<html><body>Part 1<div><br></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.25pt;">THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF ST. ALBAN, ALBANY THE NINTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt -1.7pt; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.25pt;">AMOS 8:1-12 PROPER 11 C<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt -1.7pt; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.25pt;">COLOSSIANS 1:15-28 17<sup>th</sup> JULY, 2016<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt -1.7pt; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.25pt;">LUKE 10:38-42 PSALM 52<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt -1.7pt; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.25pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt -1.7pt; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.25pt;"> Let’s not forget that Jesus, more often than not, dealt with very basic issues.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt -1.7pt; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.25pt;"> Of course, we can tease out all sorts of meanings from the stories we’ve been given. And the wonderful thing about these stories, the reason they resonate with us so much, is that we can find something in them for every generation. They speak to societies that continue to evolve. They offer a new and, we hope, a helpful perspective even on the social media and the twenty-first century technology with which we wrestle.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt -1.7pt; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.25pt;"> But, as I mentioned last week, if we don’t consider the context in which the stories were heard for the first time, then we l</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(29, 33, 41); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">ose the modern as well as the original application.</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.25pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt -1.7pt; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.25pt;"> So – of Jesus’ Wisdom. Remember Paul Mary and Martha – they were the sisters of Lazarus, yet he’s not mentioned, possibly because he was not germane to the story.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt -1.7pt; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.25pt;"> Jesus and the disciples arrived at this village and Martha, apparently immediately, offered hospitality.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt -1.7pt; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.25pt;"> I know things were different back then. Hospitality was serious business, never to be neglected. Otherwise travellers could perish. So Martha had, possibly, as many as thirteen, maybe even more, over for dinner. Then that situation with Mary popped up.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt -1.7pt; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.25pt;">Somehow, Martha became distracted by her sister’s behaviour. She “asked Jesus to send Mary into the kitchen to help her. The point is not Martha’s need for someone to peel the potatoes. In (this) Middle Eastern cultural context, Martha is more naturally understood to be upset over the fact that her ‘little sister’ is seated with the men and has become a disciple of Rabbi Jesus.” <sup>1</sup><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt -1.7pt; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.25pt;"> I think we’re more inclined to think of the potatoes. After all, if you have a whole bunch of hungry guests, even if it’s only one guest, you’re going to need to alter the meal menu radically. It’s wouldn’t be out of line at all to send someone over to DariMart to pick up potatoes, milk, who knows what else.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt -1.7pt; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.25pt;"> But remember who provides us with this story. It’s from Luke, the compassionate reporter of the way Jesus reached out to the unusual underdogs.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt -1.7pt; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.25pt;"> Here we have another, very plain example of Jesus blowing society’s walls outward in order to accommodate and encourage others, especially those who’d never stand a chance to get a look in when the invitations to God’s party are handed out.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt -1.7pt; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.25pt;"> Remember a couple of weeks ago when we heard Frederick Douglass’ description of the woman who’d fainted and had a vision of heaven? Remember the question she was asked? “Did you see any black folks there?” To which she replied, “Oh no! I didn’t go into the kitchen!”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt -1.7pt; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.25pt;"> She knew her place. Thirteen plus folk over for dinner? You can bet she’d be peeling potatoes and shucking corn for hours, and quite likely would barely hear what any of the guests were talking about.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt -1.7pt; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.25pt;"> Except, Mary was there, right there where she could find the greatest nuggets and nuances of Jesus’ Wisdom. Remember Paul – “brought up … at the feet of Gamaliel”? <sup>2</sup> And, remember, it was Luke who wrote about that too!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.25pt;"> Any serious student clung, sometimes literally, clung to the feet of the teacher, listening to every last word that was spoken. And, all the while, Martha would probably be thinking, “This is disgraceful! What will happen to us! My sister has joined this band of men. What will the neighbours say? </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">What will the family think? After this, who will marry her? This is too much to expect.” <sup>3</sup><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> There’s a fascinating trilogy of books which I read some time ago. The overall title is “Rashi’s Daughters”. <sup>4</sup> Rashi was the rabbinic name of Salomon ben Isaac who was born in Troyes, Frances, in 1040. He and Rivka, his wife, had three daughters, Johaved, Miriam and Rachel. The novels are historically accurate, based on documented facts. Rashi wrote the first Talmud<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">commentary and ran a Talmudic school which attracted students from all over Europe. Of course, Jehoved and her sisters were supposed to know how to peel potatoes, and stretch the contents of the larder when times were tough. But they had no place in school of any sort.<span style="letter-spacing: -0.25pt;"> For an eleventh-century Jewish woman – for <b><u>ANY</u></b> woman! – knowledge was dangerous.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.25pt;"> Rashi took matters into his own hands, however, and taught his three daughters to the extent that they became so skilled in Talmudic interpretation and argument that they bested most of the students in the school.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.25pt;"> A thousand years after Jesus’ earthly life, and very little had changed. Women were still potato peelers.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.25pt;"> Is this why the glass ceiling exists today?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.25pt;"> However, to one person what appears as a ceiling appears t someone else as a floor, and both ceilings and floors are defined by the walls. When Jesus addressed Martha’s distraction – note, it was a distraction, <b><u>NOT</u></b> a burden – when Jesus addressed Martha’s distraction and worry He did it in such a way as to help her deal with fear – possibly fear for the safety and security of family as well as herself. Jesus said that no fear should be allowed to compromise any relationship between individuals, groups or nations. In talking about Mary being allowed to keep her place as Jesus’ pupil, Jesus is defending the right of everyone to engage in whatever each wishes to be – whether it be rabbinic student, or artist, or technician, or – well, nothing is off limits now. Not only does Jesus push back the walls of society, He does away with floors and ceilings. He brings the Good News of equality of treatment, or equality of justice, or equality of relationships. No one is placed in a box. Everyone may come and go as each desires, and when that happens, there is no need to fear, no need for jealousies, no need for rivalries.</span></p></div></body></html>