Stop and Listen: Luke 10v38-42

"Things need to get done around here."

It is a fact of life that there are chores to be done round the house and most people like to have snacks and stuff available when company is over and of course the house can't look anything like it does on a regular basis when you have guests.

There comes a time when these things need to fade into the background, when the things we are typically so concerned with need to acknowledge the presence of God and his judgements. The Revelation of St. John goes so far as to put it like this; "Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them." When you receive Jesus into your house, that is...your person, he is excited when hospitality is shown, when he is greeted with thanksgiving and praise, tears of repentance and wondrous emotion...just look at his reaction to those who received him in some of the other stories, or even perhaps your own story. The Lord, however, has come to your house for a purpose. He has been sent into the world to save the world and not to condemn it. So should we not gather round to hear his judgements, remember His wonders which He has done, His marvels and the judgments uttered by His mouth? Indeed, Mary chose the better portion. In reflecting on some research put out by efficiency experts, a pastor recently put it like this, there comes a time to chose the important over the urgent.

So may we seek the Word of God in our lives and in doing so find His great wonders worked out in our individual and community life, that His grace towards us may not be in vain, but that we should become the covenant faithfulness of God in the world. May we chose the better portion and know when to let even heaven and earth flee, that we might mount up on wings like eagles, hearing and seeing the Word of God. Amen

The way of the righteous is smooth;
O Upright One, make the path of the righteous level.
Indeed, while following the way of Your judgments, O LORD,
We have waited for You eagerly;
Your name, even Your memory, is the desire of our souls.
At night my soul longs for You,
Indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently;
For when the earth experiences Your judgments
The inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.