Date: July 18, 2010 Sermon Text: Luke 10:38-42
Last week, the Gospel passage ended with Jesus’ command, “Go and do likewise.” In the parable of the Good Samaritan, I said that the lawyer (and we) should see ourselves, in the first instance, as the man beaten and left in the ditch to die, and I encouraged us to hold our hand open to let God rescue us. I should say, now, that only the first foot dropped last week. In the first instance, we are to recognize that we are in need of God’s rescue. The second foot is what Jesus says at the end of the parable: “Go and do likewise.” Go and rescue others from their ditches. Go bring people back to Jesus and His Church.
Our Gospel passage today falls right on the heels of Jesus’ “Go and do likewise.” St. Luke tells the story of someone who heard the “Go and do” and took it too seriously and too far. This is Martha.