Contemplate - Pastor's Pen for 23rd March 2025

Driftwood seat, Vaughan Park

I was determined to sit on the driftwood seat before leaving the minister's retreat at Vaughan Park, Long Bay. I did so on the last day, and it has a good view out over the bay and up the coast. In reality, most of the time I had to myself was on the beach or coast path, but I suppose the seat is symbolic of stepping out of the rush and spending time with God.

In Luke 10 we are entertained by the tension between the two sisters Martha and Mary, who are visited by Jesus and his disciples. Martha busies herself with hosting the guests, and Mary just sits around listening to Jesus. To be fair, we can entertain a good deal of sympathy for Martha when things are busy in the kitchen and the dinner is not just going to cook itself, right?

We also notice Mary, who is so intent on listening to Jesus without interruption that she is prepared to ignore the cultural gender expectation on her in her time and place to attend to the hospitality and leave the theological contemplation to the men.

We all have weekends, especially in church and family life, where events and busy hospitality take over our lives. Where is the time to sit at the feet of Jesus? Brian Zahnd writes; "Without some form of contemplative practice we will spend too much time in one of three undesirable mental states: drifting back into the painful past, flitting about in the distracted present or rushing ahead into the anxious future." Maybe we need to carve out that time to sit quietly in God's presence? Something to think about...