Martha wasn't sure whether to weep or throw her Julia Child cookbook at him—all 716 pages! She had hoped for at least a little sympathy, but all Jesus said was, “Martha, Martha, you are … distracted by many things” (Luke 10:41 NRSV). Distracted? Martha had at least extended hospitality to Jesus, busying herself in the kitchen when others had refused to welcome him.

To add insult to injury, Jesus praised Martha's sister, Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet with her BlackBerry turned off…. Mary seemed not the least interested in food preparation. Hint after hint did little good. Thinking she might have an ally with Jesus, Martha approached him: “Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me” (v 40). Jesus turned to Martha: “You are worried and distracted by many things.… Mary has chosen the better part” (v 41-42). Distracted by many things. The words blindsided Martha; they jarred.

When Charles Wesley began his studies at Oxford University in 1726, he acknowledged that his first year was not very productive. He was “lost in diversions.” The precise distractions aren't important; it's just that this young Anglican who eventually composed close to 10,000 hymns—some while riding on horseback—couldn't get his focus in that first year. Sound familiar?

Maggie Jackson has written an evocative book called Distracted: The Erosion of Attention and the Coming Dark Age. She argues, “The way we live is eroding our capacity for deep, sustained, perceptive attention—the building block of intimacy, wisdom and cultural progress…. Put most simply, attention defines us and is the bedrock of society…. Yet, increasingly, we are shaped by distraction.” Is there a connection between this familiar biblical story and the concern of this author?

Put me in a restaurant that shows sports highlights on a big-screen TV and I know the conversation will be difficult. Listen. Speak. Wow, what a catch! I understand distraction.

Some distractions can even be fatal. It has been estimated that as many car accidents occur because of drivers using personal digital assistants or cellphones as those caused by drinking alcohol.

I'm not out to demonize PDAs. Some of my friends and colleagues have them, and they're still my friends. There is a place for PDAs in some board meetings; I've appreciated the value of up-to-date information. But there is also the danger that when we become preoccupied with these devices, the quality of our discussion, the attentiveness of our worship and the focus of our pastoral visit all suffer. In Maggie Jackson's view, the price is not simply personal; we may be paying a very steep cultural price.

It occurs to me that Jesus isn't dismissing Martha; but he does indicate that “Mary has chosen the better part.” Offering hospitality to Jesus is central to Luke's Gospel. Martha was on the right track. But in this moment, listening to Jesus rather than serving food is the more important expression of hospitality. Attentiveness has to do with discerning the important, with “choosing the better part.”

It's interesting to note that both Matthew and Luke's Gospels narrate the parable of the two builders: one builds his house on rock and the other builds on sand. What we may not always notice is that in Luke's version of the parable, he describes the man who built his house on a rock as the one “who dug deeply” (Luke 6:48). What does personal and cultural depth have to do with attention? And are we to attribute personal and cultural shallowness to distraction?

I wonder if his first year at Oxford had any impact on this Charles Wesley hymn:

Give us quietly to tarry,
Till for all thy glory meet,
Waiting, like attentive Mary,
Happy at the Saviour's feet. (SASB 210)

These words can seem out of step with a split-screen, instant-messaging, multitasking era, but perhaps they have even more significance than Wesley himself realized.

Oops, you'll have to excuse me. My computer tells me I have some e-mail waiting to be opened….

Major Ray Harris is a retired Salvation Army officer. He enjoys watching Corner Gas reruns and running in Winnipeg's Assiniboine Park.