The Better Part: Contemplative Liturgy
Opening Poem
Mary Oliver, “The Summer Day” (excerpt)
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention,
how to fall down into the grass,
how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed,
how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
Silence
Gospel Reading – Luke 10:38–42 (NRSV)
Now as they went on their way, Jesus 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.
But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked,
“Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.”
But the Lord 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, which will not be taken away from her.”
Hold silence
In a world bent toward speed, production, and pressure, Jesus names presence as essential. Mary and Martha both embody vocation—hospitality, care, attention—but Jesus responds to Martha’s anxiety, not her service.
There is a cosmic echo here: even stars burn out without rest. Creativity and justice, like ecosystems, rely on rhythm—on silence, spaciousness, and the willingness to be changed by what we witness.
Mary’s stillness is not passivity; it is attentiveness. The “better part” is to live as if Christ is truly in the room, in the soil, in the stranger—and to listen before we speak or serve.
Reflect
What part of me is worried and distracted today?
Where do I experience the presence of Christ—in silence, in service, or in both?
What is the “better part” I am being called to choose in this season?
Reflect as the music plays.
Closing Prayer
Christ of the still point,
Unclutter our hearts,
that we may move past our busyness
to enjoy your presence,
and without stress, choose the better part.
Amen.