If we look at today's gospel in the context of the series presented by St. Luke we heard the story of the Good Samaritan who unlike the priest and Levite stopped to help a person in need. The priest and Levite had placed their going to Temple worship as a higher priority.

If, you stood before God and said Lord, I am sorry I did not help that person on the sidewalk, because I didn't want to be late for Church or if you said God, I'm sorry I didn't get to Church last Sunday because I stopped to help a person in grave need. Which do you think Jesus would prefer to hear.

In last Sunday's gospel he seems to prefer the opposite. Although Martha has gone out of her way to provide hospitality and to care for Jesus needs; he makes it clear that his real need is not physical but to provide and feed the spiritual life of others. He said: Mary has chosen the better portion, and shall not be deprived of it.

How do we reconcile these seeming contradictions? In the first case the Priest and Levite were not primarily concerned with worship but in remaining undefiled which would prevent them from standing before the congregation and offering sacrifice. They were not God focused but self-focused. The Samaritan on the other hand who was able to see God in all of creation was other focused and able to relate to God through love for another person

In the case of Martha, she too with a generous heart is focused on what she is able to do for God whereas Mary is able to be with God. The gospels together tell us that God wants us to take action when necessary but the priority is first to listen and then take action.

This listening we customarily call prayer: Prayer require silence. In the psalms is written: Be still and know God. Stillness is the silencing of the cacophony of distractions. It is not easy, It can only be done with the help of Divine grace

Prayer is a synergy--a co-operative energy between the person and God; although both are necessary, that of the Divine is certainly the more powerful. In prayer, we become partakers by grace what Jesus is by nature, the image and likeness of God.

Interestingly the Aramaic word for prayer literally translates as an entrapment or snare. With parties drawing each other into relationship.

If we se the example in Genesis we see the metaphor of God coming to walk with Abraham. God feels a need to be personally involved in the life of Abraham, in a similar way for Martha and Mary, and all of us.

Abraham does not seem to be the slightest rankled or intimidated as is able to bargain with God. Is this not the same advice that Jesus is giving to us in the gospel; yet why does it seem alien to us if we believe in God's unconditional love for us

Human beings were created for a unified harmonious relationship with God and all creation. As a result of original sin we have experienced serious damage in all of our relationships by replacing our focus on God with a focus on ourselves and enthroning the idol of "EGO"

The Bible tells us that we have been created in the image and likeness of God. Image signifies our free will, our ability to make logical and moral choices. Image denotes that faculty with which each of us is endowed by God from the very first moment of our existence. The image of God as a result of sin can become like a darkened icon covered with grime; but however distorted it can never be destroyed. From the very first moment of our existence till forever we are the image of God.

Likeness on the other hand is not an endowment which we possess from the start, but a goal at which we must aim, something which we can only acquire in degrees--so as Jesus says: Keep knocking, keep asking. However sinful we may be we can never loose the image; but likeness depends on our moral choices and our practice of virtue.

In that divine likeness which we are invited to realize, the whole person must be involved: body, mind, and soul. Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit writes St. Paul. Similarly, the mind like a sponge must be immersed in things that are holy and pure, not defiled. Temptations will come and they are gifts of God by which we are prompted to move in the right direction when they are resisted through struggle and sacrifice. They saw us our weakness and where we need to concentrate prayer. They offer opportunities for growth and victory; without temptations we would make little progress.

In the actual prayer, which we are given by the Lord in the gospel today: Forgive us our sins for we too forgive all who do us wrong. Those words can be addressed to the mugging victim as the priest and Levite went by--to the sibling sisters Martha and Mary probably experiencing anger and jealousy. When these feelings or energies are not addressed they become explosive whether on the highway, at the cash register or gasoline pump. They can even result in murder.