Sixteenth Sunday of the Year (Year C)

Sixteenth Sunday of the Year July 20, 2025

Genesis 18:1-10; Colossians 1:24-28; Luke 10:38-42

(Image courtesy Google)

Once a father who after work would take a long walk with his teenage daughter. He took great pleasure in her company. Suddenly, she began to offer almost daily excuses as to why she could not accompany him. He was hurt but held his tongue. Finally, his birthday arrived. His daughter presented him with a sweater that she had knitted. Then he realized that she had done her knitting when he was out of the house for his walk. He said to her, "Martha, Martha, I do appreciate this sweater. But I value your company infinitely more. A sweater, I can buy in any store. But you, I cannot buy. Please never abandon me again."

Hospitality has been an important custom in several ethnic groups, in many parts of Asia, especially among Muslims and Jews. In the Gospel we have Martha, Mary, and Lazarus welcoming Jesus to their house and show their hospitality. However, the Lord indicates that such hospitality should be without any anxiety but filled with service and love. The first and the third readings of today are set within the context of ancient near eastern customs of hospitality.

The First Reading from the book of Genesis is part of the story about Abraham happily welcoming the heavenly visitors. The three unidentified men arrive in front of Abraham's tent and immediately Abraham rushes to greet the strangers, bows before them, and, invites them to partake of his hospitality. He gives them water, washes their feet, and lets them rest in the shade while he offers to prepare a substantial meal for them to eat. The visitors accept his invitation. Meanwhile, Abraham tells Sarah, his wife to prepare a generous amount of food for their guests. As they take leave they promise to return in a year and by that time they foretell that Sarah will be the mother of a son. This was the reward for their hospitality granted to them by God himself.

Let us walk into the gospel scene together. Jesus enters the home in Bethany, and Martha, as a gracious host, springs into action. She busies herself with preparations-cleaning, cooking, and arranging things to make the guest feel welcome. Meanwhile, her sister Mary sits at the Lord’s feet and listens intently to His words. This difference in posture becomes the heart of the Gospel message.

Both Martha and Mary represent tendencies in all of us. In Martha, we see our impulse to do, to plan, to fix, to serve. We are busy people. Life is full of responsibilities—work, family, school, ministry. Our culture even celebrates busyness as a sign of success or productivity. But sometimes, we become so caught up in doing things for Jesus that we forget to spend time with Jesus.

Mary reminds us of the contemplative side of discipleship—the posture of listening, receiving, and being present. She chooses not to miss the moment. She recognizes that Jesus is speaking, and she makes room for His word.

The challenge for us today is to balance the active and the contemplative, the doing and the being. It is not a matter of either/or, but both/and. But Jesus clearly tells us that the better part is to begin from a place of attentiveness to Him. Action flows from contemplation. Service without prayer can become dry or self-serving. But prayer that leads to service is fruitful and life-giving.

Mark tells us that when Jesus called the apostles to follow him, he called them for a dual purpose: “to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message” (Mark 3:14). The need, on the one hand, to be with the Lord, to know him, to fellowship with him and be nourished by his word and, on the other hand, to do the Lord’s work, to serve the Lord in others, to proclaim his message of love in word and deed, brings us to a conflict. Which one should enjoy the priority? How much of my time should I devote to being with the Lord, to prayer and listening to God’s word, and how much time to doing the work of the Lord? In spite of the urgent need to throw ourselves into the work of the Lord, it is only logical to say that my relationship with the Lord of the work comes before my involvement with the work of the Lord.

The point of the story of Jesus with May and Martha is not to invite us to choose between being a Martha or a Mary. The true disciple needs to be both Martha and Mary. The point of the story is to challenge our priorities so that we come to see that fellowship with the Lord, being with the Lord and hearing his word should always precede the work we do for the Lord. Do we have a program of daily fellowship with the Lord? Many people fulfil this by assisting daily in the Eucharist where they can also hear the word of God. Others schedule a holy hour or quiet time when they can pray and read the word of God. Whatever way we fulfil this need, today’s gospel invites all Christians first to be a Mary who sits with devotion at the Lord’s feet listening to his word, and then also to be a Martha who throws herself with energy into the business of serving the Lord.

This Gospel also speaks to the Church today. As a community, are we more like Martha or Mary? Do we prioritize mission over intimacy with the Lord? Are our ministries rooted in prayer, or are we running on empty? As Pope St. John Paul II once said: “Before being sent to preach, the apostles were called to be with Him.” (cf. Mark 3:14) We must never forget that our first vocation as Christians is to be with Jesus. All fruitful mission flows from that encounter.

The Gospel today invites us to reorder our lives. Jesus is not telling us to abandon our responsibilities, but to anchor them in relationship. The “one thing necessary” is not to do more, but to be more present—to God, to others, and to ourselves.

Mary’s choice to sit at Jesus’ feet is not just a model for nuns or mystics—it is a call to each of us, every day. She reminds us that God is always speaking. The question is: Are we listening?

Let us pray for the grace to choose the better part, to pause in our busy lives, and to sit with the One who gives rest to our souls.

Happy Sunday