice and righteousness.” [1 Kings 10:1,4,8,9b]

…I have soothed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with her mother…Israel, hope in the Wellspring of Life from now until forever. [Psalm 131:-3]

We give thanks to God at all times…mentioning you all in our prayers…God has chosen you all…you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God. And turned to wait for God’s Son from heaven…Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming. [1 Thessalonians 1:2,4b,9b-10]

… Jesus said, “…blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it…This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the women, children, and men of Nineveh, so the Son of Woman will be to this generation. [Luke 11:28-30]

The story of the Queen of Sheba’s visit would certainly have made a great film back in the days of the Biblical Spectaculars. Dr. Gafney suggests that, as wealthy as Solomon was, the Queen’s wealth may have surpassed his. At gold prices in 2022 trading at $1830.30 per ounce, her gift to him would have been equivalent to $271,160,262.81 US and please don’t leave out that 81 cents! That noted, her wealth is less interesting than her interest in seeking out the truth about the Solomon’s famed God-given wisdom. While she has no other name than her title in either the Hebrew or Christian Testaments, she was written about by Josephus, the ancient Roman-Jewish historian, and she is known as Bilqis in the Qur’an and Makeda in the “Kebra Nagast,” the Ethiopian national hagiography [a biography of saints or those greatly admired]. Dr. Gafney indicates that the nation of “Sheba” has been identified with the Sabeans on the Yemeni portion of the Arabian peninsula to eastern Africa, generically called “Ethiopia” in antiquity.

The entirety of the very brief Psalm 131 is part of these readings. Dr. Gafney’s translation is slightly different though resonant with the version in the US Book of Common Prayer. I do like the imagery in Dr. Gafney’s translation, however, as it reminds me that no matter my age, I am always a child of God and often forget God as the ideal mother/father who can indeed soothe and quiet my soul with hope.

Paul, in the First Letter to the Thessalonians carries that theme of hope through God who sent Jesus to rescue us from the wrath that is coming, a phrase that chills and yet is recently becoming far too familiar in the seeming wrath of some powers currently being unleashed on our planet.

Luke has Jesus speaking to his times about the long past times of Jonah and his prophecies. I can’t resist the adage of what goes around comes around, from those times to our own, yet God through Jesus with the Holy Spirit are our constants. There, in the Presence is the sign we often beg for God to please show us! While the winds may blow and the storms and fires, literal and figurative, may rage, there are many and varied sources of word and wisdom that God provides when we are open to hear and to learn. Every single generation from the beginning of time has had its evil-doers and our own, obviously, is no exception. Our faith and our discipleship, especially in community, can keep us moving forward through worry, fear, and doubt. It can also feed our joy in the small moments and the great, when we can soothe and quiet our souls through knowing the constancy of our God in all places in all times.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ O God Who is Love, who has chosen us all, soothe and quiet our souls as your weaned children in these difficult times. Turn our hearts in prayer to give you thanks at all times, that we may persevere through life’s trials and feel the strength of your constant embrace.

Wellspring of Life

RESPONSE: We place our hearts and hope in You

~ O God Who is Love, imbue all political leaders in this World, this Nation, and this Community, with fresh and enduring wisdom, compassion and empathy, integrity and morality, to legislate well for the true needs of those they were chosen to serve. Guide their souls to govern kindly rather than to rule cruelly, and to respect and care for all others as they would have others respect and care for them. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Wellspring of Life

We place our hearts and hope in You

~ O God Who is Love, kindle hope in all who are poor in body, mind, or spirit, and to all who give them care. We now join our hearts to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

Wellspring of Life

We place our hearts and hope in You

~ O God Who is Love, may those who are grieving find consolation and comfort knowing that those they love have returned to eternal life in You, welcomed with heavenly shouts of joy. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Wellspring of Life

We place our hearts and hope in You

~ O God Who is Love, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials, aloud or silently…add your own petitions

Wellspring of Life

We place our hearts and hope in You

~ O God Who is Love, refresh and enliven the spirits of those chosen to lead and accompany us on this mortal journey, sharing with us the joy of Christ, even in the darkest of times. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Wellspring of Life

We place our hearts and hope in You

The Celebrant adds: O God, Living and True, grant us a sign of your blessing as we seek to hear your word and strive to keep it. Guide our hearts and souls toward Christ Jesus, our Rescuer from whatever Wrath may come; and the certainty and power of the Holy Spirit, who together with You are our One God, now and forever and ever. Amen.

