Proper XI 07/20/25
The Still Point
A Time of Meditation and Reflection
Sixth Sunday after Pentecost:
Proper Eleven
... At the still point of the turning world. Neither flesh nor fleshless;
Neither from nor towards; at the still point, there the dance is,
But neither arrest nor movement. And do not call it fixity,
Where past and future are gathered. Neither movement from nor towards,
Neither ascent nor decline. Except for the point, the still point,
There would be no dance, and there is only the dance... T.S. Eliot, Burnt Norton
Peace on each one who comes in need;
Peace on each one who comes in joy.
Peace on each one who offers prayers;
Peace on each one who offers song.
Peace of the Maker, Peace of the Son,
Peace of the Spirit, the Triune One.
Opening Prayer
O Lord, when your Son ascended into heaven, he sent down upon the Apostles the Holy Spirit, as he had promised, that they might comprehend the mysteries of the kingdom: Distribute among us also, we pray, the gifts of the selfsame Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Scripture Reading Luke 10:38-42
As Jesus and his disciples went on their way, Jesus entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me." But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her."
Poem: “The Lake of Beauty” By Edward Carpenter
Let your mind be quiet, realising the beauty of the world,
and the immense, the boundless treasures that it holds in store.
All that you have within you, all that your heart desires,
all that your Nature so specially fits you for –
that or the counterpart of it waits embedded in the great Whole, for you.
It will surely come to you.
Yet equally surely not one moment before its appointed time
will it come. All your crying and fever and reaching out of
hands will make no difference.
Therefore do not begin that game at all.
Do not recklessly spill the waters of your mind
in this direction and in that,
lest you become like a spring lost and dissipated in the desert.
But draw them together into a little compass, and hold them still, so still;
And let them become clear, so clear – so limpid, so mirror-like;
at last the mountains and the sky shall glass themselves in peaceful beauty,
and the antelope shall descend to drink and to gaze at her reflected image,
and the lion to quench his thirst,
and Love himself shall come and bend over and catch his own likeness in you.
Meditation
In this week's gospel reading, Martha welcomed Jesus into her home, but is upset that her sister Mary is not helping with work in the house. Instead, Mary sits and listens to Jesus. Jesus responds to Martha, saying that she is distracted by many things, but there is really one need for one thing. What is the one thing? One interpretation is that the "one thing" is to be present... present to God, present to oneself, and present to others.
The contrast between the two sisters has often been seen as applicable to a perennial debate: which is better, the life of action or the life of contemplation? Though these may be seen as polar opposites, in fact, they can be seen as two sides of the same coin. Franciscan writer and ecumenical teacher Richard Rohr writes, "Thomas Aquinas and many others stated that the highest form of spiritual maturity is not action or contemplation, but the ability to integrate the two into one life stance—to be service-oriented contemplatives or contemplative activists. By temperament, we all tend to come at it from one side or the other... We need both inner communion and outer service to be 'Jesus' in the world! The job of religion is to help people act effectively and compassionately from an inner centeredness and connection with God."
The poem is by Edward Carpenter (1844-1929). He was an English utopian, poet, mystic, and an early activist for gay rights and prison reform. In his life and works, there is evidence of one who often sought to integrate action with contemplation.
Questions for Reflection
1. Who do you identify with the most in this gospel story - Mary or Martha?
2. In what ways would you like better to balance action and contemplation in your own life, or to integrate the two?
3. What connections do you find between the gospel reading and the poem?
4. What images or metaphors would you use to express the idea of being present to God?
In that regard, you might include a second poem in your reflection: Pax, by DH Lawrence.
https://www.harvardsquarelibrary.org/poetry-prayers-visual-arts/d-h-lawrence-pax/
Prayers
We bring before God someone whom we have met or remembered today
We bring to God someone who is hurting tonight and needs our prayer
We bring to God a troubled situation in our world
We bring to God, silently, someone whom we find hard to forgive or trust
We bring ourselves to God that we might grow in generosity of spirit, clarity of mind, and warmth of affection
We offer our thanks to God for the blessings in our lives
We name before God those who have died.
Gracious God, you hear all our prayers: those we speak aloud, those we hold in our hearts, and those prayers for which we have no words. Hear the prayers of your people, and grant them as may be best for us, for the sake of your holy name. Amen.
Accept our thanks for all you have done, O God. Our hands were empty, and you filled them.
May Christ’s holy, healing, enabling Spirit be with us every step of the way, and be our guide as our road changes and turns, and the blessing of God our Creator, Redeemer and Giver of life be among us now and remain with us forever. Amen.
Reflections this month offered by: Frank Nowell
