Anne Walsh
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Mary, Martha, and Jesus
Jesus seems to take the difference between the attitudes of the two sisters all in stride. He knows them well. He takes each one where she is, as she is. And that’s the first lesson on friendship that I draw from this Gospel story. Being a friend means accepting the other person as they are, where they are, and not trying to change them.
Peter, Andrew, James, and John
Andrew and Simon, James and John knew how and where to catch fish-- and Jesus sensed that they would take the bait and accept his challenge, that they had the skills of reading the signs and of storytelling, of working as interdependent crews, that would make them fishers of people—evangelists.
Jesus and John
John leaned on Jesus’ breast to comfort Him during the last supper. He was the only disciple who didn’t desert Jesus at the trial before Pilate, and at the foot of the Cross. John was so loved by His Master that Jesus entrusted His aging mother into John’s care. John was there when it really mattered. Friends are like that.
Mary and Elizabeth
Every family needs support. And it doesn’t matter what your family looks like—whether it has one parent involved, or two, whether there are two children or six or none at all, whether there are birth parents or foster or adoptive parents, or any other configuration—every family needs support.
Mary, Martha, Lazarus, and Jesus
Sometimes, in any friendship, we get into patterns of relating, and acting in expected ways, just because that’s the way we’ve always done things. Sometimes, it’s great to know that we can rely on friends to act in expected ways—there’s a comfort in that. But sometimes, we need to let our friends out of the boxes into which we’ve placed them. We need to allow our friends to surprise us—or to surprise themselves!
Simon's Mother-in-Law
Jesus chose this un-named woman of little status. He reached out to her and healed her, just as we must reach out and offer what healing we can to those who need us, especially those who society might look down upon.
Woman with a 12-year Haemorrhage
Jesus teaches us that it’s important to be attentive to people and movements around me. In the crush of the crowds, in the busy-ness of the day, somebody might be reaching out to me.
A Sinful Woman Anointed Jesus
Noticing how Jesus is in this encounter gives us some hints about how we should be in our encounters with other people - especially wounded people, people on the margins, people who are excluded from society, from family, from conversation, from consideration.
The Persistent Widow
The widow's persistence in pursuing the judge and justice mirrors the heart of God. God is a persistent lover, who pursues us and will never let us go. There is nowhere you can go where God has not gone before, and there is no place where you can hide from God’s love.
The Widow Who Gave Two Coins
When we look below the surface, perhaps this story is not about money at all. Perhaps it’s not just about money, but about giving of our time, energy, abilities to others even when we are tired or very busy. Perhaps this is about giving when it’s really hard, when you think you have very little left to give.