 We're used to kind of making fun of this story, right? Martha's kind of the type A person, and, you know, busy, and Mary's kind of like the slacker. But contemplative. Obviously, there's more to it than this, right? It says, Martha was distracted with much serving. I know in the other texts it said burdened with much serving. In this translation, she was distracted with much serving. And it's so wonderful to be around people who are used to hearing like Bible stuff. Because I can say this, but not get a totally blank stare. Alright? So this verb is in the middle voice, which in the Greek language, it allows for a reading that's reflexive. So another way we could say this is that Martha was distracting herself with much serving. And Jesus reveals that later because she, you know, he knows that what she's doing is a symptom of something. And Jesus in a few verses, he's going to diagnose it. And then he's going to offer the prescription, the cure. But this distracting herself captures my imagination. How many of you have ever heard of the kind of state of life or state of being that a person can be in that's described as FOMO? F-O-M-O? Okay. With fear of a different generation, you would probably understand this. You may be afflicted by it and you don't even know. It's called fear of missing out. So that you've heard of, right? The fear of missing out. And we see that a lot, especially in the younger generation, but many parents suffer that too. It drives a lot of parents to get their children into all these different activities because of the fear of missing out. It's an existential fear. It's not just, you know, because it's about, like, especially for a parent, it's a real fear. I've got to get my kid into the right school. I've got to get him into the right university. They've got to get the right grades. They've got to have a good resume. And so the kids are pressured into all these things. Why? Because the parents are afraid that they'll miss out. It's an existential thing. A colleague of mine in Detroit, she works with me on Catechetics, and she would describe me how her daughter is. Every time she goes on Facebook, she gets depressed because she sees all her friends living these incredible lives, you know. They're out rock climbing or fishing or traveling or they've just got this amazing new job and they're just engaged in a start-up or they found this wonderful new restaurant and she's just bombarded with all these activities of all her friends and she feels like, I'm left out somehow. There's something existential going on with Martha. She's distracting herself from something deeper. And she expresses it a little more clearly when she says to Jesus, do you not care that my sister is not helping me? That's a distraction. But there's a question. Do you not? We're getting deeper into the symptom. Distracting herself is covering something up. It's covering up that existential need. Does my life have any meaning to it? Does nobody care? Am I valued for who I am and what I do? It's not that she's just working hard. It's not that she's just petulant and irritated by her lazy sister. There's a cry of the heart. Unfortunately, she's addressing that cry of the heart to somebody who can understand it and somebody that can do something with it. So Jesus offers the diagnosis. Martha. Martha. It's interesting. In the Scripture, when Jesus or when God repeats a name, Abraham, Abraham, there's a challenge about to come. Something. Something is going to be, something new is going to enter your life. You are anxious and troubled about many things. You're anxious. You're lacking hope. You're lacking the peace that comes from hope. You're troubled. Trouble doesn't just mean you've got indigestion. Again, it's something bigger. The word comes from to throw into commotion, to start a riot. It's a huge upheaval going on in her life because she has no foundation. She hasn't found the one foundation. But Jesus identifies her need because it is a need. She needs to know that, yes, you are cared for. Yes, there is meaning to your life. Yes, you have a future that's secure. She needs that. And I just love Father Louis last night identifying that we all have needs and we know who to express those needs to. She hadn't quite gotten around to that, but Jesus takes the initiative. You have a need. And he said, there is one thing that is a need. She thinks there's many. That's why she's distracting herself because she can't focus on one thing. She's trying all these different things. Maybe this is going to satisfy me. Maybe this is going to bring me fulfillment. Maybe, you know, if I travel, I'll have a sense of the broader world. Maybe if I get the right job, there's going to be some meaning in my life. There's one need. The chosen the good portion which will not be taken away from her. Jesus is making a big reference here. The chosen portion. That word portion is connected to the word and inheritance. It's used in the Old Testament of the inheritances of Israel. Described in numbers. When God said, cast by lot in a portion the inheritances to the twelve tribes according to the lot. What's the lot? It's the lottery. What does it express? Express that God is choosing for each of the tribes this portion of the land that will not just be, you know, a piece of land, but it's God's tangible hope. God's tangible provision for his people because the land means, for one thing, sustenance. As soon as they began to eat from the fruit of the land, the manna ceased. What was manna? Manna was the provision in the wilderness. Now as God is giving them a tangible hope, the land. But it's also about meaning because the land is their work. They have meaningful work. They found in certain ways their vocation, how they express their care of the land is part of God's plan for them. And it's embedded in relationships. Something that our society is so sorely lacking. The inheritance secures our hope. Later on in the Scripture, well actually in the original apportioning of the land, there was one tribe that didn't get a portion. You guys all know what that one was? Thank you. It's wonderful to preach to folks like you. So, because I probably would have, you know, from a parish I might have heard like, oh, Samaritans. So, whatever. No judgment. Psalm 16 verse 5. The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup. You hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places. Indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. It's the inheritance of the Levite. The Lord is the chosen portion. And that's what Jesus is saying to Martha. Martha, or to Martha about Mary. Mary's found the chosen portion. The portion that was chosen for her. When God apportioned the inheritances. God has apportioned for Martha the same hope, the same inheritance, the same portion. That lot that He's apportioned to each one of us who have come to faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus is our hope. Jesus is the one that answers the question, am I valued? He paid us the ultimate price for you. Are you valued? Yes. Infinitely valued. Beyond price, as your life had meaning. Your son, your daughter of the king. Yes, your life has meaning. What about my future? What's the future hold? Salvation, guarded in heaven for you. Jesus is the good portion. Jesus is the portion chosen for each and every individual. Each one that is distracting Him or herself with countless numbers of activities is still not finding meaning. Where will I find a place where I'm known, where I'm loved, where I'm connected? Jesus community, the church. We have the great opportunity to touch our tangible hope. Jesus in the Eucharist. Jesus, our provision, our sustenance, our meaning, and our hope. Just leave behind distraction. Give up anxiety and embrace the tangible hope that is Jesus. If you too might find meaning, hope, and secure knowledge that you are infinitely valued by that same Jesus.