I said last week that the Gospel for Sunday-Luke 10:38-40-the story of Martha and Mary, goes with the story of the Good Samaritan that precedes it. In these two stories are illustrations of Jesus’ commandment to love God and love others. The Martha/Mary story is about love of God shown through attention to the words of Jesus. We shall think about that and also spend time discussing the Psalm for the day, Psalm 15, an entrance Psalm. How do we enter the sacred “place” where the word is spoken and the sacraments are administered? Suggestions appear in the readings for Sunday.

The communion hymn for the day is a contemporary “praise” song from Sweden. We’ll give some thought to how this kind of music, popular in many churches around the world, is distinct from the hymn that is more of a staple in our worship. The praise song is a song of entrance and of preparation. Maybe we’ll sing more of them.