Daily Reflection – 10/7/2025
Sacred Scripture
As they continued their journey, he 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.” (Luke 10:38-42)
Reflection
In the Gospel of Luke, we encounter a story that feels remarkably close to our own lives. Jesus visits the home of two sisters, Martha and Mary. Martha, ever the gracious host, is consumed by all the preparations that need to be made. She is busy, anxious, and overwhelmed by her many tasks. Meanwhile, her sister Mary sits at the feet of Jesus, listening intently to his words.
Frustrated, Martha asks Jesus, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.” Jesus’ response is gentle but profound: “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”
We live in the most distracted, frenetic society in history. The demands on our time and attention are endless. Like Martha, we are often worried and distracted by many things—our jobs, our families, our finances, and the constant stream of information from the media as well as our phones. In this whirlwind of activity, it is tempting to think we are doing well if we manage to give God a passing glance now and then, a quick thought out of the corner of our eye.
But Jesus’ words invite us to consider a deeper truth. The fullness of life and grace He offers deserves our full attention. Jesus cannot simply be one part of a busy life; He must be the very center of it. This does not mean we must abandon our responsibilities. It means that without intentionally preserving quiet time each day to sit at His feet as Mary did, our action can easily become distraction. We find ourselves growing snappy, anxious, and unhappy, just like Martha.
The choice is ours, and we make it every single day. We can allow ourselves to be swept away by the busyness of life, or we can choose to carve out time to be present to Jesus Christ, to learn from Him, and to speak with Him. This conscious choice reveals what we truly value. Our great task as followers of Christ is to shape our lives according to this choice.
Jesus doesn’t praise Mary because she was inherently more spiritual or had won some kind of spiritual lottery. He praises her because she “has chosen the better part.” She made a choice. The highest priority in our lives must be to choose this “better part” as Mary did: to sit and learn from Jesus so that we can become more like Him. This devotion reorients everything else, making all other concerns secondary. When we seek the riches of wisdom and understanding found only in Him, we learn how to truly follow Him and be His disciples.
Many years ago, a kind parishioner gave me a needlepoint that reads, “May My Life Be A Prayer.” These six simple words carry immense meaning. They remind us that our faith is not meant to be confined to one hour on a Sunday. We are called to live lives that are pleasing to God by enriching the lives of those we meet through our work, our service, and our love. But we cannot give what we do not have. We must always remember that the Giver of all gifts needs to be given our time and attention. We need that quiet time with Him to recharge so that we can be effective for Him in the world.
A true Christian life calls us to be both active and contemplative, to be both Martha and Mary. It calls us to use our gifts and do our daily chores with such joy that our work itself becomes a prayer. Our most important work, however, is being present—present to one another and, most importantly, present to our Lord.
Each time we choose to give Christ and His will priority, we please Him and extend the borders of His Kingdom in our hearts and in the world. When we share His message of love and peace with others, we give them the chance to do the same. Let us choose the better part, not just once, but every day
Prayer of The Day
“Lord Jesus, to be in your presence is life and joy for me. Free me from needless concerns and preoccupations that I may give you my undivided love and attention.”
Daily Note
The wrong choice that Martha made wasn’t that she was serving and doing good. It was that in her work she had demands and criticism on Mary, rather than doing what Jesus taught herself! If we are living before the face of God, we have no cause to look around at what others are doing and feel that we have a right to pass judgement on them. We live in obedience to the Spirit’s promptings in our own lives, and what others do is none of our business. We don’t know how He is leading others.
