Saturday, July 21, 2007

Martha and Mary in the presence of the Lord

CProper11 BCP
Eighth Sunday after Pentecost

Genesis 18:1-10a(10b-14)
Psalm 15
Colossians 1:21-29
Luke 10:38-42

1. This week’s gospel, the story of Mary and Martha, is the second of two stories about the kingdom of God, about listening and not listening to the good news of what it really is, what really is, what we really are. It is also the second of two illustrations of the summary of the law: Love God, and love your neighbor.

Last week we listened in as a lawyer asked Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” He himself supplied the answer:

Love God, and love your neighbor. These are the first and greatest commandment, and the second, which is like unto it. “Do this, and you will live.” But then, because the lawyer wanted to secure his hold on the kingdom, he asked Jesus to clarify his terms. “But who is my neighbor?” Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan, and the lawyer learned there is more to the kingdom than fulfilling his obligation under the law.

In this week’s story, of Martha and Mary, we have another chance to see what the kingdom is – and more explicitly, who Jesus is. We see a woman being reminded of the first law, the love of God: the very reason for what we do, for all that we do, is the love of God.

There are two sisters. Mary takes the place of a disciple, sitting at Jesus’ feet. Martha -- distracted and worried by many things -- objects to this.

What she is doing is fine, in a way: it is the ordinary task of an ordinary day in an ordinary household. This is, however, no ordinary day: Messiah has come and he is under our roof, at this very moment. Rabbi is teaching: what are you doing in the kitchen when you could be listening, picking up pearls as they fall from his lips?

For a woman to take the place of a disciple was NEW: it was unexpected, unheard of. Jesus’ message of the kingdom breaks down traditional barriers. The love he shares with Martha, Mary, and us is so expansive, so outrageous, and so extraordinary that it overflows. The channels of ordinary piety cannot contain the Spirit. It floods into our lives. This is no ordinary day.

Maybe that makes Martha a little nervous. Maybe that is why she is busying herself among the pots and pans. She is doing hospitality – at a moment when the one thing necessary is to wait – to wait not on tables but to wait on the Lord, to listen to what the Lord is saying. To see that this is the day when righteousness and peace embrace: the kingdom has come to our house, Martha, and it is time to rejoice.

2. Like the lawyer Martha made a good effort. She wanted to do what is right. She may even have wanted, as the lawyer who asked the question did, to inherit eternal life. What is missing is that you do not earn your way into heaven. You celebrate its arrival in the midst of you. It is present, even in an ordinary day, even in the completion of ordinary duties. But when the day comes to listen to the Lord, take off your apron, drop the duster, set down your pen, turn off your computer, hang up your cellphone, and sit at Jesus’ feet.

Our culture values the doer. We say: “Come on, let’s get going; let’s get something done.” We get up early so we can ride the elevator up to the twelfth floor with the boss. At least I have. We spend our week getting things done, and at the end lean back in satisfaction at what we have accomplished. At least I have. But then on that same Friday evening, in the very next moment, I asked myself: What was this all for? Have I lost track of the very reason for what I was doing, as I was so busy doing business? Do I need to step back, take a long look, and remember why I am here?

The lawyer meant well but he may have forgotten the relationship, to God and the neighbor, which was the reason behind the rules. Jesus breaks the rules; but he fulfills the Law. He reinstates the relationship between God and us. He reminds us why we are here. And he does it in part by overcoming judgment with mercy, by showing us the outrageous abundance and the exuberant overflowing of the kingdom of Heaven. Remember this is the Christ who, presented with the need to feed five thousand, had them sit down and share five loaves and two fish – and they all were well fed. Maybe Martha is worrying too much.

3. Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying, took a disciple’s place. Martha, on the other hand, was “distracted and anxious” about many things.

“Mary has chosen the better part” – there is that word “chosen”. As Canon Lynell Walker has pointed out, the good news is that you can choose, that your time has come, that now it is your turn to be in the presence of the Lord. The part “which will not be taken away from her” – what is that? Clearly Jesus is only there for the night but, as Dean Brian Baker has pointed out, the Word of God will remain forever. As will the Spirit.




