DO NOT BE DISTRACTED BY CHERI HOLDRIDGE (with an assist by Kurt Young)

In the middle of the night on Feb 8, 1989 I got a phone call. My sister told me that my father had died. I didn’t even know he was sick. He had gone into the hospital that day but my mom did not think it was serious so she had not called me and my sisters. Two of us lived across the country and one lived in South America. My dad was 61. I was 26. He was too young to die. I was too young to lose my father. 

But there I was, flying home to Texas. A young seminary student planning my first funeral. Trudging through grief. Feeling numb. I remember saying that it felt like there was no blood running through my veins. I grieved with a vengeance. I felt all the feelings. A week or two later, back in Atlanta where I was living at the time, I was sitting in a church Board Meeting. I don’t remember what we were discussing but I remember thinking, “None of this matters. This is not important. My father just died.” But that’s what happens when there is a death. Your world stops, but the rest of the world just keeps moving forward. 

I held onto God for dear life. I prayed. I sat in silence. I asked “why?” “Why me?” “Why him?” “Why now?” God sent me comfort in the form of compassionate friends. People offered me words of consolation. Friends gave me hugs and comfort food. 

I don’t know how I got my school work done that semester. Somehow I managed. I worked at a church and the pastor was compassionate and patient with me. I could not “do” anything. All I could do was “be.” I could only “be” with God and grieve. I had to rest in God’s arms and know that God would see me through. And of course God did see me through to the other side of my grief. I got better. The pain subsided in time. Life went on. I miss my dad, but grief no longer holds me in its grip. 

I call that time in my life a Kairos moment, – a moment in time that was an event; a moment when God breaks into our lives. The Celtics call these moments “thin places.” Thin places are those times and places where heaven and earth meet. 

A Kairos moment, is a time when in an instant, you stop dead in your tracks because God gets your attention. Perhaps like me, you suffer a great tragedy and you turn to God. Or perhaps you see a person show great compassion, and that gets your attention. A Kairos moment can happen when you see something beautiful, or puzzling, when you are frightened or grateful, and you remember to pay attention to God, and you reflect if even for a moment on what God might have to say to you in this moment. My father’s death was for me a Kairos moment. I was drawn closer to God, and forever changed.

I want to take you back now 2000 years to that other story we just read (Luke 10:38-42 for those following along on the Internet). The scene is Bethany, a village on the East side of Jerusalem in what is today known as part of the West Bank. Jesus has traveled to there to visit his friends, perhaps to get away from the busyness of the city. This is during a time when Jesus is traveling from village to village, telling stories, healing the sick and sharing the good news.

Sometimes, as with last week’s story, religious leaders are asking questions and trying to trip him up. “What do I need to do to get eternal life?” “Love God and your neighbor,” Jesus says. “And who is my neighbor?” the man says. Jesus tells the story of the Samaritan, the “outsider” who shows compassion, as a way of teaching that his followers will treat EVERYONE as a neighbor. 

So, Jesus goes to visit his friends Mary and Martha who are the sisters of Lazarus. So the story goes, there is quite a contrast in the way the two sisters relate to Jesus in his brief visit in their home. Both welcome him.  But Martha is distracted by working in the kitchen to prepare a nice meal. Mary, sits at the feet of her teacher and “hangs on every word he says.” A bit of sibling rivalry kicks in. I’ve never heard of sibling rivalry. Martha calls upon Jesus to scold her sister: “Master, can’t you tell Mary to help me in the kitchen. She has left me to do all the work!”

Jesus looks at Martha and says: “Chill! You are stressing out about unimportant stuff. It doesn’t matter what we eat. Mary has chosen to pay attention to the main course. This moment will never be taken from her.”

You see Mary had a Kairos moment – that moment in time when God breaks into our lives. She was not going to be distracted by the things of this world. She could only focus on BEING in the moment with Jesus. 

Mary was not going to waste one moment of that visit. She was going to drink in every moment of the experience sitting at Jesus’ feet and taking in his presence. Poor Martha could not relax and enjoy the Kairos moment. She was too tied up in her responsibilities, and DOING so many things. 

And Martha got jealous that Mary was enjoying the moment with Jesus. Jesus invited Martha to choose the moment too. But Martha could not. Sometimes, we have the opportunity of choosing our moment with God. 

Other times, like when my father died, a crisis is thrust upon us. Hopefully in that crisis we will remember to put our trust in God rather than panic and think we can only depend on ourselves. 

But you see Mary listened to Jesus because she knew that Jesus would teach her the way to life eternal. I listened to God in my grief because I felt like I was dying too, and I needed to find my way back to life. 

We all have opportunities to stop DOING, and to just BE in the presence of God. Sometimes these opportunities come in the form of a Kairos moment, something that stops us dead in our tracks and calls us into the presence of God. But we can choose to stop any time, like Mary did. We can choose to slow down and BE in the presence of God, by taking a walk in nature and paying attention to the beauty of God’s creation. We can choose to slow down and BE in the presence of God by sitting still and lighting a candle and contemplating God as the light that shines in our darkness. We can choose to slow down and BE in the presence of God by closing our eyes and breathing in the spirit of God. 

We are all so good at DOING so many things like Martha. But how many of us know how to slow down and just BE like Mary? To BE in the present moment and just be thankful for the moment is the hardest thing for me, how about you? But to BE in the present moment and be thankful that we belong to God can be one of life’s biggest blessings. 

       Is it hard for you to slow down and BE in God’s presence? Do you have a daily prayer ritual? I know my life is so much calmer when I start my days with prayer. Sometimes I read scripture or read something in a book of spiritual writings. 

Sometimes I write in a journal. Sometimes I light a candle to remind me that God is my light. But the most important thing I can do is to be still and listen to God. God always gives me a reassuring message when I am quiet. These are my Kairos moments, when God breaks into my world. 

It is so easy to become distracted by so many other things: to do lists, dirty dishes in the kitchen sink, phone calls that need to be made, e mails, Pokemon Go and Facebook. All of those things can wait. Those are the things Martha busied herself with. Jesus said, “Martha, don’t worry about those things of the world. Be like Mary. Sit at my feet and listen to me.” 

Sometimes a crisis, such as a death, will drive us closer to God. In our turmoil we turn to God. But let’s not wait until it’s an emergency. Let’s turn to God every day, to start the day.

      

Don’t be distracted by many things. Only one thing is important. Let’s focus your attention on God. Give God your time. Be in God’s presence. Just as Mary was blessed by Jesus, you will be blessed by God. Amen.