July 20, 2025
Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 108
Reading 1
The LORD appeared to Abraham by the terebinth of Mamre,
as he sat in the entrance of his tent,
while the day was growing hot.
Looking up, Abraham saw three men standing nearby.
When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them;
and bowing to the ground, he said:
"Sir, if I may ask you this favor,
please do not go on past your servant.
Let some water be brought, that you may bathe your feet,
and then rest yourselves under the tree.
Now that you have come this close to your servant,
let me bring you a little food, that you may refresh yourselves;
and afterward you may go on your way."
The men replied, "Very well, do as you have said."
Abraham hastened into the tent and told Sarah,
"Quick, three measures of fine flour! Knead it and make rolls."
He ran to the herd, picked out a tender, choice steer,
and gave it to a servant, who quickly prepared it.
Then Abraham got some curds and milk,
as well as the steer that had been prepared,
and set these before the three men;
and he waited on them under the tree while they ate.
They asked Abraham, "Where is your wife Sarah?"
He replied, "There in the tent."
One of them said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year,
and Sarah will then have a son."
Responsorial Psalm
R.(1a) He who does justice will live in the presence
of the Lord.
One who walks blamelessly and does justice;
who thinks the truth in his heart
and slanders not with his tongue.
R. He who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.
Who harms not his fellow man,
nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor;
by whom the reprobate is despised,
while he honors those who fear the LORD.
R. He who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.
Who lends not his money at usury
and accepts no bribe against the innocent.
One who does these things
shall never be disturbed.
R. He who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.
Reading 2
Brothers and sisters:
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake,
and in my flesh I am filling up
what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ
on behalf of his body, which is the church,
of which I am a minister
in accordance with God's stewardship given to me
to bring to completion for you the word of God,
the mystery hidden from ages and from generations past.
But now it has been manifested to his holy ones,
to whom God chose to make known the riches of the glory
of this mystery among the Gentiles;
it is Christ in you, the hope for glory.
It is he whom we proclaim,
admonishing everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom,
that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart
and yield a harvest through perseverance.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus entered a village
where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him.
She had a sister named Mary
who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak.
Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said,
"Lord, do you not care
that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?
Tell her to help me."
The Lord said to her in reply,
"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."
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/072025.cfm
Commentary on
Genesis 18:1-10; Colossians 1:24-28; Luke 10:38-42
One theme of today’s readings is hospitality. Hospitality is
a very important element of life in the Middle East. This is not surprising,
given the hostile terrain of large stretches of waterless desert and hot sun.
Such hospitality for us has become a victim of modern urban living. We only
open our doors to our own family or people we know well. Our houses are
constantly locked, even when we are at home. There are peepholes, cameras and
alarms. Strangers are no longer be trusted. One wonders if this is a step
forward in our so-called civilised, cultured, developed and sophisticated
society?
Hospitality in Scripture
The two main readings today deal with aspects of hospitality. In the First
Reading from the Book of Genesis, we see Abraham. He is still a nomad, living
in a tent, constantly on the move following the needs of his flocks of sheep
and cattle. We are told that three men, strangers, come by. Although there are
three, Abraham speaks in the singular to just one, whom he addresses as “Lord”.
He also bows deeply before him.
Reading between the lines we see that this is God himself
with two angels under the guise of passing travellers. It is the way God
constantly enters unexpectedly into our lives and often remains unrecognised.
We see this happening on a number of occasions in the post-Resurrection stories
of the Gospel. How important, then, to treat every stranger we meet with deep
respect!
Abraham insists that the visitors stay. He puts them sitting
in the shade of a tree (probably he is encamped near an oasis) and orders water
for them to wash their hot and dusty feet. He tells his wife to prepare special
food for them and he entertains his visitors while they eat.
This act of kindness and respect to the stranger does not go
unrewarded. The leading visitor says:
I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife
Sarah shall have a son.
This promise is made in spite of the fact that Sarah is well
past childbearing age. Although Abraham’s official wife, she had up to this
borne him no son. When we welcome God into our lives, he will always come back,
perhaps not in the same way and often in ways which may surprise us.
Abuse of hospitality
It is worth noting that this account comes immediately before the story of
Sodom. That story is the very opposite—a story of the abuse of hospitality.
There we meet the same three men who have taken shelter in the house of Lot, a
relative of Abraham. Sodom is portrayed as a city steeped in sinfulness.
