Only one thing is necessary

 

My family and my closest friends know that I’m somewhat of a crossword puzzle junkie.  I complete the puzzles in the newspaper every day (in ink), and I always have one or two puzzle books or magazines on hand if I get too bored.  I often find some of the clues (or the answers) timely in relation to my daily scripture readings.  For instance, one of the clues in the first puzzle I did today was “Sackcloth partner.”  I chuckled at the Holy Spirit’s sense of timing, as the answer to the clue was in the Book of Jonah that I read this morning (Jonah 3:1-10).

After He cleared up Jonah’s “hesitancy” to do what he had told Jonah to do, the Lord took it once more from the start.  After his futile attempt to run away and after his rescue by God from the belly of the whale, Jonah heard the Lord say again, “Go preach repentance in Nineveh!”   And off he went.

We’re told that it should have taken three days just to cover the territory, so big was Nineveh.  But after a single day of work on Jonah’s part, the entire city (an “enormously large city”) repented in sackcloth and ashes (my crossword puzzle answer)!  It had nothing at all to do with Jonah’s effective preaching; the extraordinary conversion of that great mass of people had nothing to do with zeal on the part of Jonah.  The Lord wanted the city of Nineveh to convert from their sins and the Lord brought it about, despite a reluctant mouthpiece.  It was the power of the message, and not the messenger that brought about success.

For all of his reluctance, in the end Jonah did exactly what God told him to do: he preached God’s message, not his own.  Though we might prefer a more willing spirit as our example, Jonah provided all that was necessary for a successful mission in God’s sight: he did what God asked.

Another story that emphasizes this point is the well-known story of Martha and Mary, when Jesus visited them and their brother Lazarus at their home in Bethany (Luke 10:38-42).

“Only one thing is necessary....”

Some say the two sisters, Martha and Mary, symbolize two essential aspects of the Church: prayer and service.  Martha, busy about many things welcomed Jesus with her hands, and prepared for the meal.  Mary, like a rabbinic disciple, sat at Jesus’ feet and welcomed Him with a listening heart.  Both were doing “the one thing necessary,” listening to the word of God, but in separate ways.  Service without love won’t do.  Prayer without action will be deficient.  Holding these in balance can be a challenge for all of us.

Martha, distracted from the role of welcoming Jesus with her hands through service, wanted to pull Mary away from listening at the feet of Jesus.  She mirrors the tension between the two sons in the parable of the Prodigal Son: one dutiful in the tasks at hand, the other receiving the extravagant love and attention of the father (Luke 15:11–32).  It also helps us to realize that this episode in the Gospel of Luke, which focuses on the “one thing necessary” and choosing “the better part,” follows the story of the Good Samaritan, a pre-eminent example of the word of God in action (Luke 10:25-37).

I think that one of the most important questions we can ask at the start of each day is: “Lord, what do you want?  What do you want me to say, to do, today?  Jonah’s tale reminds us that God has some very definite wants and desires! 

“Blessed are they who have heard the word, embrace it with a generous heart, and bear fruit” (Luke 8:11-15).