4. By the oaks of Mamre – the scene of this morning’s Old Testament lesson – Abraham, the exemplar of faith, saw three strangers approach. He was host to the three men. Sarah, in the tent, made cakes; a servant prepared a calf; and Abraham served the men himself, standing by them under the tree while they ate. One promised to return in due season, and that Sarah should have a son. [Sarah laughed.]

This is the classic example of Middle Eastern hospitality – the welcome to strangers, preparing them food. The blessing in return, here a promise of children – and thus a future with hope – is probably characteristic too: but here it has a larger purpose. The three men represent the three persons of the Godhead, indeed icons of this scene are entitled “The Old Testament Trinity”.

So here we have the image of hospitality – and the roles of men and women – that Martha and Mary and Jesus grew up with. For Mary to break with this pattern was a surprise. Yet here she is, sitting at the feet of the Lord and listening to what he is saying: she has taken her place among the disciples. This, even though tradition would indicate that those who sit in the presence of the guest would be men – the man of the house – and that the women would like Martha concern themselves with children, church, kitchen. … leaving the men to themselves to discuss man stuff like … what?

Is the Messiah here only for men? Is the Kingdom of Heaven exclusive? No, in one situation after another we see Jesus break the rules. The kingdom of heaven is for all people. He is here to announce it, to proclaim it, to manifest it, to usher it in.

So this is not your typical guest, nor your typical meal. The occasion is extraordinary. Jesus, the Messiah, is here present now in Martha (and Mary’s) living room. What to do?

Maybe it’s all a bit upsetting. I mean, Jesus breaks the rules. Who knows what he’ll do to my life? Maybe he’ll change it all around, stretch my boundaries, and eliminate my preconceptions. Maybe he’ll call me to some new level of service of which I’m afraid.

Martha may want a bit of business, ordinary business in the household, to occupy her hands while her mind races to take it all in. What we hear from her, though, is a plea: Lord, make my sister come help me in the kitchen.

Is this what you would ask Messiah for? If he were to come to dinner today at your home, what would you say to him?

“My Lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree…”

“Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.”

And what will he reply to you? Is anything too wonderful for the Lord?

5. I used to read a lot of mysteries. Mysteries come in several sorts. There are puzzle mysteries, like Agatha Christie novels. There are mysteries that present problems to solve, situations to investigate, and secrets to be discovered. There are stories to be told. Some mysteries are only resolved in the telling of the story. And some mysteries are only fully revealed as they are lived. “The mystery that has been hidden through the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints,” – “which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” – is one of these last. To begin to tumble to the truth, in this story, takes all your living. God, who was present to Abraham and Sarah, Mary and Martha, is present to you, now, this morning.

Your freedom to act is in the present moment. It is today not yesterday or tomorrow that you receive the divine invitation. Now it is your turn. Today you are invited to sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to what the Lord is saying. This morning he has come to your tent – and he is here to share with you a meal. The cup is your salvation and the bread his presence.


Sources

Tom Wright, Luke for Everyone (SPCK, 2001)

Herbert O'Driscoll, The Word Today: Reflections on the Readings of the Revised Common Lectionary, Year C, Volume 3 (Toronto: Anglican Book Centre, 2001)

Herbert O'Driscoll, Patrick's Well (www.herbodriscoll.com)

Barbara Crafton et al., Geranium Farm (www.geraniumfarm.org)

Arthur J. Dewey, The Word in Time (New Berlin, WI: Liturgical Publications, 1990)

Sharon H. Ringe, Luke, Westminster Bible Companion (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1995)

Thomas W. Walker, Luke, Interpretation Bible Studies (Louisville, KY: Geneva Press, 2001)

Fred B. Craddock, Luke, Interpretation (Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 1990)

Michael F. Patella, O.S.B., The Gospel According to Luke, The new Collegeville Bible commentary, New Testament; v. 3 (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press)

