Dear sisters and brothers,

This Sunday we find ourselves in Martha’s house, overhearing a little domestic tiff with her sister, Mary, and which Martha asks Jesus to adjudicate. Jesus’ response to Martha’s grievance is to say that there is a time and place for everything, and Mary’s zen-like repose is “the better part”. Jesus offers no help to parents who attempt to negotiate a better performance from their children around the home —“but Jesus says that I can just sit here while everyone else does all the work!”
There is a time and place for pause and reflection. It is not only “the better part” but also “the necessary part”. Something in our human nature seeks ways to discover “truth”; to take time to consider the universe and our place in it, and to respond to the yearning that draws us beyond ourselves and ponder things of “ultimate concern”. We can pretend that these questions don’t exist, and be busy about all sorts of things. No matter how busy we make ourselves, the questions don’t go away.
So how do we choose “the better part” – to take time for reflection and spiritual development? There are many ways, but reading is a time-honoured source of enlightenment and renewal. Books on spirituality abound and remains a source of interest in our secular society. In our parish, we have an excellently maintain library. If you haven’t visited the library for a while, choose “the better part” and come in and browse this weekend. The books are there to be borrowed, so please make use of this parish resource as a way of exploring the depths of the spirit.

The other side of the story is Martha. Jesus wasn’t saying that service is unimportant. Jesus was emphasising that contemplation and service — prayer and action — go hand-in-hand. With that in mind, over the coming weeks we will be calling for nominations for our parish pastoral council. As has been mentioned previously, with the new installation of a council, we will also change the name to Community and Mission Council to give clearer focus and tighter agenda to our work. I ask you to consider either nominating yourself or others for service to our parish through becoming a member of the Community and Mission Council. We often take many things for granted or underestimate what we have to offer one another. I invite you to take some time to reflect on whether you or someone that you know might have something to bring to this table of parish service.

Fr. Anthony