*Readings for our Parish in this Year C are from The Rev. Dr. Wilda [Wil] Gafney, Womanist biblical scholar, and the Right Rev. Sam B. Hulsey Professor of Hebrew Bible at Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth, Texas. She is the author of A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church Yr C, and others in her series, and translator of its biblical selections. I definitely commend her book for the complete readings, to Clergy and Laity, for her Text Notes, and “Preaching Prompts” whether or not you will use them in your Liturgies/Services/Preaching. There is much to learn from her work to inform every facet of our lives in Christ. To learn more about her and her work, see her website: https://www.wilgafney.com/

Prayers of the People: Forget then Remember ~ 5th Sunday in Lent RCL Yr C

For Sunday, April 6, 2025; Readings: Isaiah 43:16-21, Psalm 126, Philippians 3:4b-15, John 12:1-8

Thus says the LORD, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters...Do not remember the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth... [Isaiah 43:16, 18-19a]

The LORD has done great things for us, and we are glad indeed. [Psalm 126:4]

For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things...in order that I may gain Christ, and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own...but one that comes through faith in Christ...this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on... [Philippians 3:8b-9, 13b-14a]

Six days before the Passover...Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus' feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume...Judas Iscariot...was a thief. [John 12: 1a,3, 4a, 6b]

In the readings for this Sunday, Isaiah and Paul don’t so much remind us that we are to forget the old ways as things are being made new, but rather they tell us directly that we must look and move – straining forward as Paul says – to what lies ahead. We are given a way and a path with our faith that guides us to the eternal life we are promised if we keep our eyes on the prize.

We are nearing the end of our journey through Lent but much awaits us in the approach to Easter. While we know what is coming, obviously those reclining and serving at the home of Lazarus that night did not. A seemingly small moment at a gathering of friends was quite enough to kick off the deadly series of events that changed the world forever. The tension is building as if in a novel. Every thought and phrase expressed reveals a clue to what is coming – as if we didn't already know. Six days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany ~ a scant two miles' walk to Jerusalem. Mary, sister of Martha and Lazarus, anoints his feet with an expensive perfume made of nard, the cost of which sets Judas off in a tizz and the Gospel writer is very clear about the thieving Iscariot's character and coming betrayal.

The fragrant nard itself is symbolic. It was customary for the household to prepare for the feet of the guests to be washed as a practical and hospitable welcome. This particular perfume, however, was worth a fortune, as much as or more than a year's wages for an average worker and this gesture might have seemed quite excessive to anyone by normal standards. This anointing is to us, if not to them, also a symbol of the Kingship of the not yet Resurrected Christ. Jesus was clear that Mary's act of love meant more than mere hospitality; it was a foreshadowing of his soon to come death and burial. The ritual of burial involved precious spices and oils and the anointing of the body always began with the feet.

Pay close attention to the readings ahead. God is about to do a new thing again and there is much to hear differently and to learn anew.

Yes, in our day and time we know what is coming, yet let us forget for the moment and then remember to forget what we think we know about these readings. Listen and then go forward into all that lies ahead, through Easter and beyond, as if it were new, unknown, and happening now, in order to rediscover the path of our faith yet again.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ O Lord, our Way and our Path, restore the fortunes of our souls as we renew our faith, and press on in this life toward the goal of answering Your heavenly call.

O God in Christ Jesus
RESPONSE: You have made us Your own

~ O Lord, our Way and our Path, guide the hearts and minds of all who govern across this world, this nation, and this community, toward principled, ethical, and humane action and legislation to revitalize every aspect of Your Creation. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O God in Christ Jesus

You have made us Your own

~ O Lord, our Way and our Path, kindle hope in all who are poor in body, mind, or spirit, and to all who give them care. We now join our hearts to pray aloud for those in need…add your own petitions

O God in Christ Jesus

You have made us Your own

~ O Lord, our Way and our Path, may those who are grieving be consoled in knowing that all now returned to the prize of life in You, are celebrated with heavenly shouts of joy. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O God in Christ Jesus

You have made us Your own

~ O Lord, our Way and our Path, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials, aloud or silently… add your own petitions