Keith F. Nickle, Preaching the Gospel of Luke: Proclaiming God's Royal Rule (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2000)

Common Worship (Church of England, 2000) http://www.cofe.anglican.org/worship/liturgy/commonworship/

The Book of Common Prayer (Church of England, 1662)

Oremus Bible Browser http://bible.oremus.org/

Stephanie Frey, “Living with Martha (Luke 10:38-42)”, Living by the Word, The Christian Century Magazine, July 13, 2004

Posted by John Leech at 1:41 PM 0 comments

Labels: Colossians 1:21-29, CProper11, Genesis 18:1-14, Luke 10:38-42, Martha and Mary, Mary and Martha, Psalm 15

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

It was in Antioch that the disciples were first called “Christians.”

It was in Antioch that the disciples were first called “Christians.” (Acts 11:26b)

We come as witnesses to the world: witnesses of God’s power and light, of his freeing us in Christ to become the people God truly means us to be. This does not mean that the world welcomes us with open hands: as they did our teacher, sometimes the people wedded to the world reject us. But behind us backing us up is the incredible life-giving power of the Spirit.

“Christian” was initially not a complimentary term. It was a slang tag applied by non-believers to the followers of the way of Christ. But through the witness of the saints this offhand dismissive term became transformed into a symbol of the victory of the gospel: just as the shameful sign of the cross itself became the symbol of the triumph of God’s son over death itself.

No longer would sin have power over us; no longer would we be in bondage, slaves to worldly opinion, indebted, indentured, trying to pull ourselves up out of folly by our own fallacious efforts. No: in Christ’s cross came the victory that was a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Greeks, for in its embrace we found the shelter of God’s grace. The cross, which had been meant as an engine of final humiliation, turned into the means of a new beginning for us & for the world.

In him the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and among us he chose to pitch his tent, to encamp with us in this world of pilgrimage, and to lead us into the place where we can finally be at home: where God reigns.

stranger in a strange land

“You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” (Deuteronomy 10:19)

“A wandering Aramean was my ancestor…” (Deuteronomy 26:5).

Two or three years ago at the Bishop’s conference on borderland and immigration issues, held at St. Philip’s in the Hills, Tucson, someone asked, is there any thing in the Bible that speaks to these issues?

Imagine yourself a new widow: your husband is gone, your brother-in-law, your father-in-law. Your land is desolate, in famine. You travel. You walk, with your mother-in-law, seventy miles across the desert, seeking life, a way to live, a way to earn your bread, and you come to a town on the other side where the grain is ripe in the fields and the workers are among the crops to harvest them.

And then word comes down to you: DO NOT WORK IN AMERICA. Go, Ruth, take your mother-in-law Naomi, and go back to Moab. Let her starve. Live in grief. Do not become the great-grandmother of David. Do not let his son our Savior be born. Go back across the desert. Leave us alone. Starve. Grieve.

I don’t think so. That is not what the Bible teaches us. From the story of Ruth we learn: Do not begrudge the harvest fruits to the poor: let them glean. Take up the cause of the widow. Defend the poor and hungry (Psalm 82:3). Then, when righteousness and peace have kissed each other (Psalm 85:10), you will dwell in the land in safety.

During the week of the Fourth of July, in Tucson, a leader and elder in that community received a visit from a new member of Congress. She talked with her about immigration and our need for a new approach – not confronting each other but working together.

She held up her hands as if to push away The Other, and then moved them, turning them around to face each other and interlacing her fingers, to show that we must work together. Speaking practically, she suggested training for employment could begin across the border, so that people who live there could have a future and a hope. Remember this is God’s promise to us, to his people, fulfilled through Jesus and through Jesus’ hands in the world: our own.

“For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11).

Serving Jesus as we serve the least of these we see around us is what we do: not just so that we can all get along, but so that we can all go forward together into God’s kingdom, where peace and righteousness embrace.

