Jesus Our Friend

Col 1:24-28

Brothers and sisters:Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake,and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the church,of which I am a minister in accordance with God’s stewardship given to me to bring to completion for you the word of God,the mystery hidden from ages and from generations past.But now it has been manifested to his holy ones,to whom God chose to make known the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles;it is Christ in you, the hope for glory. It is he whom we proclaim,admonishing everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom,that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.

Lk 10:38-42

Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him.She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said,“Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.” The Lord said to her in reply,“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”

Dulverton Sermon

In May 1944 there was a massive air raid on Trent in Italy during which a 24 year old Christian teacher, Chiara Lubich, sheltered with a few young girls in a dark cellar lit only by a candle. She had a New Testament and opened it at Jesus' prayer "Father, may they all be one". As they talked around this gospel word the group came to understand that it was for this very page of the gospel that they had been born. This prayer of our Lord became the ideal of their young lives and a new spiritual movement, Focolare, came into existence.

Chiara is now an old lady in her late 80s, one of the most remarkable women of her generation. I have had the privilege of meeting her at her home on the outskirts of Rome some years ago. The Focolare Movement is today numerically huge and located in every part of the world. Focolare means "hearth" or "fireside" and is a reflection of the fellowship of that first group in the bomb shelter gathered around a candle and a gospel word of unity. With Jesus in their midst they discovered a deep love for one another through his presence and a desire to replicate the experience in a myriad diverse communities where they, and their successors, were destined to live.

"The mystery is Christ among you, your hope of glory".

In today's gospel we find Mary and Martha welcoming Jesus into their home as a friend. His presence unites their complimentary expressions of love for him. Service and prayer are not in conflict but complimentary. We choose how best to serve when we pray about it first. Service is most effective when we pray about it afterwards. Mary did choose the better, the essential priority, in loving and serving the Lord.

I got up early one morning and rushed out into the day,
I had so much to accomplish that I didn't have time to pray.
Problems just tumbled about me, and heavier came each task.
"Why doesn't God help me?" I wondered. He answered, "You didn't ask".

I wanted to see joy and beauty, but the day toiled on grey and bleak,
I wondered why God didn't show me, he said "But you didn't seek".
I tried to come into God's presence; I used all my keys in the lock.
God gently and lovingly chided, "My child, you didn't knock".

I woke up early this morning, and paused before entering the day.
I had so much to accomplish, that I had to take time to pray.

Here in our chapel this morning we have candles and we have gospel but the mystery of Christ in our midst is even more evident as we come to the Lord's real presence in the eucharist.

"The mystery is Christ among you, your hope of glory".

Blessed and praised be Jesus Christ in His most Holy Sacrament:
Blessed and praised be Jesus Christ who comes to us in His most Holy Sacrament:
Blessed and praised be Jesus Christ who is in us through His most Holy Sacrament.

May God grant each of us today and through the coming week to know and to experience "the mystery of Christ" with us, in us, and through us.