"I Have Only On Thing To Do Today." - New Evangelizers

We are busy.

I do not know when you are reading this, but I imagine that you are in between your many important activities of this day. From the moment we wake until we fall asleep, our lives are filled with activity.

This is not necessarily a bad thing. The old aphorism has some truth that says “The devil finds work for idle hands.” A lazy and empty day can be the near occasion of sin in many of us. But we can also go too far in the other extreme. Sometimes we are so busy with the things of life that we barely notice our lives passing before our eyes. Each new project comes before us and we bear down and try to power through it until the next project.

Even as I write this, I am in between many beginning-of-the-school-year projects. Between lesson plans, seating charts, gradebooks, in-services, and all the other activities of a teacher, I am beginning my second year of Diaconate formation which includes more classes and this year I am being assigned to a parish. It seems as though the work keeps piling up.

For those of you who are parents, I’m sure it seems like it never ends. I once had to take care of my nieces and nephew for about a week while my sister and my brother-in-law were out of state. Having no children of my own, I was struck by how the day doesn’t really start until after work when the kids come home from school. The homework, feeding, bathing, and everything else became a full-time job unto itself. My wife and I barely made it through, but I gained a whole new respect for what parents do and how busy they are.

But while so much of what we do is important, we can sometimes get lost in the business of work and lose sight of the end.

I am a big fan of the series The Chosen. If you do not watch the show, be careful about mentioning this fact to someone who does watch it. We tend to be hyper-enthusiastic in our recommendation for the show to the point where some find it off-putting. I remember that I was late in coming to the show for that very reason. But when I did eventually watch it, I found a profound, dramatic, and spiritual story that not only engaged me, but it has brought me closer to the Lord.

The reason I bring this up is that there was a moment in this past season that struck me deeply. This series depicts the Apostle Matthew as a reformed tax collector. His old bodyguard Gaius finds himself also drawn to Jesus. But Gaius is saddled with many troubles and responsibilities. Because of this, he is reluctant to bring his problems to Jesus. When Gaius encounters Matthew, the Apostle shares that he also used to feel this way. But then Matthew said something that has stayed with me these months later:

“I have only one thing to do today: Follow Him. The rest takes care of itself.”

Some other online writers have pointed out that this is a retelling of our Lord’s words, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself.” (Matthew 6:33-34)

We cannot lose sight of the most important thing we must do today: Follow Him.

That isn’t to say that we should ignore our responsibilities. Very often those responsibilities are how we follow Him today. The lesson plans, seating charts, gradebooks, in-services are all ways that I prepare the missing of following Him and leading others to Him. Parents whose lives are filled with the homework, the feeding, the bathing, and all the rest: this is part of how you live your vocation and follow Him.

But we do not want to focus on the work as if it is the work itself that is the goal. God could get anyone to do the work that you are struggling with now. He could even do it Himself by His miraculous power. He doesn’t need you for your work.

But there is no other YOU in all of the universe. That is what He wants: you. He wants you to follow Him not because you are particularly strong or smart or talented. He wants you to follow Him because He wants to be in relationship to you.

This is why our Lord gently admonishes Martha when she is busy with housework as Mary sits and listens to Him. “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.” (Luke 10: 41-42)

There is nothing wrong with what Martha is doing. There is no sin in it. But Martha is missing out on the true purpose of the service: spending time with the Lord.

As you pick up your cross today and meet your labors head on, remember for whom you are laboring. Remember that the projects about which you are stressing will most likely get done and that you will probably not think much about them afterwards. Remember that the work is important, but all is in God’s hands, not yours.

And remember that you have only one thing to do today:

Follow Him.

Copyright 2024, WL Grayson

W.L. Grayson

I am a devoutly Catholic theology teacher who loves a popular culture that often, quite frankly, hates me. I grew up absorbing every movie, TV show, comic book, science fiction novel, etc. I could find. As of today I’ve watched over 2100 movies and tv shows. They take up a huge part of my life. I don’t know that this is a good thing, but it has given me a common vocabulary to draw from in order to illustrate whatever theological point I make in class. I’ve used American Pie the song to explain the Book of Revelation (I’ll post on this some time later) and American Pie the movie to help explain Eucharist (don’t ask). The point is that the popular culture is popular for a reason. It is woven into the fabric of our lives and imaginations, for good or ill. In this blog I will attempt to bring together the things of heaven with the things of earth. Of course this goal may be too lofty for someone like me.