Only one thing is needed.

When I was young, it seemed that most families had a series of traditional visits that were made during the Christmas season. In my case, we always went to my grandmother’s on Christmas Eve. A huge gathering of extended family would join us there. We’d have a feast, the adults would open their gifts, and we’d proceed to church for the midnight service. On Christmas morning, my grandparents would join us at our house, where the children would open gifts, followed by a special Christmas breakfast. We’d then make the rounds of other family members’ homes before joining together at the home of an aunt for a Christmas feast that still amazes me to remember: roast turkey, baked ham, scalloped potatoes, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, corn pudding, peas, cranberry sauce (at least two kinds), salad, mince pie, apple pie, pumpkin pie, and Lord knows what else would weight down the table… more than enough to feed a small village for a week, or so it seemed.

"Christmas Rush", by Norman Rockwell

Our families are more far-flung now, and the number of “traditional visits” has shrunk, but it is still so easy to get caught up in the Christmas rush. Writing and mailing cards, buying and wrapping presents, decorating the tree, preparing the menu… the list goes on and on. And in the midst of the frenetic activity, it’s all too easy to lose sight of what we’re preparing for. Preoccupied with preparation, we forget the Guest.

Not a new phenomenon at all. In fact, it happened during Jesus’ lifetime, as we see in Luke 10:38-42:

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

So let’s indeed “open our homes to him”. But remember Jesus’ words. Only one thing is truly needed. So in the midst of our Martha moments, let’s take time to emulate Mary, to sit at the Lord’s feet listening to him.

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By the way - Belle - please let me know how to contact you. If you post a comment that includes your email address, I promise not to approve it... but will email you after getting your address. I hate to put emails out on the web indiscriminately.