Oneonta District News
Reflection from DS Rev. Everett Bassett July 13, 2016
July 13, 2016 / By Teresa Wood / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
This is a strange spiritual moment.
On the one hand, we are surrounded by the bounty of summer – an all-too-brief season to relish in this varying New York climate. As I begin to explore the beautiful natural setting of this district, my spirit is lifted many times.
On the other hand, we are painfully aware of the struggles of our world – particularly this summer around issues of racism-sparked acts of violence in Minnesota and Louisiana, and a violent attack on police officers in Dallas. Our pain and our outrage are also deeply spiritual expressions.
As servant-leaders for Christ, we walk somewhere between this created beauty and this human tragedy as those who are called to represent grace and peace, justice and hope. How do we hold together these two very different pulls on our souls?
In the middle of those thoughts, the lectionary for this week lifts up Jesus’ visit to the home of Martha and Mary, and the two very different responses of these sisters to that visit.
Mary got quiet, ‘listening’ to Jesus’s teaching. Martha got busy – ‘distracted by many tasks.’ Could these two impulses represent the two tugs we feel in this season of both beauty and struggle?
While Jesus, making a particular point about spiritual priorities, favors Mary’s choice over Martha’s, it seems clear that in the bigger picture he affirms the importance of both. Both moments were essential – the moment to be busy in the vineyard of God’s grace, and the moment to listen and be fed.
In this summer season, may you find both moments as well – a time to listen deeply to God’s voice speaking to you in beautiful ways, and a time to demonstrate for God’s peace and justice in a hurting world.
It is a strange spiritual time; but God speaks powerfully in such times as this.
I am so thankful for your ministry.
Shalom, Everett