O God in Christ Jesus

You have made us Your own

~ O Lord, our Way and our Path, refresh and enliven the spirits of those chosen to lead and accompany us on this mortal journey, sharing with us the joy of Christ, even in the darkest of times. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O God in Christ Jesus

You have made us Your own

The Celebrant adds: Almighty and Eternal God, release us from the false piety of righteousness, and pride in mere earthly achievement. Awaken us to the freedom of knowing and living each day in Christ, through the power of His Resurrection. We ask through Jesus, our Anointed Christ; and the Holy Spirit, Your Fragrant Breath; who together with You are One God, forever and ever. Amen.

Tuesday, March 25, 2025

Prayers of the People: The One Thing ~ 4th Sunday in Lent WLWC* ‘25 Yr C

For Sunday, March 30, 2025; Readings: Numbers 26:33, Psalm 56:1-13, Acts 18:1-3, 18-20; Luke 10:38-42

Now Zelophehad ben Hepher had no sons, for he had daughters…The Judge of all the Earth spoke to Moses saying: … Since the daughters of Zelophehad are correct in their word, you shall indeed give them a hereditary possession… “When a man dies and has no son you shall pass the possession of the father on to his daughter…” [Numbers 26:33, 2-11]

On days I fear, I place my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I am not afraid. What can flesh do to me? [Psalm 56:3-4]

Paul departed Athens and went to Corinth…after staying for quite some time…sailed for Syria and with him were Priscilla and Aquila…When they arrived in Ephesus, Paul left them there…Apollos…taught accurately…concerning Jesus though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila, heard him, they took him in and explained the Way [of God] to him more accurately… [Acts 5:1-3, 4c]

…“Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered by much. Yet only one thing is necessary; Martha has chosen the better portion, which will not be taken away from her.” [Luke 10:40-42]

This week Dr. Gafney’s Lectionary centers on “women and their word in matters of religious and cultural authority in matters of religion in relation to God’s word and Jesus as the Word…” This Sunday is also known as Laetare Sunday** in some Christian traditions.

The story of Zelophehad’s daughters’ inheritance story is quite fascinating on a number of levels. Firstly for it boldness in highlighting women as not being heirs to their fathers’ estates and also because even though God commanded Moses to change the status of women, Moses failed to obey God. Gafney tells us in her text notes that this is “one of the most significant legal cases in the Torah” as the daughters returned many times to petition for the compensation due them by God’s verdict. Finally, after the death of Moses, Joshua eventually gave them their due. She gives citations for the number of times it is mentioned in the Hebrew canon ~ more times than the Resurrection of Jesus is mentioned in the Christian Testament. See additionally Numbers 27:1-11, 36:1-12; Joshua 17:3-6, 1 Chronicles 7:15.

Priscilla and Aquila had been evicted from Rome in the expulsion of Jews by Emperor Claudius. As their story unfolds, no matter the translations, Priscilla is more often mentioned first before her husband suggesting she was a more learned disciple of Jesus and may well have been a leader in her former Roman synagogue.

The Martha and Mary story is obviously one of the best known of the Christian Testament. As a forerunner to the diakonia, serving, it is also ministry by its definition of service to others, hospitality being one way to serve. The Deaconate became a formal office of the Church, most often in the form of ordination, but we can all “serve” as the non-ordained ministers of Christ’s message.

But what is the better portion? Clearly we can understand Martha’s dilemma with people to feed and a house to clean and Mary sitting and listening with work to be done! Perhaps it is the listening as heeding as well as hearing. If all hands help, there is more time to listen, to learn, to hear and to heed which proceed to doing what we, as the ministers of Christ are called in our many and various ways. So often from ancient to current times, the ministry of hospitality and service has fallen to women, many in the background of the stories of the Church. This is one of the reasons that Dr. Gafney has chosen the stories we don’t generally know. This Laetare Sunday offers a great opportunity to highlight all who particularly serve through the ministry of hospitality, especially in a parish where the majority of those are women.

It is the word of Jesus as the Word of God, that calls us all to only one thing that is necessary. The One Thing is Christ our Lord.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ O Judge of All the Earth, guide the choices of our minds, hearts, and souls to choose the better portion of life’s pathways, by trust, in faith, through the teachings of Jesus.