Listening to God

I have been reflecting over the last week how I seek to work hard and then take my rest. There seem to be so many things to be done that I believe that all the good things that we enjoy in life are the fruit of my own labour. I find at times that in the midst of all my work that I may have missed out on something important and sometimes collapse under the weight of my own expectations. I often sympathise for Martha in the midst of the gospel because there seems to be a criticism of her endeavours to make things work out for the person of Jesus. 

Yet in the midst of this disappointment and frustration, I discover that Jesus is helping Martha to understand our primary calling is to listen for His Voice. This is not always easy especially in a culture which seeks to put merit and rewards on the work of our own hands. We can often be praised for the goals we set and achieve. What I hear Jesus saying to me is that I need to take time to rest and come aside to be with Him. Otherwise, the work I undertake may be solely looking for the fruits of my labours and the secret desire to be praised for all I have done. I can seek to draw attention to my own works at the expense of God's grace. I can start to believe that God's initiative builds on my work rather than being the source of my life. The subtle message can be is that I can earn God's love or even more forcefully that God is in my debt. Neither is true but they can trap us in a way of being which puts reliance on a relationship with God which focuses on ourselves at the centre.

In this situation, Jesus points to Mary not because she does no work but because she places the relationship with God at the centre of her life. This helps to shape who she is and what she seeks to become. She starts to notice that is in this relationship she discovers her true self. By discovering how she is called to be then she can direct her efforts to be present to him. I feel that this may be the greatest challenge in my life. I am called to work harder but rather to work in a way which reflects this relationship. The merit and rewards are not found in what I produce or the recognition I receive for my labours but rather who I become in the work I undertake. This shifts the balance of how I live out of a life of prayer. By listening to His Voice my life is no longer grounded solely on what I achieve but rather on how it gives substance to the person I seek to become. In this way, our work is an expression of this relationship rather than being the heart of our relationship. We give thanks not to idolise what we have done but rather the spirit of thanksgiving which draws closer to the origin of our life. Our work unfolds in the discovery of how we are called to become and sees that in all things we can cooperate with God for His greater glory and our greater good.