From: your-daily-tripod+noreply@googlegroups.com
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 2010 04:30:39 +0000
Subject: [Your Daily Tripod] Digest for
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Today's Topic Summary
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- You Are the Christ (July 29) [1 Update]
http://groups.google.com/group/your-daily-tripod/t/c312e0c99cde849a
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Topic: You Are the Christ (July 29)
Url: http://groups.google.com/group/your-daily-tripod/t/c312e0c99cde849a
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From: "dxfaro@cox.net" <dxfaro@cox.net>
Date: Jul 28 06:38PM -0700
Url: http://groups.google.com/group/your-daily-tripod/msg/18b61ceff141026b
Memorial of St. Martha
By Beth DeCristofaro
Indeed, like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand,
house of Israel. (Jeremiah 18:6)
She said to him, "Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the
Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world." (John
11:27)
Piety
Praise the LORD, my soul; I shall praise the LORD all my life, sing
praise to my God while I live.
I put no trust in princes, in mere mortals powerless to save.
Praise the LORD, my soul; I shall praise the LORD all my life, sing
praise to my God while I live. (from Psalm 146)
Study
"Martha, Martha." We are so familiar with hearing Jesus say in Luke's
Gospel, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many
things." I, for one, relate to Martha -- busy at work and at home
being a mother, wife, and a daughter to an 80-year old mother. We go
about our days doing the good works that make up our vocations, as
care givers for our friends and family members and as active
participants in our communities. Being active Christians! Not only do
I relate to Martha but I think Martha has a lot to show us how to be
disciples.
The first thing she shows us, in that very familiar reading from Luke,
is to approach and, speak with honesty to Jesus. "Lord, do you not
care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her
to help me." Jesus hears her and takes her very seriously. Jesus wants
us to approach and bring our truest selves to him in our prayer.
However, Jesus doesn't tell her exactly what she wants to hear but
instead tells her what she needs to hear: "There is need of only one
thing." And that one thing is to put ourselves at the feet of God and
listen. Jesus points out that her sister Mary "chose the better part."
He doesn't say the "best" part because, in fact, there are things that
need to be done in our lives. The very the fact of living takes doing.
But even doing good works by themselves is not the answer. Rather by
taking time with and putting ourselves before God each and every day,
our actions are formed in step with God's Word, not our own desires.
And, Martha, the disciple, listened. She heard what Jesus was telling
her because the next time we see her, in this Gospel from John, Martha
has grown. She again pours out her pain and disappointment, her
heart's desire directly to Jesus: "Lord, if you had been here, my
brother would not have died." Now when Jesus questions her, she models
for us an answer out of a deep faith and hope in spite of her broken
heart. She answers out of the sure belief that "Yes, Lord. I have come
to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is
coming into the world." Martha is a model of Christian witness to our
own faith in God.
Martha's model of discipleship shows us how to reach out to God for
our deepest desires. She demonstrates listening and growing closer to
God, becoming so enriched with God's loving presence that she is
confident to speak her faith even in a moment of disappointment and
grief.
Martha's model of discipleship is to say with hope "YES, LORD."
Action
Read the Gospel from Luke again. Put yourself into the story. Do you
see yourself running to Jesus? What do you say to Jesus? Or, are you
imprisoned like Lazarus, in a tomb from which you need freedom? What
do you say to Jesus? Is there hope in your heart and a conviction that
yes, Jesus is your Lord? Can you put yourself at Jesus' feet and ask
him for what you need?
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