DAILY READING
REFLECTION
Jesus, Master of Multitasking
by Pr. Dave Mann
Many of us know what it is like to be challenged with the task of multitasking. We have responsibilities that pull us in many directions at once. We may find it difficult to effectively manage our various responsibilities: in our jobs, in our families, at church, with our children, in our neighborhoods, etc. We engage with one responsibility, but before we bring it to a conclusion, our phone rings, our email In-Box gets filled up, and additional claims on our time and energy clamor for our attention. Most, maybe even all, of these challenges are not wrong or unimportant.
Jesus’ years of ministry while physically present on this earth were filled with a plethora of claims on his time and energy as well: the selection and training of his 12 disciples, the proclamation of the kingdom of God to the masses, healing of the sick, casting out evil spirits, keeping the disciples from arguing about who would be the greatest, dealing with Gentile political leaders (notably Herod and Pilate), dealing with Jewish errant expectations of the role of Messiah, etc. None of these needs were irrelevant or wrong in their own right. But how did Jesus manage to keep them all straight?
Today’s reading reveals how Jesus had to deal with multitasking. While Jesus was on his way to the home of Jairus to address the urgent need to heal his ailing daughter, the woman with the 12-year flow of blood interrupted the process. Both were important—one not more urgent than the other. Jesus chose to take the time to care for the woman.
Jesus was the master of multitasking—teaching, providing care, healing, deliverance, feeding the multitudes, spending time alone in prayer, and ultimately providing the sacrifice for sin, and rising again from the dead. The key, whether for Jesus or us, is to be clear in one’s heart and mind as to what is our central purpose in life. If an interruption leads us astray from our central mission, we should graciously sidestep it and keep moving forward with the task at hand. If the interruption also plays an important role in our God-given purpose in life, we can be assured God will provide us with the time and energy to accomplish the current and the new task with focus and purpose.
What is your central mission in life? Which of the many claims on your schedule contribute to directing your energy to serve in that mission?
PRAYER
Lord of time and energy, I, first, ask you to guide me by your Holy Spirit to identify my purpose in life. Then, please help me engage with the multiple claims on my schedule to serve you in that purpose. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
