Transcript
In English speaking cultures, and similarly in many other cultures as well, we have a standardised greeting. “How are you”, we say,’ and the other responds, “well thanks”. Yet I notice, increasingly that people respond to my greeting with a single word. They are no longer ‘well’ but rather, ‘busy’. “Martha, Martha”, Jesus says to her, “you worry and fret about so many things, yet few are needed, indeed only one”. I suspect, Jesus might well say the same thing to us in our overly busy and distracted world. There are many things which distract us from that which is most important. These often present themselves as obligations; Martha would have felt ‘obligated’ to offer Jesus some kind of hospitality. But Jesus didn’t come for the food, He wants to spend time with Martha and Mary. Jesus also wants to spend time with us. He invites us to sit at His feet, the classic posture of a disciple, learning from the teacher. By meditating on the scriptures, spending time in prayer and by regular spiritual reading we can spend time with Jesus, learning from Him. Above all, it is in the Eucharist we sit at the feet of Jesus and encounter His ongoing presences in our lives. Time spent with Jesus is never wasteful nor indulgent. Its no dereliction of duty! It’s true, that prayer must be lived in the midst of the other important duties in our lives. When we give it priority however, prayer allows us to find the perspective needed to balance the rest of life’s demands. Let us always remember that the one truly necessary thing is to spend time with Jesus, to learn from Him. He alone has the words which lead us to eternal life. Let us make that, above all else, the true priority in our lives.