Hurry: The Problem.
Week #1
Opening Reflections.
Where have you seen God at work in your life this week? Share any brief examples and encouragements.
Now as they went on their way, he 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.’
Luke 10:38-42
A response to Hannah’s message.
1. Was there anything which particularly resonated with you? (Any moments of ‘Aha!’)
2. Was there anything you felt resistance to? (Any moments of ‘Grr’, or ‘Oh, no!’)
3. Was there anything else you particularly noticed?
John Mark Comer tells the story of a busy pastor who asked Dallas Willard (an American philosopher also well known for his writings on Christian spiritual formation), “What do I need to do to become the person I want to be?”. Willard replied, “You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.” He added, “There is nothing else. Hurry is the great enemy of the spiritual life in our day.”
John Mark Comer suggests ten symptoms of ‘hurry sickness’. Do any of these seem familiar?
Irritability (you get annoyed way too easily)
Hypersensitivity
Restlessness (inability to relax)
Workaholism (or just nonstop activity)
Emotional numbness
Out-of-order priorities (feeling disconnected from your identity and calling)
Lack of care for your body (no time for sleep, exercise or good food)
Escapist behaviours (over-use of your ‘preferred cultural narcotic’ – your distraction of choice)
Slippage of spiritual disciplines (prayer, Scripture, worship etc.)
Isolation (feeling disconnected from God and people)
Lectio Divina.
Ask someone to read Luke 10:38-42.
1. LECTIO (read)
Read these verses again on your own
2. MEDITATIO (meditate)
Ponder the text, imagine you are Martha and Jesus is speaking to you, allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you as you read
3. ORATIO (pray)
Turn you reading to prayer
4. CONTEMPLATIO (contemplate)
Silent prayer as you experience the love of God
Discussion.
The English mystic, Julian of Norwich wrote, "How busy we become when we lose sight of how God loves us." Which of the symptoms of ‘hurry sickness’ does Martha display?
Is ‘Hurry’ the real problem, or is it a symptom of something else, something deeper and even more fundamental?
What is the ‘better part’ that Jesus said Mary had chosen?
What would have happened if Martha had just stopped? Would it have mattered?
Closing Reflections.
What you will take away from this study and discussion? Is there a specific thing you can do either to notice “hurry sickness” this week, or to unhurry? We will be taking time in next week’s collective to share with each other what we have noticed and what we have tried to do in response to what we’ve noticed.
Pray together for each other, in response to your answers.
