Rev. Don Erickson

Today I want to talk about prayer. When one considers Christian practice, what we do as Christians, prayer is really key. It may be the central Christian practice. It is certainly foundational to worship which itself is central to the life of the church. Prayer was central to Jesus as well. He had a rich prayer life. He is often described in the Gospels as getting away to pray. Prayer was a respite for Jesus, a time to quiet himself and nourish his heart and mind. His prayer-practice provided him sustenance and strength for the ministry he was doing and leading. Prayer grounded him and reconnected him to God, who he regularly called and understood as Father. Jesus’ prayer-practice is one that we ourselves can incorporate into our own lives. In fact, we are called to pray. It is good for us. In our Gospel reading today, Jesus introduces how we should pray. He gives us a version of the Lord’s Prayer which we pray in church weekly. Indeed, praying the Lord’s Prayer is so...

The question I want to begin with is this – what kind of church is St. Paul’s, a Mary kind of church or a Martha kind of church? Now, I don’t ask this in isolation. I also ask this of the average American church. What kind of churches do you see around? Mary kind of churches or Martha kind of churches? To really answer these questions, we need to understand what we are talking about when we say Mary kind of church and Martha kind of church. So, let’s look at the difference between Mary and Martha in our text. Mary in Luke 10 is just sitting with Jesus and some of the disciples. While it isn’t explicit in the text, it is implied that Jesus comes to visit Martha’s house with some of his disciples. He and his disciples arrive together in town and most likely were invited together. And Jesus always does public things with some of his disciples. Mary is with Jesus and the others, enjoying stories Jesus is telling, the camaraderie being experienced, the relationships being forged. She i...