Gospel of Luke – becoming flame

Mary-ing

Christmas is a lot of Martha-ing
Not so much Mary-ing

I’d like to choose the good part
Alongside Mary

A Mary Christmas seems fitting
dw

³⁸Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. ³⁹And she had a sister called Mary, who was also seated at the Lord’s feet, and was listening to His word. ⁴⁰But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do the serving by myself? Then tell her to help me.” ⁴¹But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; ⁴²but only one thing is necessary; for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”
Luke 10:38-42, New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.

A prayer when reading scripture

May your word fall on me and cover me;
May it root deeply in me and grow in me;
May it fill me full and bear fruit in me,
Overflowing for you.
dw

For context, look at the parable of the sower and it’s explanation in Luke 8:4-15.

I say this prayer pretty much every time I read the Bible. Why, especially now that I seem to be able to recite it without even thinking about it? What’s the point?

This prayer, even when I’m in a hurry and hardly think about it, expresses my true desire. This is what I want the reading of scripture to do to me, within me, and through me…even when I’m hurried or distracted or skeptical or depressed. No matter what is going on in me, I want God’s word to have this effect, long-term, in my life.

So I ask for it…because I know God hears and answers more faithfully than I pray or read. For this I am grateful.

What is your experience with reading scripture?
If you find it challenging, what sorts of things would help you?
Though I have specifically mentioned scripture, I believe God’s word can be sown in our lives at any moment of any day through the prompting and counsel of the Holy Spirit: how open are we to receiving God’s word in that form and letting it root in our lives and bear fruit?
I see a clear parallel between the thorns in the Luke passage and the ashes in the quote from Thomas Merton in the last post. I think these thorns and ashes, the distractions and anxieties of my life, are what hold me back, choke out the fire of God’s Spirit in me. What is your experience like?

Again, I encourage you to write down your thoughts. Why? It makes space for you to think them, decide if you believe them or not, revise them, and remember them later.

Grace and peace to you…

Photo by Samantha Sophia on Unsplash