This Sunday, July 20, is the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The gospel reading is a significant story about spiritual priorities. This is a story about Mary and Martha and their visit with Jesus. Let’s take a look.
Gospel Text
“Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.” The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken from her.”
Reflection on Spiritual Priorities
Raise your hand if you ever planned to pray, but the day just got away from you, and you didn’t. We’re all guilty of this at one time or another. In this Sunday’s gospel reading, Jesus is visiting with Martha and Mary. Martha is busy preparing a meal for Jesus, while Mary sits at His feet as Jesus speaks. Martha is exasperated and asks Jesus to tell Mary to help her, but Jesus tells her Mary has chosen the “good portion,” and “it will not be taken from her.”
Jesus teaches Martha that spending time with God is always the best choice. Martha is busy with her tasks in service to Jesus. These are important tasks, as we should always work to be hospitable and care for others; however, Jesus teaches us that spending our time with the Lord is a priority. This goes directly to my point in the previous paragraph. We live in today’s world as “Martha,” specifically meaning there are never enough hours in the day to get done what we view as a priority. Our time with God often falls off the task list at the end of the day. We must prioritize our time with the Lord daily. The key here is to build a structure around your prayer life.
Structured Prayer
Are you a morning person or a night person? The time of day is often most important when scheduling your prayer time. I prefer to pray in the morning, but I am a morning person. We should always thank God for another day first thing in the morning, but schedule your quiet time with the Lord when you are at your best. Our everyday tasks are important, but Jesus teaches us that our spiritual life is more important. Making minor adjustments to your daily prayer can significantly improve your spiritual life and relationship with God.
Please share your thoughts on this article in the “Comments” section.
Peace
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