Focus on Christ: The Center, The Presence, The Better Part
In a world clamoring for our attention, pulling us in a thousand different directions, and constantly demanding our focus, it can be incredibly challenging to discern what truly matters. We are bombarded with tasks, worries, distractions, and endless demands. But today, our scriptures call us back to a singular, transformative truth: the absolute necessity of focusing on Christ.
Genesis 18:1-10a: The Unexpected Visitor, The Promise-Giver
This encounter is profound because it reveals God’s willingness to enter human space, to walk among us, and to speak directly into our lives. This “Lord” who appears to Abraham, making promises and revealing His divine presence, foreshadows the ultimate incarnation of God in human form – Jesus Christ. Even in the Old Testament, we see God’s active, personal engagement with humanity, setting the stage for the coming of Christ, who would fully embody this divine presence. The focus here is on the unexpected, yet undeniable, presence of God, the promise-giver, disrupting the ordinary and bringing forth new life. Abraham’s wisdom was in recognizing and honoring this divine presence.
Colossians 1:15-28: Christ: The Center of All Things
If Genesis gives us a glimpse of God’s presence, Paul’s letter to the Colossians provides the grand, cosmic declaration of Christ’s absolute supremacy and centrality. This passage is a breathtaking theological hymn that places Christ at the very core of all reality.
This passage demands that our focus be entirely on Christ because He is the very glue that holds the universe together. He is the one through whom “God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” Our salvation, our peace, our reconciliation – all flow from Him. Paul’s ultimate goal, his tireless labor, is to “present everyone perfect in Christ.” This means that our entire existence, our purpose, our hope, our very being, finds its meaning and fulfillment in Christ alone. He is not just a part of our lives; He is the center of everything.
Luke 10:38-42: Martha and Mary: The Better Part
Finally, our Gospel reading brings this cosmic truth into the intimate setting of a home, illustrating the practical implications of focusing on Christ. Jesus visits the home of Martha and Mary. Martha, in her commendable desire to serve and be a good host, is “distracted by all the preparations.” She is busy, burdened, and eventually frustrated, even complaining to Jesus about her sister.
Mary, however, makes a different choice. She “sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.” In that moment, amidst the bustling preparations, Mary chose presence over performance, listening over labor, spiritual nourishment over worldly anxiety. When Martha complains, Jesus gently, yet firmly, responds: “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
This is not a condemnation of service or hospitality. Martha’s work was good. But Jesus highlights a crucial hierarchy of priorities. The “one thing” that is needed, the “better part,” is to sit at His feet, to listen to His word, to simply be in His presence. This is the ultimate focus on Christ – to prioritize relationship with Him above even good and necessary worldly tasks. In our own lives, so often filled with “many things” that worry and upset us, Jesus calls us to choose the “better part” – to make time, to create space, to intentionally focus on Him, knowing that this spiritual nourishment will sustain us through all other demands.
Conclusion:
So, what does it mean to focus on Christ in our lives today?
It means recognizing His divine presence in the unexpected moments, just as Abraham did, and welcoming Him into our lives.
It means acknowledging His cosmic supremacy and centrality, understanding that all things were created through Him and hold together in Him, and that our reconciliation comes only through Him.
And it means choosing the better part, like Mary, prioritizing His presence and His word above the distractions and demands of this world, knowing that this choice will never be taken away from us.
In a world that constantly pulls our focus, let us intentionally, prayerfully, and consistently turn our gaze to Christ. For in Him, we find not only the meaning of all things, but the peace, the purpose, and the power to live a life truly centered on God. May our lives be a testament to this singular, transforming focus. Amen.