An example is how the people of the city ask Lot to allow
them, in effect, to commit gang rape against his three visitors. Such acts were
abhorrent to the Jews. In that time and culture, it was regarded as the utmost
degradation for a man to be abused in this way. Roman soldiers sometimes
humiliated their prisoners of war in this manner.
The idea of permitting this outrage to recipients of a
host’s hospitality was beyond conception to Lot. Only the most wicked could
even think of such a thing. The degree of abhorrence is indicated by Lot’s
offering the people his daughters instead. Though this compromise certainly
horrifies us, it was judged better in that culture to have his own daughters
violated than allow his guests to be touched. What better could Lot have done?
When we realise who these three men really are, we understand
how truly wicked the people of Sodom were. In violating the strangers, they
would have been violating God.
Hospitality to Jesus
The Gospel also speaks of hospitality, but from a very different perspective.
This time the visitor is Jesus himself and apparently no stranger to the house.
Jesus, we know, had no home of his own:
Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but
the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. (Matt 8:20)
It is part of Jesus’ message of total freedom and
detachment.
At the same time, Jesus preached for his disciples a
fellowship of true brothers and sisters, whose doors would always be open to
each other. When the Christian, for Christ’s sake, leaves home, father, mother,
brothers, sisters and property, that person finds a hundredfold homes, mothers,
brothers, sisters and all that he or she needs. Jesus was totally at the
service of others by being continually on the move, going from place to place.
In return, people saw to his personal needs. There is no evidence that Jesus ever
had to sleep in the open air or did not have enough to eat. The house of
Martha, Mary and Lazarus seems to have been a place where Jesus could go to
when things got too difficult for him in nearby Jerusalem.
Sympathies with Martha
In our very action-oriented society we may tend to sympathise with Martha
slaving away in the kitchen while Mary seems to just sit looking dreamily into
Jesus’ eyes. The situation may look less than ideal, but we must remember that
the purpose of the story is to help us get our priorities right. It is
significant that this story immediately follows the story of the Good
Samaritan. Both are found only in Luke and their being back to back is not a
coincidence. They complement each other.
The former story began with the abstract concept of ‘loving
one’s neighbour as oneself’. The story reveals that a real neighbour is one who
shows compassion in deed for a brother or sister in need. The point is made
dramatically by making the despised Samaritan the real neighbour while two
apparently religious people, although aware of the problem, do absolutely
nothing for one of their own. Jesus punctures the idea that a real neighbour is
someone of one’s own race or religion.
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https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/oc161/
Sunday,
July 20, 2025
16th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Opening Prayer
Lord Jesus, send your Spirit
to help us to read the Scriptures with the same mind that you read them to the
disciples on the way to Emmaus. In the light of the Word, written in the Bible,
you helped them to discover the presence of God in the disturbing events of your
sentence and death. Thus, the cross that seemed to be the end of all hope
became for them the source of life and of resurrection. Create in us silence so
that we may listen to your voice in Creation and in the Scriptures, in events
and in people, above all in the poor and suffering. May your word guide us so
that we too, like the two disciples from Emmaus, may experience the force of
your resurrection and witness to others that you are alive in our midst as
source of fraternity, justice, and peace. We ask this of you, Jesus, son of
Mary, who revealed to us the Father and sent us your Spirit. Amen.
Gospel Reading – Luke 10: 38-42
A Key to the Reading:
The text of the Gospel for
this Sunday narrates the visit of Jesus to the house of Martha and Mary. Jesus
tells Martha: “Mary has chosen the better
part and it will not be taken from her!” Throughout the centuries, many
times these words have been interpreted as a confirmation on the part of Jesus
of the fact that contemplative life, hidden in the monasteries, is better and
more sublime than the active life of those who work in the field of
evangelization. This interpretation is not very correct, because it lacks the
foundation of the text. In order to understand the significance of these words
of Jesus (and of any word) it is important to take into account, to consider
the context, that is, the context of the Gospel of Luke as well as the broader
context of the work of Luke which includes the Gospel and the Acts of the
Apostles. Before verifying the broader context of the Acts of the Apostles, let
us try to gaze a bit at the text in itself and try to see how it is placed in
the immediate context of the Gospel of Luke. During the reading, try to feel
that you are present in Mary’s house and feel close to the environment and to
the outreach or importance of the words of Jesus, not only as Martha hears them
but also as the community for which Luke writes his Gospel hears them and also
how we hear them, us, who today hear these such inspiring words of Jesus.
