In yesterday's gospel we heard of the visit of Jesus to Martha and Mary. We saw the different sides of the sisters; Mary showed us her relationship to Jesus and Martha the value of service to others. In today's gospel, one of the disciples asks Jesus to teach them to pray and he taught them the Our Father. I see the same two aspects that we learnt from Mary and Martha. The first phrases refer to the mystical side, that is our relationship to God. We are to recognize him as our Father and to honour him as Mary listened to Jesus. But the Lord's prayer then leads us from praising the Father to praying that his will be done in the reality of our world. Suddenly our hearts become heavy with sadness as we remember all the suffering that is going on in our world today. Gaza and Lebanon stand out among so many wars and disasters but we try to maintain our hope as we beg for the coming of God's kingdom of peace and justice. We know that it has left so many people in situations of starvation and so we continue as Jesus taught us to pray that all may receive the daily bread and the other food they need as Martha provided for Jesus. It is difficult to forgive those rulers who are causing so much suffering but we can pray that world pressure will cause them to repent and change their ways. Finally we pray for ourselves so that we may overcome temptations in our own lives to show that peace, mutual support and love is possible as Jesus lived it in his life. As we sit in prayer with Jesus like Mary may we find ways to serve our neighbour like Martha.
Don Hornsey
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