Make Time To Be With Him

07-17-2016Weekly Reflection

"Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing." Martha was caught up in a whirlwind of her own making. She stressed herself out with all the tasks and chores she thought she had to do to host Jesus, but Jesus wasn't the one who expected all of that. He just wanted Martha's presence, her company and friendship. His only expectation was that Martha would prepare for him her heart, but she was fixated on preparing her home instead.

How often do we create a similar whirlwind in our lives? How often do we fixate on external details, on making a good impression, on having all appearances looking just so, but forget what really matters? How often do we make ourselves "anxious and worried" about all we think we have to do? In today's Gospel Jesus calls us to stop the frenetic activity of our lives, to pause and listen, imitating Mary "who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak."

This can seem impossible. We look at our calendars and our to-do lists and cannot find a single slot in which to squeeze quiet prayer or silent spiritual listening. But Jesus asks us to reorganize our priorities. He tells us, "There is need of only one thing." Really, Jesus? Have you seen our lists!? What can we possibly eliminate? Don't we need to do all of this?

The Lord says no. What we need to do is to make time to be with him. The same Lord who turned water into wine and fed five thousand men with five loaves of bread and two fish can also multiply our time. So instead of being like Martha who tried to tell Jesus what to do-"Tell her to help me"-let's be like Mary who listened to what Jesus had to say.

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