Mary Chose Better

I think we all know that experience of working hard on some project while someone we think should be helping seems to just sit and do nothing.  It doesn’t matter whether its a school project, a work project or just the dishes, we’ve all felt that resentment.

Sometimes there is something to resent — others can be lazy and inconsiderate.  Of course, most of us have had our moments of laziness, but that’s a topic for another column.

Sometimes there is nothing to resent — we just don’t understand the full picture.  That seems to be the situation Jesus encountered between sisters Martha and Mary.  (Click here to read the story.)

Mary wanted to be with Jesus.  But that left Martha to prepare the food for some proper hospitality, and she was annoyed.  Mary seemed to be doing nothing.  But, in fact, Mary had chosen Jesus over satisfying the expectations of others.

While it is possible in the Christian life spend so much time in the devotional Christian life, in my experience, that is rarely our problem.  In my experience, most of us are much more prone to let business keep us from time with Jesus — time reading the Bible, time in prayer, time in worship, time in the Christian community.

Let’s got our Mary on.  Let’s find regular time to set the busy-ness aside so that we can work at our relationship with Jesus:  Bible, prayer, worship, fellowship.  Like so many other things in life without immediate negative consequences, it’s easy to set it aside today.  Then tomorrow.  Then the next day.

Begin today.  Don’t put it off.  Pick up a “Daily Bread” at church.  Take on some new service.  Sit down in the quiet for some prayer.  Whatever works for you.  Just do it!

This column appeared in the July 21, 2019 edition of St. John’s eNews. Click here for the complete issue.

If you are reading this at a different time, you may click here for the current eNews.