Reflection on Circuit Service July 20 2025

This morning's Circuit Service, led by Superintendent Minister Rev Richard Hall, combined teachings from the books of Amos (8:1-12), Colossians (1:15-28), and Luke (10:38-42). The thread linking these three Biblical segments being, the importance of listening to the word of God. It emphasises the reverence with which followers of Christ, the head of the church, should receive the word of God as paramount in our Christian lives.

From Amos we have his vision of a bowl of fruit and the Lord's assertion that the end has come for his people, which the Good News Bible puts this way: "The end has come for my people Israel, I will not change my mind again about punishing them. On that day the songs in the palace will become cries of mourning. There will be dead bodies everywhere." God lists the misdeeds of his people and states, "And so the earth will quake and everyone in the land will be in distress. The whole country will be shaken I will turn your festivals into funerals and change your glad songs into cries of grief." It is both shocking in its imagery and hard for readers to comprehend, let alone accept from our God.

The passage from Colossians reminds us of who Christ is. Rev Hall states it is one of the most powerful affirmations of who Christ is, "the image of the invisible God, the one through whom all things were made, but this cosmic Christ also dwells in us, calling us to live lives shaped by his love, his suffering and his hope." He is the head of the church and the source of the life of the church. Through him, "God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things whether on earth or in heaven by making peace through the blood of his cross."

Having considered both God's prophecy through Amos (a spiritual famine or rather a famine of hearing the word of the Lord; the consequences of not putting God's word first,) and the reality of Christ in us, we can appreciate Jesus' response to Martha's complaint when we read in Luke that while one sister is busy serving, the other chooses to sit at Jesus' feet and listen: "Martha was distracted by 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." Jesus replies, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things, but few things are needed, indeed only one. Mary has chosen the better part which will not be taken away from her."" Note Jesus doesn't say one thing is desired he says one thing is needed. The word of God is a necessity.

While the segments from Amos and Colossians are equally revelatory, what struck me most, and might have struck others, was contained in the expounding of the verses from Luke. They are familiar verses. Rev Hall reminds us that while Martha is engaged in hospitality; serving, taking care of people, her sister Mary is sitting allegedly "doing nothing". Jesus' gentle words to Martha tell her there is only one thing. The emphasis is that Mary is doing the better part, in some Bible versions it is called the better thing. The questions for us today Rev Hall asks is "What is the better part, what does that mean?" He considers: "Sitting and doing nothing is too simplistic" and continues, "Hospitality matters. Jesus depended on it. He tells his disciples to depend on it but this moment points beyond domestic duties." Mary, despite this being the preserve of men in those days, has chosen the position of a disciple, sitting, at Jesus' feet listening to the word of God. She is not "doing nothing".

For me, this immediately resonated with James' instruction to be doers of the word as well as hearers. When I went to look at the passage (James 1:22), I read on: "whoever looks closely into the perfect law, that sets people free, who keeps on paying attention to it and does not simply listen then forget it but puts it into practice -that person will be blessed by God in what he does." I realised I hadn't noticed "keeps paying attention to it" before, which led me to think about what it means to pay attention. It gave me a sense of constantly being on alert.

Paul's directive to Timothy (2 Timothy 2:15) "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" also came to mind during the sermon.

Bringing the words from the passages into today's context Rev Hall stated,

"When a society ignores the poor, when a society turns its back on justice, even religion becomes empty. Amos' warning reminds us that listening to God is not just abstract, it shapes how we treat other people and especially how we treat the vulnerable. The better part that Mary chooses is not an escape from the world, it's the beginning of real discipleship. Attention to Jesus precedes our action. If we want to live justly according to his will and purpose then first, we must listen and learn to listen rightly Discipleship is not just admiring Jesus' from afar, it's allowing his life to be formed in us." As for Mary, "to sit at Jesus' feet is not laziness it's readiness, it's choosing presence over performance, it's saying "Before I act, I must listen, before I serve, I must be formed." That's the better part and it will not be taken away from Mary or from any who follow Mary's example. In a world that rushes and distracts, where the cries of the poor are routinely drowned out, we're invited to stop, to listen, to be changed and from that place of stillness, to go out and act with purpose."

Deborah Wills.