Choose the best part

Shh, don't tell anyone, but...you love your Grandpa!

Some of your friends think it must be a pain to visit your grandfather every weekend. They think you're crazy to miss playing with them to go to his house. But Grandpa's always glad to see you, he tells funny stories and his house is full of cool stuff to explore. You don't mind going there at all!

Jesus would understand how you feel. He was always telling people to choose what was more important for them, even if other people thought they were silly. In this week's Gospel (Luke 10:38-42), Martha and Mary make their choices.

Jesus stopped in a small town to visit His friends Mary and Martha. Martha was nervous that Jesus was at her house and ran around cooking food for Him. But her sister Mary didn't help at all. She just sat at Jesus' feet, listening to everything He said. Martha got angry and said, "Jesus, can't you make her help me?" Jesus told her, "You worry too much. Mary knows what's really important, and I won't yell at her for choosing it."

If your grandfather lives alone, you know that he must feel a little lonely sometimes. When you're lonely, it helps to have someone hug you and spend time with you, so you don't mind giving up playing with your friends to visit him.

Martha was like the friends who think you're nuts. She did what she thought she was supposed to do, running around cooking and cleaning like they run around playing. But Mary was like you. She didn't care that Martha was angry at her for visiting with Jesus: Mary knew that Jesus was more important than housework!

Sometimes, you just want to play with your friends, and that's okay. But what Mary showed us is that it's always important to spend time with the people you love, too -- and not feel embarrassed about it.

Besides, your grandpa's stories might be almost as good as the ones Jesus tells!

PRAYER FOR THE WEEK: Jesus, help me choose what's best for me and people I love, no matter what anyone thinks! Amen.