Show us your mercy, O LORD, and grant us your salvation. I will listen to what the LORD God is saying, for he is speaking peace to his faithful people and to those who turn their hearts to him. Truly, his salvation is very near to those who fear him: that his glory may dwell in our land. Mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth shall spring up from the earth, and righteousness shall look down from heaven. The LORD will indeed grant prosperity, and our land will yield its increase. Righteousness shall go before him, and peace shall be a pathway for his feet. (Psalm 85:7-13) AMEN.

Saturday, July 14, 2007

The Man Who Fell Among Thieves

CProper10 BCP
Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
Deuteronomy 30:9-14
Colossians 1:1-14
Luke 10:25-37
Psalm 25 or 25:3-9

"May we ask the Lord to grant us peace, that the day will soon come, when the peoples are unified in love and when Christ is the Lord; the day that fulfils all the prayers of the holy." (Nathan Söderblom, Archbishop of Uppsala, a prayer for peace, 1914)

In high school P.E. class I heard this story – so it must be true: somebody riding his new motorcycle had a breakdown at the side of the road. Up roared a gang of bikers, who stopped, came over, and – fixed his bike. As they left, one handed him a nice white business card, with a big greasy black thumb-smudge on it, announcing, “Your emergency roadside assistance was provided by your local motorcycle club.”

The Samaritan is not who you would expect. Then, neither is the man who was robbed.

As we begin to listen to the story of the Good Samaritan and the man who fell among thieves, we hear a lawyer asking a telling question: Who is my neighbor? We might well ask him or ourselves: Who are you? Responses could include, I am an individual, a person, a human being, a child of God; – or, we are a people of God.

Augustine made the analogy: that the man who was robbed was Adam – any one of us, Augustine, you, or me; that the Samaritan – the outsider – was Jesus, and the inn, providing shelter for healing, was the home of the Holy Comforter, the Church.

What however was Jesus’ response to the lawyer, and what question did he ask in his turn? “Who was a neighbor of the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

The one who showed him mercy.

We often think of ourselves in the place of the Good Samaritan, but Jesus has the lawyer put himself in the place of the man who was robbed. Before we put ourselves in the superior position, the “helping” role, first we find ourselves in need of a little traveler’s aid ourselves.

As preacher Fred Craddock points out, this is the first of two stories about the reign of God, about hearing, but not really listening, to the good news of what the reign of God means, who Jesus is, and who we are called to become. In this week’s story we learn about a lawyer who wanted to know what he had to do to inherit eternal life. Next week, we will hear about a woman named Martha who was anxious and distracted about many things, so busy doing that she forgot to be – just to sit at the feet of the Lord Jesus and listen to what he is saying.

Action – going and doing – and contemplation – sitting and listening – are both important in the life of the faithful, but either one points beyond itself to the call to conversion, the change of heart, that comes when we acknowledge Jesus as Lord and Savior and begin to take our place under the reign of God. To “be transformed by the renewing of your mind” is part of a process, a transformation that is a continuing action of grace throughout the whole of your life. Hearing who Jesus is and what the reign of God is, and being changed by that Good News, whether you personally need to “go and do” or to “sit and listen”, is what matters.

The lawyer wanted to ‘get it right’, but getting it right is not the point: whether we need to become clearer in what we know of God, or whether we need to become better at doing God’s will, or whether we need to learn better how just to be in God’s presence – listening with an open heart; the point is to become transformed by the Good News into the people of the kingdom of God.

The lawyer didn’t get it – he thought he could ‘justify himself’ by getting it right: by winning an argument about what God really wants. Jesus was more concerned with – the coming into being of what God really wants – the work of grace in creation, in the lawyer, in you and me. This is not a game about winning, the prize ‘eternal life’: this is reality.

God really does want you to love your neighbor as yourself. And when you begin to see with God’s eyes, when you begin to live into the kingdom of God, you see who your neighbor really is. Jesus tells the lawyer a parable, the parable of a man who fell among thieves and the stranger who rescued him, which ends with the famous admonition, “Go and do likewise.” But before we go, he has already revealed to us something uncomfortable: our condition and the condition of our neighbor are in some ways interchangeable.

