Prayer

Our “Yes” to God

Martha's House

Gospel Reflection by Beth

courage.

Photos by Lanty, Unsplash

“But we are told of meek obedience. No one mentions

       The engendering Spirit

did not enter her without consent.

      God waited.”

These bold, brave words are near the beginning of the brilliant poem ‘Annunciation’ by Denise Levertov (you can read the full version here), and it is this poem and Mary’s “yes” that reminds me of the Gospel passage this week. 

“For many are called, but few are chosen,” utters Jesus at the end of Matthew’s parable this week. Jesus relates the story of a wedding feast that no one wishes to attend. The fatted calves are killed and prepared, the Spotify playlist is set for dance music, and the only problem is the empty halls that face the king and his son who is to be married. The guests themselves were off to their farms, or to ravage and murder the servants sent out to welcome them to the palace (literally “to kill the messenger”). What does a king do in this situation?

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The Weight of Responsibility

Martha's House

Gospel reflection by Beth

Wendell Shinn, Unsplash

“Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenets?” (MT 21:40) What do we do when something is entrusted to us? How do we take care of the item, and how do we honor the person’s trust who loaned it to our care? Once, when I was younger a friend loaned me a book. It wasn’t a terribly expensive book, in fact, it was one book in the very popular series, The Baby-Sitters’ Club. As I did with all books I devoured the story, then promptly put it away in a “safe” place so I would remember to return it to my friend. After a few weeks the friend asked for her book back and I – in this short span of time – had no idea where my safe hiding spot was for the book. In fact, I had completely forgotten I had tucked it away somewhere. The book was lost. My friend was upset with me and when I went to my mother for help, she gave me a good lesson in being held responsible for someone else’s items. I had to use my own money to go to the bookstore and purchase her a brand new copy of the book, which was eagerly accepted and all was forgiven. Six months later, for the record, I found the book under a stack of other books in a drawer of my “favorite things.” The lesson, the loss of my own money, the shame of having a friend mad at me however, never left me. When something is entrusted to me I take care of it as if it is my own, and perhaps even better than that.

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God’s Generosity in the Vineyard

Martha's House

Gospel Reflection by Beth

image by Maja Petric, Unsplash

Kids have an aching sense of fairness in their worlds. What’s mine is mine, what’s yours is yours, why do you have three pieces more of candy than I do? … hold on one moment, THAT’S NOT FAIR! Bedraggled parents find themselves cutting food up exactly SO, dividing everything from candy pieces to cheddar Goldfish with the precision of a pharmacist doling out medication into a bottle. One extra piece, one slight discrepancy in size, and immediately the focus is on fairness, with the underlying message of “If you’re going to be giving out bigger or extra things I should at least be the recipient of them!” 

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The Struggle with Forgiveness

Martha's House

Weekly Gospel reflection by a member of Martha’s House community

‘Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.’

The familiar words of the Lord’s prayer: a prayer that many of us pray at least once daily. During the pandemic I have prayed the Lords’ prayer and said those words each time I wash or sanitise my hands. 

Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.

But what is happening as we say those words. Are we just going through the motion? Saying the words without thinking or …

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Prayer of the Canaanite Woman

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A poem written for this week’s Gospel reflection by Nikki

They’ll say
“She has some nerve.”
I don’t, you know, I don’t have nerve but
I also don’t have choice. There is no other hope
but to offend them all,
to break all their rules of behavior, of polite society.They’ll say
“She’s an embarrassment,”
“She’s a terror,”
“Who does she think she is?”
I may be an embarrassment,
but I cannot afford to be embarrassed.
I may be a terror, but they won’t hear me any other way.
I know I’m a stranger, outsider, woman, mother.

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Walking on Water: The Stormy Faith of Peter

Martha's House

Weekly Gospel reflection by Beth

Peter is impetuous. I can imagine his life before Jesus, sitting on his boat with his brother Andrew as they fished. Peter might have impatiently twisted ropes in his calloused hands or burst out in frustration at a peaceful moment, exclaiming his impatience at having to sit and wait – a skill all fishermen must master. Sometimes his impulsive nature might have brought him success in the markets – a bargain in trading goods or a few extra coins from a hungry Roman soldier – but oftentimes with impulsive personalities Peter might’ve found himself fuming at the repercussions of opening his big mouth once again. Maybe he bickered with a potential customer for his catch of the day, or told off someone trying to get a better price. Ironically, Peter’s birth name “Simon” means “to listen” in Hebrew, something he was pretty terrible at. Imagine his wonder, then, when Jesus christens him “Peter” – another challenging name for the man whose new name means “Rock.” Can a man of thundering outbursts truly be seen as the future stable “rock” of the faith?

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Ministry in the time of COVID-19

Martha's House

By Mark

When Cate and I began to talk about what a dispersed, neo-monastic community might look like, the world was still 16 months away from a worldwide pandemic. Little did we know then how much the world would change. Across the globe people are experiencing physical distancing, self-isolation periods, and lockdowns as we attempt to curb the spread of COVID-19.

To our surprise, the resources and platforms we developed to overcome geographical distance between our members have proved themselves in a new way. Martha’s House now finds itself in a position for our community to continue to meet, pray, share and support one another despite how the global pandemic has affected our members in their respective countries.

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Introducing Daily Prayer for Kids

Martha's House

New addition to the Martha’s House book of Daily Prayer

At Martha’s House, we believe you can and should share your spiritual journey with your family, if possible. This especially goes for children! If you have children, they will inevitably become curious, especially about your prayer times.

However, sharing your spiritual practice with younger children can be challenging. You want to share your love for God, the peace you find in prayer, and the call you feel to service. At the same time, children are energetic, easily distracted, and may not understand or share your beliefs. They also have not made a commitment to prayer the way you have. You may feel you want to introduce your child or children to a practice of daily prayer, but you don’t want it to be overly burdensome.

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How we’re fasting this Lent

Martha's House

By Cate

It’s not uncommon today to hear of people undertaking non-food Lenten fasts. In a world where diet culture is rampant and many people struggle with eating, weight, and health concerns, a traditional fast from food is not always safe or advisable. It’s also true, as one of our discernment members observed, that if weight loss is a personal goal, then a fast toward that end is not a sacrifice to God at all. While non-food fasts aren’t new, I was so inspired by some of our community members’ ideas that I wanted to share them.

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O Antiphons

Martha's House

By Mark

The Christmas and New Year period (and add Thanksgiving for our American readers) is such a busy time of year that distractions are not only easy to come by, but are expected. There is much to do, things to prepare for, events to attend, and people we feel the need and urge to see and spend time with. Sometimes we need something to draw us back to what is important and remind us what the season is all about.

That’s one of the things I appreciate about the season of Advent. Advent has built into it an amazing weeklong addition that happens from the 17th to the 23rd which, if we engage with it, forces us to put on the brakes as we are bolting toward the main event of Christmas. It can help us be mindful of the purpose of the Christmas celebration.

Before I tell you about O Antiphons, you probably need to know what an antiphon is and why we have them.

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