Distractions - Martha and Mary (Lk 10:38-42)

Distraction is a common word that we use to show the deviation of attention from the object of concentration. We may have distraction in class rooms, in chapel, in family life, in our relations etc. Today’s gospel tells us about tow of the main distractions in our spiritual life. They are anxiety and worry.

Martha had anxiety and worry about the preparations to welcome Jesus. Since she was the eldest in the family it was her duty to look after the household and manage all the things in their house. According to their custom the eldest female was the one who inherited the house after the death of the parents. Therefore it was natural that Martha was concerned with so many things. But Jesus appreciates Mary for having no worries and tensions but just sitting at the feet of Jesus and listen to the word of God.

Is it possible to live with our worries? It is not. Worries and anxieties make human beings come out with their best especially in crisis and difficult situations. So what did Jesus mean? If our worries and anxieties close our eyes and ears to the word of God then we are on wrong track. As Jesus mentioned in the parable of seed and the sawyer, some seeds fell on the thorny ground and it could not grow properly because of thorns. The thorns are the anxieties and worries of ours that blocks us from the word of God.

Though we have so many worries and anxieties let us spend some time everyday in the presence of the Lord by listening to him. He will show us the way to face the realities of our life more efficiently.