You are familiar with the expression ‘going like the hammers of hell’. We use it for a lot of things; to describe frenzied or relentless work; no stop; no let up. I’d imagine that most of you would agree with me when I say that our society has gone a bit like this. Our whole society is going like the hammers of hell. We don’t seem to know when to stop, or even how to stop. There is now no stop during the week. Sunday is the busiest shopping day of the week. That’s not just my opinion, the people in the stores will tell you that. Even apart from a religious point of view, this cannot be good for us. We need to be able to rest, to just stop and do nothing, or have a lazy day. We are not machines.
‘Martha, Martha, you worry and fret about so many things.’ Look at what Martha was saying to Jesus. ‘Can’t you see how much work there is to be done. Tell my sister to be busy too. She shouldn’t just be sitting there.’ But Jesus’ reply is interesting. He says that only one thing is necessary and that what Mary has chosen is the better part. He doesn’t just say that there is nothing wrong with her sitting and listening to him; he says it is necessary and that she shouldn’t be stopped from doing that. Stopping and listening is not just a nice idea, but it is necessary. Why is it so important?
There is an order to God’s creation. It works a certain way. The Commandments are what God tells us to do so that our society will work, as God intends it to work. Keep the Commandments and society will work as God intended it to. The third commandment that God gave us, is to keep the Sabbath, or Sunday, holy. Sunday replaced the Sabbath, because it is the day of the resurrection. It is to be a day of rest, where God is given priority. We take time to worship God, since everything we have comes from him. Without him we would not exist, and God asks us to acknowledge and worship him. God should be worshipped because God is God; but it is also a day where we can rest and recover. It says that on the seventh day of creation, God rested. Rest from toil is meant to be part of our life.
When the people of Israel (who represent all of us) were wandering through the desert, they had nothing to eat. So God provided them with manna, a food that they could collect each day, which sustained them. But He also told them that they should only collect enough for that day; but on the day before the Sabbath they should also collect enough for the Sabbath, so that they could rest and give God priority that day. To put it in modern English, He said do enough shopping on Saturday so that you don’t have to go shopping on Sunday. Sunday is to be a day of rest from unnecessary work, where we can worship God, relax, take a walk with family or friends. Why? because we need it. It is necessary for our sanity. It is part of the order that God created and God knows our needs better than we do.
God also asks us to rest so that we can stop and listen to him. I know that a lot of us often wish that God would speak to us more. The truth is that God is speaking to us all the time, but mostly we are not listening. Indeed, to a large degree we don’t even know how to listen any more, because we have gotten used to being so busy. You know the way in a lot of clothes stores, especially for younger people, you have loud music pumping. Do you know why that is? so that you get hyped up and don’t think as clearly. As a result you are more likely to buy more. That is a fact. Our society has become like that on a larger scale and that is one way that Satan is working against God’s people, upsetting the order that God has given us.
Up until a few years ago in Ireland, sports games and practices were never held on Sunday mornings, because they knew that was a time when people went to Church. Just a few years ago that changed and they started putting on games and training on Sunday mornings. The bishops asked them not to, but they ignored it. Satan is clever and knows that by putting parents under more pressure, it is harder for them to bring their kids to church. So even Sunday worship is being eroded. We have had parents tell us that they can’t bring their kids to religious education every Sunday, because they have games on, even when they are preparing for Holy Communion. Holy Communion is being reduced to the same level as other sports and interests. We must stand our ground and say, ‘No. We will worship the Lord and He will come first.’ Teaching your children that is a tremendous witness. If going to church on Sunday is disposable when other sports are on, what are you telling your children?
We must teach them that Sunday is not just another shopping day, but a day of worship and rest. ‘But everyone does it!’ That’s why we must be different, because we are Christian. We go by what the Lord teaches us, not by what society teaches us and that means we will be different.
In order to hear God speaking to us, we have to stop and listen. In the book of the Prophet Hosea, the Lord says, ‘I will lead her into the wilderness and there I will speak to her heart.’ (Hos 2:16). It also means that in prayer, while it is good to pray devotional prayers like the rosary and the Divine Mercy chaplet, it is also important to just stop and listen, so that we can hear what God has to say to us. Many people feel drawn to silence, but don’t know how to be silent. That’s also where any kind of method that helps us to be silent, can be a great help. Centering prayer is one method that I learnt and it’s just one way of helping you to be silent and rest in God’s presence. There are many other methods too.
In the western world, we are not good at just being silent. We live in a world of productivity and we don’t generally appreciate the value of being still. We see it as a waste of time. But it is not a waste of time. What could be more important than listening to God and Jesus himself says it is necessary and the better part. Stopping and listening is better than being productive. You might argue that you don’t have time to stop and listen. Even if it’s for ten minutes, or when you are driving to work, it is worthwhile. Turn off the radio and be quiet. Speak to God and share your thoughts with him. You will find that God has lots to say to you. That’s also why we try and be quiet in the church before the mass. It is not just a time to socialize, but to prepare for meeting and listening to God.
‘What would God have to say to me?’ you might wonder. If God has created us and loves us intimately and wants us to reach eternal life with him and was willing to die for us, then God has a lot to say to us. He wants to guide and teach us, just like any parent does. The more you give yourself to God, the more God will speak to you. You will be amazed at what the Lord will teach you. God also helps us to make sense of why we are created and what our purpose on earth is. Reading the Scriptures is also a great way to hear what God has to say to us. If we don’t stop and listen, then the only values that we will hear are those of our society, which for the most part are the opposite to what God teaches us.
‘Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part. It will not to be taken from her.’
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