16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C – Homily (2025)
16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Genesis 18:1-10a
Psalm 15:2-3, 3-4, 5 (1a)
Colossians 1:24-28
Luke 10:38-42
July 20, 2025
Martha welcomed Jesus. Mary sat at the feet of Jesus while Martha was “burdened with much serving.”
From this the question is sometimes asked, “Are you like Martha or Mary?,” meaning are you one who always gets things done like Martha or are you more reflective like Mary.
The question is valid but perhaps too simplistic.
Martha is doing what she thinks is right. She is trying to tend to the needs of her guest. In her mind, she is following the example of Abraham’s hospitality.
Likewise, Mary is doing what she thinks is right. She is listening to Jesus, the Messiah.
Martha asked Jesus to tell Mary to help her. Martha is likely shocked by Jesus’ response, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.“
Are you surprised? People need to eat, right? Somebody has to do the serving.
Yes, people need to eat and someone needs to cook and serve.
I wonder how big a meal Martha was preparing. Have you even been to a person’s house where they provide a huge meal but you don’t see them because they spend their whole time in the kitchen? Was that what Martha was doing?
Jesus came to spend time with Martha and Mary, not to eat. How much time to do you spend with Jesus?
He wants you to ministry to others and he wants you spend time with him, all in balance.
We see both in the example of Abraham. He provided bread made from “fine flour” and meat from “a tender, choice steer.” He also spent time with his guests. He saw being able to do this as a favor to him from them.
Abraham refers to himself as their servant. How do you see yourself to others? Are you good at hospitality or do you expect to be served? Or do you just ignore other people?
Serving them goes beyond food. Abraham offers his guests a chance to bathe their feet, a chance to refresh themselves, and he spends time with them.
What do you offer to guests in your home?
What do we offer guests who join us for Mass?
Do we eagerly welcome our guests like Abraham who ran to greet his guests or do you get upset when you find someone in your pew? It is not your pew. It is God’s pew and rejoice that they are in it!
Abraham tended to the physical needs of his guests and was present to them. I think of our Community Table that offers a free meal but more. The physical food served at our Community Table fulfills the Corporal Works of Mercy to feed the hungry and give drink to the thirsty. Our Community Table goes beyond the food in its hospitality to welcome the stranger as another Corporal Work of Mercy. We treat the guests with dignity and we pray with and for them as a Spiritual Work of Mercy.
We need to welcome people when they come to Mass. Actually, we need to be like Abraham who did not wait for his guests to come to him. He ran to them.
Who do you encounter throughout the week who doesn’t come to church? Have you ever shared your faith with them? Have you ever invited them to Church? God invited you here and He wants you to invite your friends. He wants you to help them feel welcome here.
Hum…what does it mean to help them feel welcome here?
There is welcoming in the moment and there is a broader sense. It is unfortunate that mean people think welcoming people and loving people means never saying anything to them about their sins. They call this tolerance. They call saying something is wrong that is clearly sin in God’s eyes hate speech. It is not hate to tell someone with a spirit of love what is required to save their soul. Done properly, it is an act of love.
We need to welcome sinners. Otherwise, the church would be empty. We need to show them love not condemnation. How do we expect them to stop sinning if we don’t share God’s Word with them?
In sharing God’s Word, we heed Paul’s words to admonish the sinner (see my article “How We Treat Sinners”) and teach them. The challenge is not to condemn them but to call them to conversion. We should do so with the words Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, [and] from now on do not sin any more” (John 8:11).
It is not easy and it is not popular to speak of sin. The rejection we may receive is part of the sufferings we are called to offer up for the good of others. It is when we offer these sufferings that we provide, as Paul did, “what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ.”
So, for our regular parishioners, please show hospitality to our guests, and think about who you can invite to church.