While going about his day's work, when Jesus realized that the time was about "terce" (Latin for three), he knew that it was mid-morning, the third hour, that is, about 9:00 a.m. as we calculate the hours. Already at work, Jesus--and his disciples and the millions of disciples ever since--knew and know that about 9:00 we need to "take a break from busy work," as Leighton Ford puts it. And inasmuch as Ford likes to compare the passing of a single day to the passing of a whole life, he suggests that mid-morning thoughts might well be compared to some more-or-less early or mid-life (and mid-work) considerations. Ford especially would like for us to think about the many ways we "put off" getting down to the business of real living with distractions, those things that literally "draw or pull [us] apart" (101).Living in a world of "overload" (102), we multi-taskers now take it for granted that modern life must be lived in speed, highly organized so as to be efficient, and relentless in its demand that time be filled up with unpunctuated activity. We rush from this to that, from pillar to post, from minute to minute. Ford would like for us to think and live otherwise.
In "A Little Story about Attentiveness," Ford invites us into the story of Jesus's visit to the home of Martha and Mary. Rich with interpretive possibilities, the story has been retold to suit many audiences. Monastic communities in particular like to identify themselves with Mary, supposing that they have chosen "the better part." Maybe. Personally, I like the way Ford breaks open the story's significance when he says that "we all have 'Martha' and 'Mary' parts in us, and we all are called to pay attention both to action and contemplation." His use of Mother Teresa explanation "about the work of her Sisters of Mercy in caring for the dying poor" really gives all of us something to chew on mentally and spiritually. Mother Teresa said, "Do not think of us as social workers. We are contemplatives in the midst of life. We pray the work" (107).
Praying the work: that's what we do in mid-morning, in mid-life (and even near the end of life, like a few of us in this class). Although Ford does not give us any point-by-point guidelines for living contemplatively, it seems to me that we readers might naturally want to know more about it; that is, how might we answer the question: How as a contemplative do I "pray the work"? If this is something of your question, I'd like to suggest that you take a look at the possibility of what is now known as Centering Prayer. For introductions, sitting with Mary, here are two good places to visit:
On the off-chance (or on the chance!) that you're interested, I'll bring some printed information about Centering Prayer with me to class on Sunday.
Image credit: The Turtle Island Project
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