Scripture (first in a series)

Posted on September 28, 2010 by Claudia Dickson Greggs

As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:10-11)

It wasn’t until sometime after I graduated from college that I opened a Bible for the first time and read from it. Thanks to my twelve years of education in Christian schools and attendance at church every Sunday I was familiar with many of the stories in the Bible. I knew Jesus died for my sins and rose from the dead, but I never read for myself the stories in the gospels about the crucifixion and resurrection. I always was taking someone else’s word for what is written in Scripture and for many years I was fine with that. I was happy to let the “experts” to fill me in.

Christine, my roommate in my second year of college, read from her Bible every day. I can still picture her sitting on her bunk bed reading from Scripture. I admired her discipline and I was intrigued by the delight she took in reading from it, but I still wasn’t motivated to pick it up and read it for myself. Perhaps I thought it would be too hard to read…or more likely, too boring.

After college, I moved to New York City with a friend, who, like me, was an aspiring actress. Siri never failed to read her Bible every morning and before going to bed at night. She talked with me about her faith, answering my tentative questions, and invited me to her church. After about six months (and several more invitations to church) I went with her to Grace Church on lower Broadway. There, for the first time, I heard the good news that changed my life: For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God… (Ephesians 2:8).

Right then and there I wanted to know more about this good news of grace, how I’ve been saved through no striving or deserving of my own, so I started to read the Bible – and I couldn’t put it down. I began with the letters of Paul and I underlined everything that spoke to my heart. I still have that Bible, although the binding is shot and the pages are falling out. From time to time I’ll take it off my bookshelf and trace with my finger the ink underlining the passages that leapt out at me, some thirty years ago. I remember the joy I felt in discovering God’s word in Scripture; how I sensed he was speaking right to me in every verse I read.

my well-used first Bible

Back then I also bought several pocket Bibles so that I could read from Scripture while on a subway train or waiting on-line or for a bus. I still have those, too. One is in my car, and I read from it while waiting in the carpool line to pick up my son after school; others are in various purses and beach bags. To this day I don’t want a Bible to be far from my reach.

Several years after my first encounter with the gospel of grace I went to seminary, an undertaking I had not anticipated, yet felt called by God to do. It’s probably not a surprise that my favorite courses were about the Bible. In due time I graduated and was ordained and charged with preaching the word I had come to cherish and study intensively. But sadly, not long after taking up my calling of preaching and teaching, I stopped reading the Bible. Continue reading →

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Martha and Mary (last in a series)

Posted on September 21, 2010 by Claudia Dickson Greggs

“Mary has chosen the better part…” (Luke 42)

For the past two weeks I have been writing about the story of Martha and Mary, which is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter ten, verses thirty-eight through forty-two. The first week I addressed the remarks Jesus made about Mary’s choice to sit at his feet and learn instead of helping Martha in the kitchen. Last week I wrote about the tradition of hospitality Martha felt bound to uphold, which deprived her of time with Jesus.

Martha resented her sister, Mary, who broke with tradition and joined the men as they studied with Jesus in a separate room – leaving the work of preparing a meal for their guests to Martha. When she complained to Jesus about her sister’s lack of help he told her only one thing was necessary – spending time in study with him – and that Mary had chosen to spend her time wisely.

This story does not only address the tensions between two women who lived more that two thousand years ago. It speaks directly to modern Christians who tend to be busy with many things, except with what is truly necessary – spending time with Jesus. The point Jesus made to Martha is that time “at his feet” should come before everything else she felt obligated to do. What this means for us, practically speaking, is that we should rearrange our schedules and reorder our priorities so that time spent getting to know Jesus, better and better, and in the study of God’s word to us in Scripture, comes first.

However, setting aside “Jesus-time” is a difficult thing for modern followers of Jesus. Many of us are busy raising families, working at a job outside the home, and helping out at church. Yet, according to Jesus the one needful thing in our daily life is study. Once we establish the practice of sitting “at the feet” of Jesus it will begin to inform and influence for the better everything else we do including our work, our care for our family, and our participation at church. Our life’s purpose will become clearer.   Continue reading →

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Martha and Mary (part two)

Posted on September 14, 2010 by Claudia Dickson Greggs

“Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing.  Mary has chosen the better part…” (Luke 42)

Last week I wrote about a passage in Luke’s gospel which tells the story of Martha and Mary – two sisters who welcomed Jesus and his disciples into their home.  However, Martha and Mary each responded differently in this situation.  Martha was driven to distraction over meal preparation for her honored guest and his followers.  In Jewish households of this era, it was a woman’s role to prepare such meals for the family and guests.

Mary chose to flaunt Jewish religious tradition and spend her time among Jesus’ other disciples as they received training.  When Martha complained to Jesus about Mary’s lack of help in the kitchen Jesus replied that Mary has “chosen the good portion – and it will not be taken away from her.” (v. 42)   He was saying it was Mary’s destiny (or assignment) to be a disciple.

But what was Martha to do, without Mary’s help? In this particular situation it is important to take into consideration the cultural ramifications of having guests in the home.  In the ancient near east, showing hospitality to someone was a very important and elaborate social function, where a host was expected to go all out when receiving guests, as Abraham did for his visitors (see Genesis 18:1-10a).  Luke tells us that Martha, “opened her home to Jesus.” (v. 38).  The word, opened, literally means, “to receive hospitably, to take under one’s care, as if placing the hand or arms under a person or thing…” (The Complete Word Study Dictionary of the New Testament, p. 1421)

This is a startling image – the placing of one’s hands under a person.  It makes the duties of a host sound more like those of a nurse than for someone who, according to our modern standards, simply makes a guest feel welcome. Yet, the word, hospitality, comes from the word for hospital. Therefore, in ancient near-eastern culture, those who attended to guests were more like nurses.  A host was someone who was expected to go to an extraordinary amount of effort in order to assure his or her

Mary was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made... (Luke 10:40)

guests were comfortable.  This was the position Martha found herself in. And her sister, Mary, wasn’t lifting a finger to help.

So when Luke described Martha as being distracted with much serving, we can appreciate why.  The word used to describe her state of mind means, “To draw different ways at the same time; to distract with cares and responsibilities.” (ibid, p. 1149)  Who hasn’t experienced, at some point, what it feels like to go two different ways at the same time?  Many cooks probably feel this way when entertaining family and guests for Thanksgiving.  It isn’t hard to comprehend why Martha is upset. Continue reading →

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