A Division of the Text to Help in the Reading:
• Luke 10:
38: Martha welcomes Jesus into her house
• Luke 10:
39-40a: Mary listens to the words of Jesus, Martha is busy with the service in
the house
• Luke 10:
40b: Martha complains and asks Jesus to intervene
• Luke 10:
41-42: Answer of Jesus
Text:
38 In the
course of their journey he came to a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed
him into her house. 39 She had a sister
called Mary, who sat down at the Lord's feet and listened to him speaking. 40 Now Martha, who was distracted with all the
serving, came to him and said, 'Lord, do you not care that my sister is leaving
me to do the serving all by myself? Please tell her to help me.' 41 But the Lord answered, 'Martha, Martha,' he
said, 'you worry and fret about so many things, 42 and
yet few are needed, indeed only one. It is Mary who has chosen the better part,
and it is not to be taken from her.'
A Moment of
Prayerful Silence
so that the Word of God may
penetrate and enlighten our life.
Some Questions
to help us in our personal
reflection.
•
Which is the point in this text which pleased you the
most or struck you? Why?
•
What would Jesus want to say with that affirmation:
“one thing alone is necessary”?
•
Which was the “better part” which Mary chose and which
will not be taken from her?
•
A historical event can have a more profound symbolical
sense. Did you succeed in discovering a symbolical sense in the way in which
Luke describes Jesus’ visit to the house of Martha and Mary?
•
Read attentively Acts 6: 1-6 and try to discover the
bond of union between the problem of the apostles and the conversation of Jesus
with Martha.
To Go Deeper into the Theme
Context of the Gospel of Luke:
In Luke 9, 51 begins the
second stage of the apostolic activity of Jesus, the long journey from Galilee
up to Jerusalem. At the beginning of the journey, Jesus gets out of the Jewish
world and enters the world of the Samaritans (Lk 9: 52). Even though He is not
well received by the Samaritans (Lk 9: 53), He continues in their territory and
even corrects the Disciples who think differently (Lk 9: 54-55). In responding
to those who ask to follow Him, Jesus makes explicit the significance of
everything that has happened, and indicates to them the demands of the mission
(Lk 9: 56-62).
Then Jesus
appoints other seventy-two disciples to go on mission before Him. The sending
out of the twelve (Lk 9: 1-6) was in the world of the Jews. The sending out of
the seventy-two is for the non-Jewish world. Having finished the mission, Jesus
and the Disciples meet and evaluate the mission, and the Disciples give an
account of the many activities that they carried out, but Jesus insists on the
greatest certainty that their names are written in Heaven (Lk 10: 17-37).
Then follows our text which
describes the visit of Jesus to the house of Martha and Mary (Lk 10: 38-42).
Luke does not specifically indicate where the village of Martha and Mary is
found, but in the geographical context of his Gospel, the reader imagines that
the village is found in Samaria. From the Gospel of John we know that Martha
and Mary lived in Bethany, a small village near Jerusalem (Jn 11: 1). Besides,
John tells us that they had a brother named Lazarus. Comment on the Text:
•
Luke 10: 38: Martha welcomes Jesus into her house
“In the
course of the journey, he came to a village and, a woman named Martha welcomed
hum into her house” Jesus was on the way. Luke does not always say where Jesus
was passing by, but many times that Jesus is on the way (Lk
9: 51, 53-57; 10: 1, 38; 11:
1; 13: 22, 23; 14: 25; 17: 11; 18: 31, 35; 19: 1, 11, 28, 29, 41, 45; 20:
1). Because Jesus was firmly
decided to go up to Jerusalem (Lk 9: 51). This decision orientates Him during
all the stages of the journey. The entrance into the village and into the house
of Martha and Mary is a stage more of this long journey up to Jerusalem and
forms part of the realization of Jesus’ mission. From the beginning, the
objective of the journey is definitive: to carry out His mission of Servant,
announced by Isaiah (Is 53: 2-10; 61: 1-2) and assumed by Jesus in Nazareth (Lk
4: 16-21).
•
Luke 10: 39-40a: Mary listened to his words, Martha
was taken up with the service.
“She had a sister, named
Mary, who sitting at the feet of Jesus, listened to his word; Martha, instead
was all taken up with all the serving.” A normal supper at home, in the family.
While some speak, others prepare the food. The two tasks are important and
necessary, both complement one another, especially when it is a question of
welcoming someone who is coming from outside. In affirming that “Martha was all
taken up with all the serving” (diaconia),
Luke evokes the seventy-two disciples who were also busy with many activities
of the missionary service (Lk 10: 17-18).
