Father Snort

Brad Sullivan St. Mark’s, Bay City July 17, 2016 - Proper 11 Amos 8:1-12 Luke 10:38-42 Don’t Do Your Chores, Kids I looked through several children’s Bibles on a hunch over the last week looking for the Martha and Mary story we just heard, and my hunch was confirmed. Not a single one contained this story of Martha doing all the chores, Mary sitting at Jesus’ feet, and Jesus telling Martha that Mary had it right. No parent wants their children to hear this story. “Don’t do your chores kids. Just sit around and listen to Jesus.” To be fair to both Mary and Martha, both work and rest are required. We gotta get our chores done. We gotta get our work done, and we want to strive for excellence in what we do. Mary is not the patron saint of laziness. She could be called the saint of setting aside all distractions and serenely receiving the Word of God. Martha, on the other hand, wanted to receive