Be with Jesus Before Doing for Jesus

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

In today’s Gospel, Martha is doing something good. She is serving. She is welcoming Jesus. She is trying to make sure everything is taken care of. And yet somehow, in the middle of doing something good, she becomes anxious, frustrated, and even resentful. That is what makes this Gospel so uncomfortable. Because the problem is not that Martha is doing the wrong thing. The problem is that she is doing the right thing with a heart that has become distracted. And that can happen to us very easily. We can serve, work, help, pray, volunteer, care for others – and still slowly lose sight of the One we are doing it all for.

Mary, meanwhile, simply sits at the feet of Jesus and listens. And Jesus says that she has chosen “the better part.” He is not saying that work does not matter. He is saying that relationship comes first. Before we do something for God, we have to learn how to be with God. Otherwise even ministry can become exhausting, prayer can become a task, and service can become something we secretly resent. Sometimes the reason we are so tired is not because we are doing too much, but because we are doing too much without first allowing Jesus to fill us.

There is a question hidden in this Gospel that is worth sitting with: If Jesus came into my home today, would I spend more time preparing things for Him, or actually sitting with Him? We can become so busy trying to organise our lives, fix our problems, meet expectations, and keep everyone happy that we forget that Jesus is already present. Martha is worried about many things. Jesus gently brings her back to one thing. Maybe that is what He wants to do with us to, not necessarily remove all our responsibilities, but reorder them.

And this is where the Gospel becomes very practical. Before the phone, before the rush, before the list of things that have to be done, can there be a moment where we simply sit with the Lord? Not to achieve anything. Not to ask for ten things. Just to be there. Even five quiet minutes can change the way we carry the rest of the day. When we begin with Jesus, service becomes lighter. Work becomes more peaceful. Even suffering can be carried differently, because we are no longer carrying it alone.

So perhaps the invitation today is not to become less active, but more rooted. Jesus does not ask us to abandon Martha. He asks us to learn from Mary. Sit first. Listen first. Receive first. Then get up and serve. Because if we reverse that order, we eventually run empty. But if we remain close to Christ, then everything we do can begin to flow from love instead of pressure.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, slow my heart when I become distracted by many things. Teach me to sit at Your feet, to listen, and to receive from You before I rush to do more. Give me a peaceful heart, rooted in Your presence, so that everything I do may come from love. Amen.

– Homily by Rev. Fr. Patrick Agbeko