•
Luke 10: 40b: Martha complains and asks Jesus to
intervene.
“Martha came to him and
said: ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister is leaving me to do the service all
by myself? Please tell her to help me’” Another familiar scene, but not so
normal. Martha is busy only with the preparation of the food, while Mary is
sitting, and is speaking with Jesus. Martha complains. Perhaps Jesus interferes
and says something to the sister to see if she will help her in the service in
the diaconia. Martha considers
herself a servant and thinks that the service of a servant is that of preparing
the food and that her service in the kitchen is more important than that of her
sister who is speaking with Jesus. For Martha, what Mary does is not a service,
because she says: “Do you not care that my sister is leaving me to do the
service all by myself?” But Martha is
not the only servant. Jesus also assumes his role as servant, that is of the
Servant announced by the Prophet Isaiah. Isaiah had said that the principal
service of the Servant is that of being before God in prayer listening in order
to be able to discover a word of comfort to take to those who are discouraged.
The Servant said: “The Lord God has given me a disciple’s tongue, for me to
know how to give a word of comfort to the weary. Morning by morning he makes my
ear alert to listen like a disciple” (Is 50: 4). Now, Mary has an attitude of
prayer before Jesus. And the question arises: Who carries out the service of a
servant better: Martha or Mary?
•
Luke 10: 41-42: Response of Jesus
“The Lord then answered:
‘Martha, Martha, you worry and fret about so many things, and yet few are
needed, indeed only one. Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be
taken from her” A beautiful answer and a very human one. For Jesus, a good
conversation with persons, who are friends is important and even more important
than eating (cf. Jn 4: 32). Jesus does not agree with the worries of Martha. He
does not want that the preparation of the meal interrupt the conversation. and
it is as if he would say: “Martha, it is not necessary to prepare so many things!
A small thing suffices! And then come to participate in such a beautiful
conversation!” This is the principal significance, so simple and human of the
words of Jesus. Jesus likes a good conversation. and a good conversation with Jesus produces conversion. But in the context of the Gospel of
Luke, these decisive words of Jesus assume a more profound symbolical
significance:
•
Like Martha, the disciples also, during the mission,
were worried about many things, but Jesus clarifies well that the more important
thing is that of having their names written in Heaven, that is, to be known and
loved by God (Lk 10: 20). Jesus repeats to Martha: “You worry and fret about so
many things, and yet few are needed, indeed only one.
•
A short time before the Doctor of the Law had reduced
the commandments to one alone: “To love the Lord God above all things and your
neighbor as yourself” (Lk 10: 27). Observing this only and better commandment,
the person will be ready to act with love, like the Good Samaritan and not like
the priest or the Levite who do not fulfil their duty well (Lk 10: 25-42). The
many services of Martha should be carried out beginning by this unique service
truly necessary which is the loving attention to persons. This is the better
part that Mary has chosen and which will not be taken from her.
•
Martha is concerned about serving (diaconia). She wanted to be helped by
Mary in the service of the table. But which is the service which God wants?
This is the fundamental question. Mary is more in agreement with the attitude
of the Servant of God, because, like the Servant, she is now in the attitude of
prayer before Jesus. Mary cannot abandon her attitude of prayer in the presence
of God. Because if she would do this, she would not discover the word of
comfort to take to those who are wearied. This is the true service which God is
asking from all.
Broadening the information:
A broader context of the Acts of the Apostles
After the death and
resurrection of Jesus the communities will be born. They will have to face new
problems, for which they did not have solutions already foreseen. In order to
orientate themselves in the solutions to the problems, the communities tried to
remember the words and gestures of Jesus which could bring them some light.
Thus, the episode of the visit of Jesus to the house of Martha and Mary was
recalled and narrated in order to help clarify the problem described in Acts 6:
1-6.
The rapid growth in the
number of Christians created divisions in the community. The faithful of Greek
origin began to complain of those of Hebrew origin and said that their widows
were set aside, neglected, in the daily life. There was discrimination in the
environment of the community and persons were lacking for the various services.
