I can remember being a young 7th or 8th grader. Our school was in Central Florida and in the 60’s, it did not have air conditioning. There were swing out crank windows from ceiling to almost the floor. They would open out and ventilate the room. I tried really hard to keep my attention on the math lesson, but I could hear the other students out on the playground or something as simple as a dragonfly flying around outside would distract me and before long, I was swinging on the swings or flying around with the dragonfly. It is easy to lose focus on what is important.

Jesus was in Bethany, near Jerusalem, and was in the house of Martha, a friend of Jesus. Martha, Mary and Lazarus were sisters and brother and were friends of Jesus. While Jesus was there, Mary was sitting by his feet listening to him teach and Martha was busy with meal preparations. One task was urgent and another important. The urgent task can hijack the important one every time, if we let it. Jesus shares about the two and it is a lesson on what we can do to stay on the mission.