Worry, Anxiety, and Listening
Photo by Joice Kelly on Unsplash.
What are you worried and anxious over? Is it easier or more difficult to hear God when you are worried or anxious?
When we are overly busy, worried, or anxious, it can be difficult to hear from God or to be present with Jesus.
In chapter ten of Luke’s gospel account Jesus’ friends Martha and Mary offered hospitality to Jesus while he was traveling.
Luke tells us “Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching.” (Luke 10:38-39, ESV).
In the first century Jewish culture hospitality was important. It was an honor to have a rabbi—a teacher to enter under your roof and to provide for them and to hear their teaching. It was common for men to sit at the rabbi’s feet and to listen to them as the women and servants make preparations and served.
Luke tells us “Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to [Jesus] and said, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.’ But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.’” (Luke 10:40-42, ESV).
Like Martha, our serving Jesus can interfere with our being with Jesus and listening to his word. We can become frustrated when we are overly busy and distracted and we can experience loneliness and isolation from God and others. We can be unfocused because of many good things that keep us from sitting at our rabbi Jesus’ feet and hearing his word.
Our busyness, anxieties, and troubles over so many things can cause fear, anger, and resentment within us that can take away our joy and peace in serving and our opportunity to receive from Jesus.
While many teachers and the patriarchal culture of Jesus’ day would have insisted on traditional roles of women serving and men sitting at the feet of their rabbi, Jesus welcomed Mary to sit at his feet and to hear his word as his disciple. Mary chose this one important and eternal posture of sitting, listening, and learning from Jesus—her rabbi.
May we abandon our busyness, our frenetic worries, our anxieties, and our troubles and choose to sit at Jesus’ feet and be present as we listen and learn from him.
A Prayer for Trustworthiness in Times of Worry and Anxiety: “Most loving Father, you will us to give thanks for all things, to dread nothing but the loss of you, and to cast all our care on the One who cares for us. Preserve us from faithless fears and worldly anxieties, and grant that no clouds of this mortal life may hide from us the light of that love which is immortal, and which you have manifested unto us in your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” (#80, Book of Common Prayer, 2019).
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Photo by Joice Kelly on Unsplash.
