If this were to happen to any one of us and we were given the opportunity to live the last eight hours over, I wonder if we might slow down a little; take time to smell the roses, as they say. Might we take a little more time to chat with a friend, pay a little more attention to the kids, or just simply relax a little?

Would we have fussed less over getting something "just right," or worried less over certain problems that we couldn't do anything about anyway. I wonder what our answer would be if we were able to ask ourselves the question, "How important were the goals and problems I spent my last hours on?"

This all leads me to ask myself, "What are the real priorities in my life?" When I’m so involved in something that I can think of nothing else, am I missing out on something more important? Are the priorities that I seem to think are the biggies of my life really the most important? Do they qualify as something on which I’d like to spend the last eight hours of my life?

Unfortunately, my answer is all too often that the problems and priorities I spend my time on are definitely not the ones I would be doing if I were living my last day on earth. Not that what I do isn't important, but my problem is that I sometimes get so swallowed up by what I’m doing that I miss something more important that’s going on in my life. In other words, I can’t see the forest for the trees. Sometimes, I even miss the fact that there is a more effective way to live and to deal with those things that I am working on.

In his sermon on the mount, Jesus tells us not to be anxious about what we are going to eat, drink or wear. It isn't that we don't need these things. Jesus acknowledges that fact. But he goes on to say that we need to seek first God's kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be ours as well. If we seek the kingdom of God and God's righteousness, the other things will come to us. We really don't have to obsess over them.

Paul says in his letter to the Romans, "...if God is for us, who is against us?" All through Scripture we are told of the free gift of God's grace. We are offered God's love and protection, but every once in awhile we need a reminder to slow down and enjoy the peace that comes with his gift of grace. Today's Gospel is one of those reminders.

Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem where he was going to die. He came to a village where Martha and Mary lived and went to their home for a short visit. When Jesus entered the house Martha began to scurry around preparing dinner and, I can well imagine, trying to make everything perfect. She wanted to make everything just right for Jesus. In the meantime Mary quietly sat at Jesus' feet, listening to him teach and savoring the moment.

Now, I'm sure Martha was getting a little excited because she wanted everything just right. It most certainly added to her excitement when Martha felt she needed Mary to help her and Mary was doing nothing but sitting there listening to Jesus. I’m sure Martha's heart was in the right place, but I think she had her priorities a little mixed up.

So now, Jesus, seeing Martha's anxiety, said, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious about many things; only one thing is needful." Jesus was telling Martha to slow down and relax, that there are more important things than having a perfect meal. Jesus wanted Martha to know that Mary had chosen the more important. She had chosen that which couldn't be taken away from her and which was far more lasting than a simple meal. In another one of the Gospels, the Gospel of John, Jesus said to the people from Tiberias, "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the son of man will give to you."

The message to us here, as well as to Martha, is that material things perish; they are not permanent. There's no implication that we don't need them, but it seems very clear that our life in Christ comes first. Everything else follows.

Now, I’m fully aware that someone might ask how we can have peace of mind if we don't concern ourselves with where the next buck is coming from? There's no question about the fact that we must keep our business affairs in order or there won't be a pay check. But there's a deeper truth than the pay check.

In order to understand this deeper truth, all we have to do is ask the question, "Why am I working so hard for that pay check?" The most common answer to that question of why I work so hard for that paycheck is so that my family and I can live a good life, or so that my children can go to college. However, there's another question we need to ask when we consider our answer. If the family is falling apart because the job is possessing us, what's the point in earning the money?

Fellowship with others is one of the very tangible ways we come in contact with God. Our most intimate human fellowship is with our family. We see God's love in people, but sometimes we forget it's there, and we are blocking it out because of our obsession with something else that seems so all fired important. We block it with our nervous search for serenity in material things. We block God's love by mixing up our priorities.

Now, I know I'm repeating myself, but I don't want to loose sight of the fact that we do indeed need the material things. However, if we have the faith that the our Lord's promise is true, we will have a much easier time of keeping our priorities straight.

Our faith in God and our communion with the Body of Christ will give us the strength and serenity necessary for success in whatever we do. Success is a by-product of serenity, not the other way around. Serenity is not the by-product of success. I think this point is made very well in a quotation from a book of daily meditations I’ve been reading. In part, it reads, "Faith gives you the strength to climb steadily this ladder of life. You should leave your security to God and trust Him not to let you fall. He is there to give you all the power you need to keep on climbing."

There are many ways we can get our priorities mixed up. An example from my own experiences happened when I was in seminary.

Going back to school at my age seemed to me like an almost insurmountable task. I became so pre-occupied with making good grades that success took on the definition of my being the best scholar, or showing my genius; becoming an academic giant or something. Of course, that was a far cry from learning more about being a disciple of the Lord and a minister to His people.

I became an outright crab at home. I withdrew from various Christian fellow-ships, reasoning that I didn't have time because of my studies. Thank God that my wife and a priest friend of ours intervened. They reminded me, in very certain terms, that I had stopped doing my daily meditation; that I had quit communicating with old friends, as well as ceased various other activities that were a part of my spiritual life. Somehow, I had convinced myself that the material things, that is good grades, somehow would lead me to a more spiritual life and successful ministry.

Bonnie and this priest I just mentioned, took me aback a bit. I suddenly started listening to someone else for a change. (Many of you who know me well also know that slowing down and listening is a tough one for me, even to this day. - - - - I do keep working at it though.)

Anyway, back to my seminary story. I stepped back, relaxed, resumed my daily prayer and meditation, and put God back on the priority list where He belonged. My attitude improved, my agitation and frustration left me, and life became pleasant again. And - - wonder of wonders, - - my grades improved.

The first commandment includes the words, "You shall have no other gods be-fore me." When a Pharisee asked Jesus what the great commandment in the law was, Jesus replied, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets." Everything depends on these two commandments. Nothing depends on the grades in seminary. The grades in seminary, or anywhere else, for that matter, depend on the Lord.

Whatever Martha's intention, whether it was to impress our Lord with a big feast or to honor him with the very best she could prepare, she un-intentionally got her first priority switched from communion with God to preparing the meal. Perhaps, for just a few moments, Martha had forgotten that we do not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

Amen.