Gen.
18:1-10a; Col. 1:24-8; Lk. 10:38-42
In
every corner of the earth, Special Olympics are changing the lives of people
with intellectual disabilities.
In Los Angeles
Special Olympics participants prepared for the 50 meters running race. The
starter’s gun fired and off the contestants raced. As they rushed toward the finish line
one boy left the track and started running toward his friends standing in the infield. Ken blew his whistle, trying to get the boy to come back to the track, but all to no avail.
Then one of the other
competitors, a Down syndrome girl with thick bottle glasses noticed it. She
stopped just short of the finish line and called out to the boy, “Stop, come
back, this is the way.” Hearing the voice of her friend the boy stopped
and looked. “Come back, this is the way” she called. The boy stood there,
confused. His friend, realizing he was confused, left the track and ran over to
him. She linked arms with him and together they ran back to the track and
finished the race. They were the last to cross the line, but were greeted by
hugs from their fellow competitors and a standing ovation from the crowd.
The downs syndrome
girl with the bottle glasses taught everyone present that day an important life
lesson. Never lose priorities in life.
In today’s Gospel
Jesus speaks about the importance of observing priorities. "Now
as Jesus and his disciples went on their way, he entered a certain village,
where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named
Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he was saying.” When
Martha complained about Mary Jesus answered her, 'Martha, Martha, you are
worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary
has chosen the better part.”
Today we are living
in a fast moving world. Everyone is busy, and there is no time.
William Henry Davies in his poem “Leisure” depicts
the condition of our world.
What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.
No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.
No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
Unless we are able to
put God and family in the priority list life will become meaningless. The
easiest thing we find to cancel is attending church services and family prayer
time. Like Martha we get involved in many things. Everything will look equally
or more important. This happens because we are not able to find our priorities.
Moses was convinced that without God’s
presence in his life it was useless for him to attempt anything. When he spoke
face to face with the Lord, he stated boldly, “If your presence go not with me,
carry us not up hence” (Exodus 33:15). He was saying, “Lord, if you’re not with
us, we’re not going to make it. We won’t take a single step unless we are
assured of your presence.” Moses knew it was God’s presence among them that set
them apart from all other nations. The same is true of God’s people today. The
only thing that makes us different from others should be God’s presence “with
us,” leading us, guiding us, working his will in and through us.
God promised Joshua that no enemy could
stand against him when his presence was with him: “There shall not any man be
able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I
will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Be strong and of a
good courage” (Joshua 1:5–6).
God told Gideon, “The Lord is with
thee, thou mighty man of valour … Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save
Israel” (Judges 6:12, 14). The phrase “thy might” refers to the previous verse:
“The Lord is with thee.” God is saying, “Gideon, there is a might in you so
powerful it can save Israel. That might is my presence.” Although
Gideon considered himself a coward, God calls him a “mighty man of valour.” The
Lord wanted to prove what any person can do when his presence is with him.
So our first priority
in life should be God and his presence in our life.
A university
professor used to begin his first class each year by saying, “I am about to
teach you the most important thing you’ll learn during your entire stay at this
august institution.” He pulled out a large glass jar from and set it on a
table in front of him. Then he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and
carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar.
When the jar was
filled to the top he asked, “Is this jar full?”
Everyone in the class
said, “Yes.”
Then he said,
“Really?” He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel, dumped
some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work themselves
down into the spaces between the big rocks.
Then he smiled and
asked the group once more, “Is the jar full?” By this time the class was onto
him.
“Probably not,” one
of them answered.
“Good!” he replied.
And he reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started
dumping the sand in and it went into all the spaces left between the rocks and
the gravel. Once more he asked the question, “Is this jar full?”
“No!” the class shouted.
Once again he said, “Good!” Then he grabbed a jug of water and began to pour it
in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked up at the class and
asked, “What is the point of this illustration?”
One eager beaver
raised his hand and said, “The point is, no matter how full your schedule is,
if you try really hard, you can always fit some more things into it!”
Another said, “The
water came last. So no matter how busy you are there’s always time for a
drink.”
“No,” the professor
replied, “that’s not the point. The point is this: If you don’t put the big
rocks in first, you’ll never get them in at all. Make sure you get the big
rocks into your life first.”
When God’s Spirit is present with us,
we can be strong and courageous because we trust his promise to go with us in
all our ways.
For everyone the
second thing in the priority list should be the family. We must be able to
spend quality time with the family. That will bring out greater bond between husband
and wife, better understanding among parents and children, and stronger unity
and love among children. All the parents should reflect if they are able to
give time to their children.
A businessman who worked very long
hours arrived home one evening to find his 7 year old son waiting for him at
the door. “Daddy?”
“Yeah?” replied the man.
“Daddy, how much money do you make an hour?
“Well son, I don’t really think that’s any business
of yours” the man said.
“Please daddy, please tell me, how much do you make
an hour?” pleaded the little boy.
“If I tell you, you must promise you won’t tell
anybody else”
“I promise” said the little boy.
“Alright then” said his father. “I make $150.00 an
hour.”
“Oh,” the little boy replied. He looked
a little sad, then said “Daddy, may I borrow $20.00 please?”
His father was furious. “If the only
reason you wanted to know how much money I make is so you can borrow some you
can go straight off to bed!”
The little boy burst into tears and
made his way to his room. After an hour or so the father had calmed down and went
to his son’s room. “I’m sorry for being so hard on you earlier son. If you tell
me what you wanted the $20 for and it’s a worthwhile thing I’ll think about
giving it to you.”
The little boy ran across the room to
his piggy bank and counted out all its contents, exactly $130.00.
“$130.00, that’s a lot of money son.
Surely that’s enough for what you wanted to buy” said the father.
“Well with the $20 you’ll give me it
will be” the little boy replied. “I’d like to buy an hour of your
time.”
It is a reality in many families. If the
children get an option they will definitely make offers to buy the time of
their parents.
Once the importance of God and family are set
at the right place in the priority list everything else will follow. That
will be the best practical lesson children will experience in their life.
Satish