Luke 10:38-42
Lead in: Spiritual author Virgina Herbers asks a good question, “Yes Lord, sitting with you as Mary does is a beautiful thing. But what about those sitting on their duffs while I am tending to all that needs to be done?” And the Lord’s response, “Yes, do what needs to be done but don’t let worry about them blind you to the presence of God right there in front of you.”
Prompt: Reflect on a time when the demands of the moment caused you to be blinded to the
presence of God right there in front of you.
Lead in: It seems unfair that Martha is left to do all the work. Biblical scholar Fred Graddock offers this insight. “There is a time to go and do and there is a time to listen and reflect. Knowing which and when is a matter of spiritual discernment.”
Prompt: What are the things in your life you must go and do and what are the things you must sit and reflect on? How do you balance the two?
Lead in: Many North Americans associate hospitality with entertaining friends, not with serving strangers. Yet, in Genesis 18, Abraham welcomes into his home three strangers who have wandered in from the desert. Cistercian monk Fr. Michael Casey reminds us that Pope Francis was tireless in exhorting us to go out from our safe havens to look for the stranger, those on the margins, and to take care of them.
Prompt: Who is the stranger that you are being called to welcome into the home of your heart?
Lead in: As Mary sat at the feet of Jesus, she was hanging on every word. What if, like Mary, you were to hang on every word Jesus spoke?
Prompt: How might that change your experience of praying with scripture? Your experience of the Mass? Your walk with Jesus?
Prompt: What would it take on your part to get there?
Lead in: Martha said to Jesus, “Tell her to help me.” Rather than have the hard conversation with her sister Mary, Martha tried to leverage Jesus to get her sister Mary to do what she wanted her to do.
Prompt: Can you think of a time when you appealed to the clout of a third party to get your way with another?
Prompt: Avoiding the hard conversation with another has consequences for trust in that relationship. What does your experience tell you about that?