Revd Sara's Reflections - w/c 20th July 2025

Bible Reading: Luke 10:38-42 

 As you read this gospel reading from Luke 10, you might like to picture Jesus, in the home of his friends, the two sisters Martha and Mary. Martha is busy with the tasks of hospitality, while Mary sits at Jesus’ feet, listening intently to his words. When Martha complains that Mary is not helping, Jesus gently responds, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing.”

It is a short story, but one that has sparked centuries of reflection, for good reason. It speaks to the tension many of us feel between doing and being, between action and contemplation, between responsibility and presence. Let’s be honest: many of us feel like Martha. We are pulled in a dozen directions, busy with good and necessary things: work, caregiving, activism, community, housework, salaried work, church jobs. We are trying to make the world more just, more compassionate, more whole. Jesus’ words invite us to pause and ask: Where is my attention? This is not a condemnation of Martha’s work, or of the many acts of service that discipleship requires. Rather, it’s a reminder that our doing must flow from our being: with Christ, grounded in grace.

If we are always distracted, even by good things, we can miss the presence of God right in front of us. Mary chooses the “better part,” not because she is more holy or more helpful, but because in that moment, she allows herself to be fully present to Jesus. Mary gives him the gift of her attention. In doing so, Mary receives something deeper than another task or obligation – she receives grace.

Our Christian journey has been learning and thinking about how to put our faith into action, and rightly so. This passage reminds us that activism, hospitality, and service need to be nourished by stillness, reflection, and spiritual attentiveness. We are not just changemakers; we are followers of Christ, who longs not only for our hands but for our hearts. So today, consider: • Where am I being pulled in too many directions? • How might I create space to sit, to listen, to be fully present with God? • How can I let my action be rooted more deeply in grace?

Discipleship is not about doing everything. It is about doing the right things from the right place. Sometimes, the most faithful thing we can do is stop, breathe, and listen. May we find, like Mary, the grace to choose the better part, and the courage to trust that it will not be taken from us.

Responding in prayer Day by day, I ask for the vision to see you more clearly, especially in the faces, bodies and lives of those I least expect to reveal you. I long to see you more clearly in the actions of the most powerful people on earth; seeing those who have exploited others change their ways dramatically. I long to see you more clearly through the Bible as I wrestle with its wisdom and terror. I long to see you more clearly in my neighbours and friends, and to hear you speak, Lord.

Although Scripture says we see through a glass darkly while on earth, please grant us clarity to see exactly what you would have us do and be for you, day by day, in these testing times for Christian faith and life.

Day by day, day by day, of You - Dear Lord - three things we pray: To see You more clearly, love You more dearly, and follow You more nearly, day by day. Day by day, I commit myself to expressing more love for You, Lord, through my words and actions. I pray for your gracious help as I try to love you more dearly by caring for our aching planet; by speaking out with firm, brave and risky love in situations crying out for that; by going the extra mile when I am already weary, and by holding your cross before my eyes when I walk into a future that scares me. On the days when my love for you grows weak, thank you that your love burns more fiercely than ever. It is more than I deserve, and I am deeply grateful. Day by day, day by day, of You - Dear Lord - three things we pray: To see You more clearly, love You more dearly, and follow You more nearly, day by day. Amen.

love and prayers Revd Sara