Focus

The story of Martha and Mary welcoming Jesus into their
home has long been popular. It has often been pointed out,
usually by harassed housewives, that if we were all like Mary,
nothing would appear on the table! This is quite true. And we
need to remember that this is Martha’s story, not Mary’s.
As we are asked to be like the Good Samaritan so we are
asked to be like Martha and welcome Jesus into our homes -
whether as himself or under the guise of a stranger. The
question, then, is how we keep our priorities right and
concentrate on welcoming him rather than being distracted by
everything we organize to express that welcome.
When we do welcome others into our homes, do we
concentrate on their needs or do we get carried away by our
desire to impress or by the fear that we may not get it right in
some way? The same sort of missing the mark for the best of
intentions can happen in our prayers. Do we really drink in
Jesus and his words, or do we get lost in the byways of our
own wordiness and desire to pray well? When he seems very
quiet do we panic at the silence and take refuge in quantity
rather than quality? Are we afraid to be alone with him? Are
our Masses and other liturgies so designed and prayed that
they reveal Christ’s presence among us? Or do our personal
preferences take over and become distractions for ourselves
and others?
Like Martha, in the cause of our discipleship we all worry
and fret too much at times. Like the Good Samaritan, we need
to bring ourselves back to focusing simply on what is needed
at each moment - and then let go! Think about it!!