Up to that moment the need had not arisen to involve other persons in the
coordination of the community and in the fulfilment of the services. Like
Moses, after leaving Egypt (Ex 18: 14; Num 11: 14-15), the Apostles also did
everything alone. But Moses, obliged by the facts, shared the power and
convoked other seventy leaders for the necessary services among the People of
God (Ex 18: 17-23; Num 11: 16-17). Jesus had done the same thing: he convoked
other seventy-two disciples (Lk 10: 1). Now, in the face of new problems, the
Apostles did the same. They convoked the community and exposed the problem
before everyone. Without doubt, the word of Jesus to Martha helped them to
reach a solution.
The Apostles find themselves
between two real needs, both of them very important, defined as service (diaconia): the service of the Word and
the service of the tables. What to do? Which of the two is more important? The
response of Jesus to Martha helped to discern the problem. Jesus said that Mary
could not abandon the conversation with Him in order to go and help in the
kitchen. Thus, Peter concludes: It would not be right for us to neglect the
Word of God so as to give out food! And Peter defines the service of the
Apostolate: “to devote themselves to prayer and to the ministry of the Word.”
It is not said that one
service is better than the other. What cannot happen is that the service of the
Word be hindered by the unforeseen demands of the service at the table. The
community was obliged to face the problem, be concerned to have enough people
for all the services, so as to be able, to converse, thus, the service of the
Word in its integrity. The service of the word proper of the Apostles (and of
Mary at the feet of Jesus) had two dimensions: on the one side the listening to
the Word, receiving it, incarnating it, announcing it, diffusing it through the
active work of evangelization and, on the other side, in the name of the
community, respond to God in prayer, represent the community in a prayerful
attitude before God. It is not a question of an opposition between the two
services: word and table. Both are important and necessary for the life of the
community. It is necessary to have persons available for both of them. In the
economy of the Kingdom, besides, the service of the Word (Evangelization) is
the root, the source. It is the better part which Mary has chosen. The service
of the table is the result, the fruit, it is its revelation. For Luke and for
the first Christians, “the better part” of which Jesus speaks to Martha, is the
service of evangelization, source of all the rest.
Mestre Eckhart, the great
Dominican mystic of the Middle Ages interprets this episode in a very amusing
way. He says that Martha already knew how to work and to live in the presence
of God. Mary did not know and was learning. This is why she could not be
interrupted. The great mystics are the proof that this text cannot be
interpreted like a confirmation on the part of Jesus that contemplative life is
better and more sublime than active life. It is not well to make a distinction
of these two words, because one is completed, is founded and is made explicit
in the other. The Carmelite Saint John of the Cross in a little more than ten
years he travelled 27,000 kilometres going through Spain. Saint Teresa of Avila
was always on the move, very busy as she was with the foundation of so many
monasteries. Jesus himself lived the profound unity of contemplative and active
life.
Recitation of a Psalm
Psalm 145 (144): God Deserves Praise
I shall praise you to the
heights, God my King, I shall bless your name for ever and ever.
Day after day I shall bless
you,
I shall praise your name for
ever and ever.
Great is Yahweh and worthy
of all praise, his greatness beyond all reckoning.
Each
age will praise your deeds to the next, proclaiming your mighty works. Your
renown is the splendor of your glory, I will ponder the story of your wonders.
They
will speak of your awesome power, and I shall recount your greatness. They will
bring out the memory of your great generosity, and joyfully acclaim your saving
justice.
Yahweh is tenderness and
pity, slow to anger, full of faithful love. Yahweh is generous to all,
his tenderness embraces all
his creatures. All your creatures shall thank you, Yahweh, and your faithful
shall bless you.
They
shall speak of the glory of your kingship and tell of your might, making known
your mighty deeds to the children of Adam, the glory and majesty of your
kingship.
Your kingship is a kingship
forever, your reign lasts from age to age.
Yahweh is
trustworthy in all his words, and upright in all his deeds. Yahweh supports all
who stumble, lifts up those who are bowed down. All look to you in hope
and you feed them with the
food of the season. And, with generous hand, you satisfy the desires of every
living creature. Upright in all that he does, Yahweh acts only in faithful
love. He is close to all who call upon him, all who call on him from the heart.
He fulfils the desires of
all who fear him, he hears their cry and he saves them.
Yahweh
guards all who love him, but all the wicked he destroys. My mouth shall always
praise Yahweh, let every creature bless his holy name for ever and ever.
Final Prayer
Lord Jesus, we thank for the
word that has enabled us to understand better the will of the Father. May your
Spirit enlighten our actions and grant us the strength to practice that which
your Word has revealed to us. May we, like Mary, your mother, not only listen
to but also practice the Word. You who live and reign with the Father in the unity
of the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.
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