Life is hectic. The word hectic, while often thought of in a negative manner, can mean that we are thriving, bustling about with our normal routines of work, school, shuttling kids to practices, grocery shopping, meal prepping, traveling, and entertaining family and friends. And isn’t it so satisfying to scratch something off our hectic “to-do” lists? Some of us may even write down a task that we have already completed just to feel that sense of accomplishment when we cross it off.
In other words, many of us can relate to Martha in today’s gospel.
There is always so much to get done, and we often feel overwhelmed, perhaps even anxious, about our responsibilities. Martha feels burdened with the tasks at hand and is understandably annoyed at her sister, Mary, who is just sitting at the feet of Jesus, listening to him and not assisting her. We might see the Marys of the world as lazy or not motivated. Who has time to just sit?
However, in today’s gospel, we hear from Jesus himself that we need to be more like Mary and sit. We need to sit in the quiet presence of the Lord, whether it be in the adoration chapel, reading scripture, or simply turning the noise off in the car while being “Martha” running our errands because there should be nothing more important or higher on our to-do list than Jesus.
When we put God first, we receive his grace and wisdom for the tasks before us. Most importantly, we will have God’s peace in the middle of whatever task is at hand. So make the effort to bring out your inner Mary. Sit with Jesus. He’s ready and waiting. We are at the top of his list. He should be at the top of ours.