A Homily for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Genesis 18:1-10a; Psalm 15:2-3, 3-4, 5; Colossians 1:24-28; Luke 10:38-42
Audio Recording
Today we are invited into the home of Martha and Mary — two sisters who loved the Lord deeply, and who welcomed Him into their home. And in today’s familiar Gospel scene, we encounter a moment that has puzzled many over the centuries.
Martha is busy serving. She’s cooking, preparing, ensuring everything is in order for their honored guest. Mary, meanwhile, is sitting at Jesus’ feet, simply listening. And when Martha — understandably — asks Jesus to tell Mary to help her, she receives a surprising 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.”
At first glance, this may sound unfair. Isn’t Martha doing a good and necessary thing? Isn’t hospitality a virtue?
Indeed, it is. In fact, the Church honors Martha as a saint. And we must be careful not to pit these two sisters against each other as if we must choose between them. This is not a battle between good and bad, or service and spirituality. Instead, Jesus is revealing something deeper — a lesson not just for Martha, but for all of us.
The Lord’s gentle rebuke reminds us that while there is much to be done in life, there is only one thing necessary. Mary had chosen it: to sit at the feet of Jesus, to listen, to gaze, to contemplate — to be fully present to Him. In her quiet stillness, Mary was doing the most important work of all: receiving the Word of God.
This attentive hospitality to the Lord’s presence echoes the beautiful story we heard in our first reading, when Abraham welcomes three mysterious visitors at the oak of Mamre. Like Martha, Abraham busied himself with serving. But the result of that welcome was divine revelation — God made a promise of life, a son for Sarah. When we open our hearts and homes to God, He speaks, and His Word bears fruit. In this story, Abraham exhibits BOTH Martha’s hospitality and Mary’s attentiveness to his divine guests.
The saints have always taught that what is unseen is more real than what is seen. St. Ambrose tells us, “What is seen belongs to time, but what is not seen belongs to eternity.” And St. Ignatius of Antioch, facing his own martyrdom, wrote: “Nothing you can see has real value.” These words aren’t meant to dismiss the value of everyday life or daily duties. Rather, they urge us to see those duties through the lens of eternity.
Jesus does not criticize Martha’s service — He lovingly calls her out for being “anxious and worried.” That’s the difference. It’s not what she was doing, but how she was doing it. It is possible to serve with peace, rooted in prayer. But when our service is consumed by worry, we lose sight of the eternal.
That’s the danger we face today. We live in a Martha-world — busy, fast-paced, constantly demanding our attention. We measure success by output. Even in the Church, we can slip into thinking our worth is in our work. But Jesus says: There is only one thing necessary — to remain close to Him.
This is why the Church has always treasured the vocation of contemplative life — monks and nuns, cloistered religious, men and women who step away from the world to do what Mary did: to sit at the feet of Jesus. Their life may seem “unproductive” to the world, but they are the beating heart of the Church, reminding us of heaven, reminding us that prayer is never wasted and sustaining the Church through their prayers.
And in our second reading, St. Paul offers a powerful reminder of what this life is all about. He speaks of a mystery hidden from ages past but now revealed: Christ in you, the hope of glory. Christ dwells within us. And whether we are called to active service or to silent prayer, everything must flow from that interior union with Him.
You don’t have to enter a monastery to live this. Each of us are called to nurture a “Mary-heart” within us. Even as we fulfill our Martha-like responsibilities — working, caring for our families, serving others — we must make time to sit quietly with the Lord, to open His Word, to listen, to adore, to receive. Because only then will our service be truly fruitful, and our hearts truly at peace.
So today, the Lord speaks not just to Martha, but to each one of us: “You are anxious and worried about many things.”
Let us ask Him for the grace to be still… to choose the better part… to remember what truly matters. Because in the end, the only thing necessary is Him.
God bless you.