Who is my neighbor? Who was neighbor to the man who was robbed? The one who showed him mercy: your neighbor is the one who shows you mercy. If we could find ourselves in the place of the man who was robbed, before we cast ourselves in the role of the Good Samaritan, we might begin to understand what the kingdom is, and what God really wants. And what it is to inherit eternal life.

As pastor Barbara Crafton teaches us, faith is not subscribing to a list of propositions: it is a living relationship with God and with the world. It is a living relationship of love. Eternal life is not something locked away that you need a key or a secret entry code to gain access to – it is freely available. It is the opportunity to love, to live as a lover of God and neighbor. “And the Christ, who lives in you, also lives in each of them.”

The opportunity to love actually is all around.

“Surely, this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away… No, the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe… Choose life.” (Deuteronomy 30: 11, 14, 19)

And Jesus identified himself with this: “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” and he will tell them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” (Matthew 25:37-40)

When did we find you by the side of the road, naked, beaten and bleeding, and treated your wounds and carried you to a safe place where you could be healed? When did we find you wandering through the desert, abandoned and alone and dying of thirst, and give you water and a way home to the homes of men?

During the week of the Fourth of July, in Tucson, a leader and elder in that community received a visit from a new member of Congress. She talked with her about immigration and our need for a new approach – not confronting each other but working together.

She held up her hands as if to push away The Other, and then moved them, turning them around to face each other and interlacing her fingers, to show that we must work together. Speaking practically, she suggested training for employment could begin across the border, so that people who live there could have a future and a hope. Remember this is God’s promise to us, to his people, fulfilled through Jesus and through Jesus’ hands in the world: our own.

“For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11).

Serving Jesus as we serve the least of these we see around us is what we do: not just so that we can all get along, but so that we can all go forward together into God’s kingdom, where peace and righteousness embrace.

Show us your mercy, O Lord, •
and grant us your salvation.
I will listen to what the Lord God will say, •
for he shall speak peace to his people and to the faithful,
that they turn not again to folly.
Truly, his salvation is near to those who fear him, •
that his glory may dwell in our land.
Mercy and truth are met together, •
righteousness and peace have kissed each other;
Truth shall spring up from the earth •
and righteousness look down from heaven.
The Lord will indeed give all that is good, •
and our land will yield its increase.
Righteousness shall go before him •
and direct his steps in the way.

Psalm 85:7-13 (Common Worship)


Sources

Nobel Foundation (http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1930/soderblom-bio.html)

Uppsala Domkyrka (http://www.uppsaladomkyrka.se/setupups/local/engelsk/pdf/Ecumenism.pdf)

Luke for Everyone by Tom Wright (SPCK, 2001)

The Word Today: Reflections on the Readings of the Revised Common Lectionary, Year C, Volume 3 by Herbert O'Driscoll (Toronto: Anglican Book Centre, 2001)

"Living by the Word: Who we are" by Patrick J. Wilson, The Christian Century, Vol. 124, No. 13, June 26, 2007, p. 19. (www.christiancentury.org)

Patrick's Well (www.herbodriscoll.com) Herbert O'Driscoll

Geranium Farm (www.geraniumfarm.org) Barbara Crafton et al.

The Word in Time by Arthur J. Dewey (New Berlin, Wisconsin: Liturgical Publications, 1990)

Luke by Sharon H. Ringe (Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 1995) Westminister Bible Companion series.

Luke by Thomas W. Walker (Louisville, Kentucky: Geneva Press, 2001) Interpretation Bible Studies series.

Luke by Fred B. Craddock (Louisville, Kentucky: John Knox Press, 1990) Interpretation, a Bible commentary for teaching and preaching.

The Gospel According to Luke by Michael F. Patella, O.S.B. (Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press) The new Collegeville Bible commentary, New Testament; v. 3.

