Losing Focus

Quote from John Kleinig's essay, "Meditation" (Logia 10/2, 2001, 45-50)

Luke teaches us the elements of Christian meditation with the story of Mary and Martha in 10:38-42. Mary is the model for all those who meditate. She welcomed Jesus into her house, sat at his feet as his disciple and listened to his word. Her eyes were fixed on Jesus; her ears were attentive to him; she was open and receptive to him. Nothing distracted her from Jesus and what he had to say to her.

Martha stands in contrast to her. Whereas Jesus praises Mary, he criticises Martha. He does not criticise her, as some maintain, for busying herself with the preparation of the meal or for failing to sit at his feet like Mary; he chides her for yielding to anxiety and for concentrating in annoyance on her sister Mary as she prepared the meal for him.

Both Mary and Martha were in fact engaged in meditation, Mary by listening to Jesus and Martha by cooking the meal for him. The difference was that Martha lost her focus on Jesus and so missed out on the one thing needful. She was distracted from him by her anxiety and annoyance.

So then, whether we are activists like Martha or contemplatives like Mary, Jesus must be the focus of our meditation. Everything else is distraction.