Taking Action!

‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family,you did it to me.’ ~ Matthew 25:40.

On Palm Sunday, March 24, First Presbyterian Church of Arlington will host a pot luck lunch after the 11 am service. This will be a great opportunity to create community with food. Bring a dish and help serve or clean up.

Let’s also use this opportunity to reach out to those in need. As you move around the community in the weeks ahead, reach out to those who are in need. Invite them to the luncheon. We have a unique opportunity to welcome people into our community and meet their need for food, drink, companionship, and community.

 

The Least among Us

Matthew 25:31-46

This story of the Judgment of Nations reminds us that we will have to account one day for our worldly actions. We’re led to ask, “Am I a sheep or a goat? Have I done what I can for the least among us?” The answer to the first question is difficult to know but depends on the second.

In our world, there is great need everywhere we turn. It is not limited to countries an ocean away or even to the neighborhood on the other side of town. We pass our neighbors in need on the streets, in the supermarket aisles, on the Metro train, and in the hallway at church. And the needs are not obvious. Hunger, thirst, illness, and nakedness are more noticeable than loneliness, grief, financial struggles, and the myriad of other problems that face many of us each day. The way to meeting some of these needs is clearer than others.

Pray for your neighbors, for those who hunger and thirst, for the lonely and sorrowful, for the sick and dying, and for those whose problems we cannot begin to comprehend. Let us reach out, even when it is not easy or familiar or comfortable. In fact, strive to reach out to those especially when it is difficult.

Are you a Martha or a Mary?

The reading for today’s reflection: Luke 10: 38-42.

Last summer, some of us in the Quarterlife Group at FPC Arlington formed a study group for a few weeks. The material we used was about managing stress with busy lives. This passage on Mary and Martha was part of it, and I offered my thoughts on the passage. Poor Martha! If she and her sister Mary were welcoming only Jesus for dinner, it would be manageable for one person to prepare and serve the meal. However, it’s clear from the surrounding passages that Jesus isn’t the lone traveler. The reflection in our curriculum refers to the assemblage as the “Jesus Academy.” Dozens or scores of people show up and poor Martha is left in the kitchen preparing the meal alone. She opens her home and her sister disappears at the time when she’s needed most. A meal that size neither prepares nor serves itself. I can’t tell if Jesus says what he does to calm or scold Martha. Working in the hospitality field, I feel for Martha.

What the author of our curriculum writes made me think of the passage in a different way. It’s always been clear to me that Mary wants to spend time and learn from Jesus. I forget about the true meaning behind “sat at the Lord’s feet” – Mary was a disciple. The discussion of gender roles is something that had previously been lost on me. In the previous chapter, a lawyer is told to provide hospitality, traditionally the role of a woman. Mary is welcomed into the fold of scholars, traditionally a male role.

Here we see Jesus as a social revolutionary. I pray that in my own life I may challenge assumptions as well and work for improvement in the world.  I need to focus on what is truly important and not get distracted by the daily tasks that can easily become distracting.

Office of Public Witness Listserv

Office of Public Witness Listserv

Throughout our class, Blair and others have shared information with us from the Office of Public Witness of PCUSA. They have a listserv, and you can sign up by following this link. Stay up to date on your public policy issues and learn how to get involved.

Ecumenical Advocacy Days and Compassion, Peace and Justice Training

To follow up on our discussion this past Sunday, I’m posting this message from Blair:

Here is the link for signing up for Compassion Peace and Justice Day: http://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/washington/compassion-peace-and-justice-training-day/

And here is more information about the weekend-long Ecumenical Advocacy Days:
http://advocacydays.org/

These are great opportunities to find new ways to turn our mission-guided discussions into actions. Although I (Kyle) won’t be able to attend, I hope that some of you can go and share with the rest of us what you learned.

Thanks again to Blair!