Sunday 20 July 2025
Trinity 5
Luke 10:38–42

Heart-to-Heart Prayer:

Sitting with the Holy Guest and Gentle Host

A Contemplative Prayer Session
Theme: From Divided Service to Centred Presence
Scripture: Luke 10:38–42

Preparation

Space: Create a quiet, comfortable space. Light a candle if possible. You may want a bowl of flour or warm bread nearby as a sensory reminder of the story’s kitchen setting.
Posture: Sit upright but relaxed. Let your feet rest gently on the floor. Place your hands open on your lap.
Prayer to Begin:
Holy Guest and Gentle Host,
Still my anxious heart and scattered thoughts.
Make space in me today—not for performance, but for presence.
I am here to listen. I am here to be.

Read the Gospel (Luke 10:38–42)

Read the passage slowly. Then pause.

Read it a second time. Try to notice what word or phrase stands out.

“Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things…
Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”

Enter the Scene: Imaginative Prayer

Let your imagination take you into the story.

• Where are you in the scene? Are you Martha, Mary, a guest, or someone standing at the door?
• What can you see? The afternoon light? The movement in the kitchen? The calm in Jesus’ face?
• What can you smell and hear? Bread baking? Pots clanging? Martha’s breath quickening? Jesus’ voice, quiet and clear?

Take your time. Let yourself dwell in the story.

Hear from the Sisters

Let them speak. As if you are sitting with them now.
Mary Speaks (Read Slowly)

I didn’t mean to cause trouble. I only meant to listen.
When he entered, something changed—like peace had weight. So I sat. Not to be seen. Not to escape the work. Just to be where the words were.
My sister moved with love, but also with pressure. I’ve known that feeling too.
I didn’t even know I was hungry until he fed me with silence and story and love that didn’t demand a thing.
When he said, “Only one thing is needed,” I knew—he was speaking to both of us. Not in comparison, but in invitation.
Stillness isn’t luxury. It’s the doorway to love.

Pause and Reflect

• What part of Mary’s words settles in your spirit?
• Where do you recognise a hunger in yourself to just be?

Now Martha Speaks (Read Gently)

The scent of bread was rich and warm as the sun slipped low. My sleeves were rolled. My shoulders ached. I knew what had to be done.
And she just… sat.
I burst out—not just at her, but at him. “Don’t you care?”
But he didn’t shame me. He said my name like it mattered: “Martha, Martha.”
He saw that my service had split me. That love had been replaced by pressure. That the kitchen had lost its peace.
He invited me too. Not to stop caring—but to stop scattering.
Now I know: the kitchen can be a chapel. The Guest I rushed for was already there, waiting for me.

Heart-to-Heart Wondering

In silence or quiet journaling, reflect on these questions:

• Where in your life are you “pulled apart” (merimnaō)?
• What would it feel like to hear Jesus say your name—twice—and invite you to sit?
• What part of your daily routine could become a place of holy attention?
• What do Mary and Martha teach you about your own relationship with Jesus?

A Prayer of Returning

Jesus, my Holy Guest and Gentle Host,
I hear the clatter of pots and the silence of stillness.
I carry the weight of good intentions—and the ache of disconnection.
Draw me back—not away from the world, but deeper into it.
Let my labour flow from love, not lack.
Let me sit long enough to know I’m loved,
so that when I rise, it is not to impress you, but to walk with you.
Bread, floor, work, and word—
Let it all become praise.
Amen.

Closing Silence

(3–5 minutes)

Let the stillness hold you. Don’t rush out of the presence.
If thoughts come, gently return to the image of Jesus in your home- present, patient, loving.
Breathe this short phrase to anchor you:

Inhale: One thing is needed…
Exhale: and I choose to be with you.

Follow-Up Invitation

This week, choose one small Mary-moment each day:
A quiet cup of tea with no phone.
Five minutes of silence before opening your laptop.
A whispered “Here I am” before making the next meal

And let this truth remain in your heart:

Jesus does not ask you to abandon your calling—only to centre it in love, not anxiety.