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<v SPEAKER_00>Today the church celebrates a feast day that is relatively new.

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<v SPEAKER_00>For many years we celebrated on Saint Martha.

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<v SPEAKER_00>But in 2021, Pope Francis expanded this memorial to include Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Why would he do that?

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<v SPEAKER_00>Well, because the church wanted to remind us that holiness is not meant to be lived alone.

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<v SPEAKER_00>It's meant to flourish in families and friendships and homes that welcome Christ.

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<v SPEAKER_00>You'll remember Bethany, where Martha, Mary, and Lazarus lived was only about two miles from Jerusalem.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Jesus passed through there often, and when he did, he stayed with them.

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<v SPEAKER_00>He stayed with his friends.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Think about that for a moment.

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<v SPEAKER_00>The Son of God who had nowhere to lay his head had one place where he could lay his head.

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<v SPEAKER_00>The house of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus.

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<v SPEAKER_00>And in many ways Bethany became the first Christian home.

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<v SPEAKER_00>And each of the three siblings teach us something essential about discipleship.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Martha teaches us that love serves.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Sometimes Martha gets a bad reputation because we remember the story where she complains that Mary isn't helping in the kitchen.

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<v SPEAKER_00>But that's not the whole story.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Jesus never criticized Martha for serving.

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<v SPEAKER_00>He criticized her for being anxious and distracted.

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<v SPEAKER_00>There's a difference there.

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<v SPEAKER_00>The church has always honored Martha because she reminds us that love isn't just a feeling.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Love rolls up its sleeve, it love prepares meals.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Love visits the sick, love changes diapers, love cooks dinner.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Love always serves.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Without people like Martha, parishes could never function.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Families couldn't survive, and the poor wouldn't be cared for.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Then we turn to Mary.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Mary teaches us that before we can work for Jesus, we must first spend time with Jesus.

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<v SPEAKER_00>She sits at his feet.

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<v SPEAKER_00>And in the ancient world, sitting at the feet of the rabbi meant becoming his disciple.

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<v SPEAKER_00>That's extraordinary.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Jesus welcomed women not simply as followers, but as true disciples.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Mary reminds us that prayer is not wasted time.

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<v SPEAKER_00>The busiest person in the church still needs to sit quietly before the Lord.

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<v SPEAKER_00>The busiest person in the world, I don't, no matter what your vocation or what your job is, needs to sit before the Lord.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Because if we all do his work, even good work, eventually we become exhausted.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Service without prayer becomes activism.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Prayer gives us service to the soul.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Then there's Lazarus.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Interestingly, Lazarus never says a single word in all of Scripture, not one.

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<v SPEAKER_00>And yet everyone knows him.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Why?

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<v SPEAKER_00>Because his life became a witness to the power of Jesus.

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<v SPEAKER_00>He was dead, Christ called him by name, and he comes out of the tomb.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Lazarus reminds us that Christianity isn't just a philosophy, it's a new way of life.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Every one of us have placed in our lives that need to hear Christ say again, come out.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Come out of your resentment.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Come out of that sin that you keep falling into.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Come out of fear.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Come out of despair.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Come out of whatever has kept you spiritually bound and buried.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Christ still raises the dead.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Now, if we turn to the gospel, it gives us one of the most profound professions of faith.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Jesus looks at Martha right in the eyes and says, I am the resurrection and the life.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Do you believe this?

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<v SPEAKER_00>Notice he doesn't ask, do you understand what I'm telling you?

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<v SPEAKER_00>No, he says, Do you believe this?

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<v SPEAKER_00>Because there are moments in every Christian life when understanding isn't possible.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Martha didn't understand why her brother had died.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Jeremiah didn't understand in the first reading why his ministry brought him so much suffering.

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<v SPEAKER_00>We don't always understand why illness comes, why marriages struggle, why we have anxiety, why prayers seem unanswered, why good people suffer.

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<v SPEAKER_00>We may not understand all of this, but faith doesn't mean having every answer.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Faith means trusting the one who is the answer.

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<v SPEAKER_00>And Martha gives us one of the greatest confessions.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Yes, Lord, I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God.

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<v SPEAKER_00>That's the heart of Christianity right there.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Not simply believing that Jesus can perform miracles, but believing who He is.

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<v SPEAKER_00>So perhaps today on this feast day it leaves us with one question.

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<v SPEAKER_00>If Jesus came looking for a place to stay today, would he feel welcomed in your home?

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<v SPEAKER_00>Would he want to come back?

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<v SPEAKER_00>Would he find service like Martha, prayer like Mary, a living witness like Lazarus?

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<v SPEAKER_00>Every Christian home is called to become another Bethany, a place where Christ is welcomed, a place where faith is lived, and a place where love is very visible to all who come there.

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<v SPEAKER_00>So today may Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus pray for us, that our homes, our families, and our hearts may always be a place where Jesus feels well at home and a place where he wants to return.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Amen.