After his conversion, St. Paul did not immediately meet with the approval of the Apostles. In fact, he did not even meet with any of them for three years. We hear about this in today's first reading from Galatians 1.
In our Gospel reading from Luke 10, we see the famous story of Mary and Martha. Martha is bothered by the fact that her sister was not helping with the serving. She says to Jesus, "Tell her to help me." But Jesus replies, "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."
There are two dimensions to the spiritual life - active and contemplative. Is Jesus saying here that the contemplative is more important (the better part) than the active? Yes. But the two are not to be mutually exclusive. We must do both. But Martha was serving while "anxious and worried about many things." Perhaps if she spent a bit more time and effort in contemplation, she would have brought greater peace into her service. The time spent quietly with the Lord will help to keep us more grounded and peaceful, and actually enhance our service.
Father, help us to remember the better part - spending quiet time with Christ - without forgetting the need to serve. May our service be filled with peace. Amen.
Learning the faith is an important part of our spiritual life. You can learn and help others learn with A Minute in the Church, available at www.GusLloyd.com.
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