St. Luke 10:38-42; 11:27-28 (8/15) Gospel for
the Dormition of the Theotokos

Distractions: St. Luke 10:38-42; 11:27-28, especially vs. 40: "...Martha
was distracted with much serving...." The Evangelist Luke describes the
Lord Jesus enjoying hospitality from His friends Martha and Mary:
Martha is busy serving her guests, but becomes exasperated with Mary who
is not helping her. Our Lord then teaches about the pitfall of losing
focus while serving - this from Him Who exalted service to His future
Apostles: "whoever desires to become great among you shall be your
servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of
all." He points out that "...the Son of Man did not come to be served,
but to serve" (Mk. 10:43-45). How easy it is to be "distracted with
much serving," fall prey to the tyranny of the urgent, forget one's
purpose, and shift focus from the Lord to one's self.

The fact is that Martha, in welcoming the Lord into her home, fulfilled
the royal law of hospitality, a practice highly valued as a worthy act
of piety among the peoples of the Middle East. The great Patriarch
Abraham entertained the Lord God Himself in the theophany of the three
Angels (Gen. 18:1-8). Extending welcome to travelers and strangers
remains an esteemed act of piety (Ex. 2:20; Jdgs. 6:18). And the Lord
Jesus honored hospitality by blessing those who offered Him the comfort
of their homes (Mt. 9:10; Lk. 19:7; Jn. 2:2).

Martha's problem was not serving, but being "distracted by much serving"
(Lk. 10:40). A danger in worthwhile activity is letting that which
seems to be urgent crowd out the truly important matters of life. The
telephone, email, fax machines, and other means of rapid communication
breach the walls of our homes with constant and sometimes imperious
demands. Who does not know the reality of piles of unanswered mail,
unread books, prayerless days, and sleepless nights - all because of
allowing oneself to become a slave to the urgent?

Martha's shift in priorities became evident by the manner in which she
appealed to the Lord Jesus. She scolds: "Don't You care?....tell her to
help me!" (Lk. 10:40). The pressure of "the urgent" transformed
Martha's service into self-service. Was she most concerned about the
Lord and His teaching or herself as a hostess? What motivated Martha?
Was it the chance to be "a slave to all," or her own concerns with the
tasks of providing hospitality singlehandedly? St. Theophan the Recluse
points out how easily we can succumb to pleasing ourselves: the self
"seeks its own comfort and pleasure in all its doing, even the most
righteous and spiritual, and secretly and lustfully feeds on it as
though it were food."

Our gracious Savior and Lord corrects Martha, but also He warns us. He
indicates the best way in the situation. He calls attention to Mary's
choice of "...that good part, which will not be taken away from her"
(Lk. 10:42). Notice in the Lord's comment that Mary "chose" to sit at
His feet and to hear His word (Lk. 10:39, 42). If we are too quick to
heed the urgent, we are apt to succumb to its insistent voice! Be
watchful of little momentary demands that pester you for attention.
When we allow the urgent to tyrannize, we void our freedom in the Lord
and give away the power He graciously bestows upon us to live for His
glory.

Always, to choose the living word of the Lord is the "best part,"
because in so doing, He remains our highest priority. He continues to
be the center of life, and the One we actually serve - no matter the
task at hand. St. Theophan offers a suggestion: to keep peace in our
hearts when affliction and urgency would disturb us, incline the will
toward "God's will itself, then wish it and do it, but only because God
wishes it...only for His glory alone."

Direct us, O Lord, in all our doing with Thy most gracious favor, that
in all our works, begun, continued and ended in Thee, we may, by Thine
aid, serve and glorify Thee alone.