The Only Necessary Thing

Anyone out there busy? Yep, me too.
I was reminded of what Jesus had to say about busy-ness this week:

Now as they [Jesus & co.] went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me." But the Lord answered her, "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." Luke 8:38-42, NRSV

Oh Jesus. Thanks for that reminder.
I think that Martha gets a bad rap. I am sure that she was trying as hard as she could to be hospitable to her guests. I bet she was wanting to make sure they had good food and drink after their travels, a comfortable place to be in. These are not bad things. But they need to be balanced, and kept in perspective. While the "many things" we have to do might be valid things, we need to remember - there is need of only one thing. Time in the presence of our Lord.

I've tried to do that this week. I'm a to-do list person. I enjoy making the list, drawing little square boxes beside each item, and the satisfaction at the end of the day of all those little check marks. For some reason, I also enjoy making the list incredibly long, which can become overwhelming. This week, as I have looked at my lists, I have tried to keep in mind what Jesus has said - there is need of only one thing. As I have made a point of doing that thing first, I am amazed at how my perspective changes - the list is no longer quite as overwhelming, and I am getting a surprising amount accomplished, even though I am "loosing" almost an hour of productivity.

On a side note - there is a collection of Henri Nouwen's writings on prayer, titled "The Only Necessary Thing." This scripture reminded me of it, and I have been enjoying re-discovering it this week. I would highly recommend it.