38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” 41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
–Luke 10.38-42 (NIV)
In our ever increasingly connected and frenetic world, we seem to be bombarded from all directions about how to spend our time and efforts. Demands of job, family, church, and other responsibilities seem to make us increasingly scattered and worn out. We see a similar dynamic in today’s Gospel lesson and our Lord reminds us how to best spend our time and efforts. For you see, where we spend our time and exert our efforts are good indications of where are ultimate loyalties are.
I can relate to Martha in this story because she gives every appearance of being anal compulsive, a trait I unfortunately have. She obsesses over the small stuff in life and in doing so risks missing the Big Picture. Not so with her sister, Mary, however. Mary gets it. She understands that life is more than bowing to our various obligations. Life is first and foremost about doing the things necessary to stay connected to the Source and Author of life because this mortal life is finite and temporary. It is not about accumulating stuff or prestige or power. It is ultimately about aligning ourselves in ways that are pleasing in God’s sight so that we can continue to love and enjoy him after our mortal death.
Sure, we all have responsibilities related to the living of our days. But in the final analysis if we do not align fulfilling those responsibilities with how God intends for us to live our mortal lives, we will always be scattered and never be able to enjoy God’s peace.
Now let’s be clear. I am not suggesting that you suddenly abandon everything you do, enter a monastery or convent, and devote all you time to pious activities. What I am suggesting you do is to follow Mary’s lead in today’s lesson. Make your relationship with God your top priority and work to align your life’s purposes with his purposes for you. That will give you the needed and proper perspective on which to make the daily decisions about how to allocate your time and other resources.
Of course, unless you are convinced that life really is about having a relationship with the Source and Author of all life, you will not be inclined to do what is necessary here and now to develop that relationship. But if we are really honest with ourselves we will quickly acknowledge that life is bigger than us and often gets the better of us. When we understand that, we will have the proper motivation to get ourselves rooted so that we can live happy, meaningful, and peaceful lives.
This is God’s desire for you. Are you willing to do what is necessary so that he can help you live that kind of life, a life that is Jesus-centered?
Alleluia! Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!