Preaching the Gospel of Luke: Proclaiming God's Royal Rule by Keith F. Nickle (Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2000)

Common Worship (Church of England, 2000) http://www.cofe.anglican.org/worship/liturgy/commonworship/

The Book of Common Prayer (Church of England, 1662)

Oremus Bible Browser http://bible.oremus.org/

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Nathan Söderblom and the Good Samaritan

Today we remember the life and work of Nathan Söderblom, architect of the ecumenical movement of the 20th century, founder of the Life and Work movement that led to the World Council of Churches, and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He was Swedish, born in 1866 and living until this date in 1931. Early in his life, at the age of 24, he visited the United States, and began to form his future ecumenical work through this prayer, recorded in his diary:

"Lord, give me humility and wisdom to serve the great cause of the free unity of thy church."

Söderblom took a practical approach to ecumenical work, reasoning that in the life of the church right action was as important as right belief-hence the outward, active focus of the Life and Work group.

He had already begun to move toward intercommunion between the Swedish Church and the Church of England as early as 1909; in 1995 the Porvoo Communion formalized recognition between Anglican churches in the British Isles and Lutheran churches in Scandinavia and the Baltic states.

Söderblom was elected Archbishop of Uppsala & primate of Sweden in 1914. That year he led a prayer for peace at Uppsala Cathedral:

"May we ask the Lord to grant us peace, that the day will soon come, when the peoples are unified in love and when Christ is the Lord; the day that fulfils all the prayers of the holy."

*****
In high school P.E. class I heard this story – so it must be true: somebody riding his new motorcycle had a breakdown at the side of the road. Up roared a gang of bikers, who stopped, came over, and – fixed his bike. As they left, one handed him a nice white business card, with a big greasy black thumb-smudge on it, announcing, “Your emergency roadside assistance was provided by your local motorcycle club.”

The Samaritan is not who you would expect. Nor is the man who was robbed.

In the story of the Good Samaritan and the man who fell among thieves, we hear a lawyer asking a telling question: Who is my neighbor? We might well ask: Who are you? Responses could include, I am a person, a human being, a child of God – or, We are a people of God.

Augustine made the analogy, that the man who was robbed was like Augustine, or me, or you – the soul; that the Samaritan was like Jesus and the inn, providing shelter, was the Church.

What however was Jesus' response, and what question did he ask in his turn? “Who was a neighbor of the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The one who showed him mercy.

We often think of ourselves in the place of the good Samaritan, but Jesus has the lawyer put himself in the place of the man who was robbed. Before we put ourselves in the superior position, the “helping” role, first we find ourselves in need of a little traveler’s aid ourselves.


And Jesus identified himself with this: “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” and he will tell them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” (Matthew 25:37-40)

Serving Jesus as we serve the least of these we see around us is the motivating force behind the efforts of so many ecumenical workers like Nathan Söderblom: not simply that we all might get along but that we might go forward together into God’s kingdom, where peace and righteousness embrace.

And I should point out one more current example of this. Last week in Tucson, a leader and elder in that community received a visit from a new member of Congress. She talked with her about immigration and our need for a new approach – not confronting each other but working together. She held up her hands as if to push away The Other, then moved them, turning them over and interlacing her fingers, to show that we must work together. Speaking practically, she suggested training for employment could begin across the border, so that people who live there could have a future and a hope. Remember this is God’s promise to us, to his people, fulfilled through Jesus and through Jesus’ hands in the world: our own. I will give you “a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).

Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts. Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land. Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other. Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky. The Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase. Righteousness will go before him, and will make a path for his steps. (Psalm 85:8-13)


Sources

Nobel Foundation (http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1930/soderblom-bio.html)

Uppsala Domkyrka (http://www.uppsaladomkyrka.se/setupups/local/engelsk/pdf/Ecumenism.pdf)

Luke for Everyone by Tom Wright (SPCK, 2001)

The Word Today: Reflections on the Readings of the Revised Common Lectionary, Year C, Volume 3 by Herbert O'Driscoll (Toronto: Anglican Book Centre, 2001)

"Living by the Word: Who we are" by Patrick J. Wilson, The Christian Century, Vol. 124, No. 13, June 26, 2007, p. 19. (www.christiancentury.org)