I am sure that many of us have felt the effects of “busyness” in our daily lives. Always running from one task to the next, feeling like nothing is ever accomplished, like we’re buried under a mountain of things to do that never shrinks… the list could go on and on! To combat this, some people will burn the candle at both ends- work continually at all hours of the day and night, leaving very little time for rest and personal care. We often do this because we don’t want to feel like we are letting others down, especially those who are depending on us to get things done.
After a while of living this way, though, everything becomes overwhelming. We can almost become paralyzed when faced with our responsibilities, because we can’t see how we’re going to tackle it all. I think this is where Martha was at in today’s Gospel. Martha, in her desire to be a good host to Jesus, had taken on a lot- and perhaps bit off a bit more than she could chew. She allowed herself to become so distracted by the tasks at hand, that she missed the important lesson that is present in this Gospel passage: a lesson about the importance of creating space in our lives to listen to the Lord.
Martha, distracted by her many tasks, fails to recognize who the man present in her house truly is. Mary, on the other hand, recognizes Jesus as the Messiah, and sits at his feet to learn from him. Jesus’ words to Martha let her know that the work can wait. He doesn’t care about the meal being perfect, or the table being set just so: He just wants Martha and Mary to know him, and to spend time with him, and to recognize who he truly is.
Jesus desires the same of us in our present day and age. Can we put aside the distractions of the secular world, in order to create space in our lives to allow Jesus to speak to us? Can we accept that we need time for rest and relaxation, and that we don’t always have to give into the demands of instant gratification? Perhaps, as we go throughout this week, we can allow the Lord to show us the places and times in our lives where we are overly busy and distracted by many things. Once we recognize this, we can allow the Lord to come into our lives, and help us remove those distractions, so as to create a space for him to dwell in our hearts and lives.
Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Steven Huber, CSB