Move A Bit Closer To Our Maker

First reading: Genesis 18:1-10
The Lord appeared to Abraham at the Oak of Mamre while he was sitting by the entrance of the tent during the hottest part of the day. He looked up, and there he saw three men standing near him. As soon as he saw them he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them, and bowed to the ground. ‘My lord,’ he said ‘I beg you, if I find favour with you, kindly do not pass your servant by. A little water shall be brought; you shall wash your feet and lie down under the tree. Let me fetch a little bread and you shall refresh yourselves before going further. That is why you have come in your servant’s direction.’ They replied, ‘Do as you say’.

Abraham hastened to the tent to find Sarah.’ ‘Hurry,’ he said ‘knead three bushels of flour and make loaves.’ Then running to the cattle Abraham took a fine and tender calf and gave it to the servant, who hurried to prepare it. Then taking cream, milk and the calf he had prepared, he laid all before them, and they ate while he remained standing near them under the tree.

‘Where is your wife Sarah?’ they asked him. ‘She is in the tent’ he replied. Then his guest said, ‘I shall visit you again next year without fail, and your wife will then have a son’. Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent behind him.

Second Reading: Colossians 1:24-28
It makes me happy to suffer for you, as I am suffering now, and in my own body to do what I can to make up all that has still to be undergone by Christ for the sake of his body, the Church. I became the servant of the Church when God made me responsible for delivering God’s message to you, the message which was a mystery hidden for generations and centuries and has now been revealed to his saints. It was God’s purpose to reveal it to them and to show all the rich glory of this mystery to pagans. The mystery is Christ among you, your hope of glory: this is the Christ we proclaim, this is the wisdom in which we thoroughly train everyone and instruct everyone, to make them all perfect in Christ.

Gospel: Luke 10:38-42
In the course of their journey Jesus came to a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. She had a sister called Mary, who sat down at the Lord’s feet and listened to him speaking. Now Martha who was distracted with all the serving said, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister is leaving me to do the serving all by myself? Please tell her to help me.’ But the Lord answered: ‘Martha, Martha,’ he said ‘you worry and fret about so many things, and yet few are needed, indeed only one. It is Mary who has chosen the better part; it is not to be taken from her.’

Reflection
By Anabelle Payod-Balla

This Sunday’s gospel reminded me again to slow down a bit. To take time to relax and spend really precious time with my loved ones with my mind fully focused on them and not wandering about, worrying of so many things I need to do.

Yep, I think about too many things I need to do and I can go on all day working and moving around without pausing enough to absorb the goodness of my surrounding. I am a restless person, I can’t stand inactivity. I even do multiple things at the same time. Yes, I live a very fast paced life, just like what has been shown in the movie “Click”. I feel like my life is a race, always chasing time, always on the run. I have a long TO DO list everyday at work and at home. And my reason? I am a mother of three students and I have a demanding job that keeps me really busy. That’s my excuse and I thought what I am doing is the right thing to do.

Then one day, I realized that my daughters are now a bit grown up and they seem to have acquired some of the values and behaviors of our nannies. This is so because they spend most of their time with them. We seldom sit together for a good duration of time to just talk and enjoy each other’s company. Yes, we spend time together but mostly to watch movie, do homeworks or other activities that keep us all busy, our attention is not with one another but on something else.

I know then that I needed to change my everyday routine. I jot down what are most important to me and start putting in more time into them. I now try to spend a good amount of time listening to the stories of my kids and be deliberate in sharing my life and experiences in order to guide them in decision making or how to view things around us. I believe that they will learn more from me, will get to know me better, and will love me more likely as we increase the number of happy moments we spend together.

I am certain that this is true with God as well. If we spend more time with Him, we will become closer to Him and will understand Him better. Abraham knew this that is why in the First Reading, he was so excited and welcoming when He saw God coming and offered Him food and drink.

Time with God is most important for our souls need His nourishment in order to have renewed strength deep within. Let’s spend more time with God, grow in His love and be more like Him each day. Let’s move a bit closer to Him inviting our brothers and sisters as we go along, following the advise from the Second Reading: to preach Christ and teach everyone through wisdom (Colossians 1:28).

Father, please help us to be wise, direct us to what we should prioritize. Help us to spend more time on things that matter most. Inspire us to spend moments with You each day, our dear Lord. Never let us go astray, but always keep us close. Amen.

Move a bit closer to our Maker. Spend time with Him everyday!