We do not live by bread alone.
If Jesus spoke to many of us living in today’s “hectic world”, he would say to us what he said to Martha
“Martha, Martha! You are worried and troubled over so many things… Mary has chosen the right thing.” Luke 10:41-42
Martha seems to have been a person who could become overwhelmed with the tasks at hand.
There’s a little “Martha” in all of us! We can get so involved in making a living that we forget about making a life.
Jesus would remind us not to get so involved in doing things that we forget why we are doing them, get so involved in acquiring things money can buy that we forget about the important things money can’t buy.
We get so busy making a living that we forget to make a life.
Martha got so involved in cooking a meal for Jesus that she forgot why He came and what he really wanted.
He did not come for a meal; he wanted to draw everyone unto the Father and himself. He wants each of us to be his disciples, his ministers, but most of all he wants us to love him as he loves us.
Recall Jesus’ reminder, “Human beings cannot live on bread alone.” Luke 4:4
Also His answer when the disciples said, “Teacher, have something to eat!” But he answered, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” So the disciples started asking among themselves, “Could somebody have brought him food?”
His food was not of this world, nor is our real food, the food for our souls.
“My food,” Jesus said to them, “is to obey the will of the one who sent me and finish the work he gave me to do.” Jn 4:331-34
There’s a bit of Martha in all of us. We get so involved in activities that we forget to pause now and then to look at God’s creation. In our faith life, it is easy to concentrate on “what has to be done.” We can easily make our Christian life into a series of tasks that have to be fulfilled.
Mary seems to be above it all. Ultimately our Christian life must be based upon a loving relationship with the Lord. Then what ever we do will be in a loving response to the love we’ve received.
We get so involved in the day to day activities that we forget that we need moments of silence and contemplation.” We here of Contemplative Prayer and we talk about moments of deep contemplation. But, what does it mean. Mary is a good example of a contemplative person. We need to pause, sit quietly in God’s presence, and make sure that where we seem to be going is where we want to go.
Contemplation is the deep realization of God in all that surrounds us. Mary’s realization of Jesus as the Messiah, the Son Of God, caused her to want to spend every moment at his feet. Nothing else mattered when she was in his presence. Nor should it for us!
We can get so involve in activities that we forget to pause to “sit quietly and unhurriedly in God’s presence,” making sure that where we seem to be going is where want, or need to go.
Any ministry can easily degenerate into an attempt to complete a series of task rather than be of service to the people whom we are supposedly serving. We need to be less concerned with the number in our Religious Education classes or in RCIA than with listening where they are in their faith journey and what they need to learn. Jesus always took time with the individual and treated each person with respect.
We forget that we are both body and soul, and need to keep them in balance.
We need to find a balance of turning outward toward Martha’s world of activity and for turning inward toward Mary’s world of contemplation.
A common objection of ours is, “I am so busy dealing with Martha’s world of activities that I don’t have time for Mary’s world of contemplation.”
If that is honestly the case, then you’re in trouble—big trouble. And you’d better doing something about it—quick!
That’s what Jesus is telling us in today’s Gospel. We need to set our priorities based on his teachings… we need to spend more time at the feet of Jesus!