There is a saying that if you want something done ask a busy person. However, this can be a double-edged sword because a person who is busy may find it difficult to reflect on what occupies their time and whether it gives full expression to who they are called to be. Unrelenting activity is not healthy for any person and at times can actually lead them away from the very person they want to be. They start to identify more with what they do rather than who they are called to be. An unreflective life calls us to be caught up in the winds beyond our control rather than harnessing those winds to give direction and purpose to our lives.
The Gospel of Martha and Mary is often presented as a contrast between the contemplative and active life. However, what seems to be stressed is the importance of the one thing that gives our lives direction and meaning. Mary in listening to Jesus is not finding a way out of work but rather a way of being present to the work she may be called upon to perform. Her life discovers meaning in listening to and becoming familiar with the voice of Jesus. So too for us, our lives are not necessarily solely about what we do but how we are present to what we are doing. By listening to the voice of Jesus we find what brings us life so that we can bring life to all that we do.
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