The Better Part
“For the Souls in Purgatory – Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord”
Luke 10:38–42
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.”
Grace Prayed For
Lord, free me from distraction and anxious striving. Grant me the grace to sit at your feet, to listen for your voice above the noise of my daily tasks, and to choose — again and again — the one thing that truly matters.
Reflection
There is something deeply human about Martha’s complaint. She is not lazy, nor is she indifferent to Jesus. She has welcomed him into her home. She wants things to go well. And yet, somewhere between the preparation and the serving, she has lost the very thing she was preparing for — his presence. By the time she approaches Jesus, her frustration has curdled into a kind of accusation: “Lord, do you not care?”
It is a question we have all asked in one form or another. We pour ourselves into good work — caring for families, meeting obligations, maintaining the structures that hold our lives together — and we wonder why it feels so hollow, why God seems absent from the very activity we are doing in his name. Martha’s mistake was not that she served. It was that she allowed service to crowd out encounter.
Jesus does not scold her. He calls her by name — twice — with a tenderness that carries both love and clarity. He names what is happening: anxiety, worry, the scattering of a soul stretched across too many things. And then he points to Mary, sitting still at his feet, as the image of what it looks like to receive him rather than simply manage him.
The “better part” is not idleness. It is priority. It is the willingness to let ourselves be loved before we rush to be useful. Mary has understood that Jesus himself is the gift, not the occasion for our efforts. The tasks will always be there. The invitation to be present to him is offered now.
Today, before the busyness takes hold, we might ask: where is Jesus in the room — and am I facing him?
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Sharing
Jesus last words on Earth were to his disciples, can be found in Matthew Chap 28 when Jesus told his disciples, “Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
Jesus calls all of us to share in his redemptive mission here on Earth. I would ask you to share this Scripture reflection with your family, your friends and your acquaintances, and then share it with a couple of individuals that you may may not be comfortable sharing with, keeping in mind always the words of Jesus, And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age
Author was assisted by AI in the drafting of this Post