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Many of you will be familiar with the story of Martha and Mary in Luke 10:38-42. Martha is busy with "many tasks", we are told. Mary, on the other hand, sits at Jesus' feet to hear His teachings. Martha finally gets fed up with Mary not helping and asks Jesus if He doesn't care that her sister has left everything that needs to be done with Martha. But Jesus tells her that it is Mary who has chosen "the better part" by sitting and listening to Him.
Now if I had a dime for every time someone told me how much they relate to Martha in this story, I would be rich. And yes, there are many things we all need to do and get done, and I am grateful to the many people in the church who take care of all those many tasks.
But we can be a little too caught up with those tasks sometimes, so caught up that we forget that learning and, more specifically, discernment are the more important things. How can we know what it is we are supposed to be doing if we don't take the time to listen? How can we even continue moving forward in our tasks if we do not take the time to rest?
If we are to be good actors and doers in the world, we also need to take the time to listen and discern what it is that God is saying to us. Stop, listen, think, and then go out and act. In this way, we can truly do the work God has given us to do.