Homily for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

July 20, 2025



The director of religious education was showing off the First Communion class for the benefit of the pastor. She tried to gauge her questions to their intelligence level so that each child could make a good showing.

“Johnny,” she said to one of the boys, “is there anything that God cannot do?” “Yes, sister,” Johnny replied confidently. “Think again, Johnny,” she repeated. “Is there anything God cannot do?”

“Yes, Sister, there is,” came the same reply with more emphasis than before. “O.K., Johnny, what is it?” asked the sister in exasperation. Johnny replied triumphantly, “God can’t please everybody.”

We see this in today’s gospel. Hospitality was very important in the culture of that day. And so, Martha, is rushing about, trying to put everything together for such an important guest (and probably a number of Jesus’ inner circle, as well). So Martha, exasperated, bi-passes her sister, and takes her complaint higher: Jesus, fix my sister; I’m working to the point of exhaustion, and she won’t lift a finger to help me.

It's very clear that not even Jesus could please everybody. He tries to explain to Martha that the purpose of his visit wasn’t to create anxiety. He’s come as a friend, probably to relax, catch up on what’s happening in his friends’ lives, and to offer some teaching to help them with their faith life.

This passage has been interpreted in various ways down through the centuries. Some have said, for example, that Mary represents nuns, who have a calling to pray and get close to the Lord. Others have suggested that Jesus is calling for some balance in life between action and building a relationship with God through prayer. Still others point out that in the society of Jesus’ day it was the role of men to sit and listen. Women were supposed to do the chores, which Martha was doing. And so, in defending Mary, Jesus was raising up the role of women in his kingdom.

But I like the insight of Johnny, the boy who was going to make his First Communion: God can’t please everybody. So, how do we deal with disagreements, with different personality types, with those who see things in black and white, with those who insist there’s only one way (namely, their way)?

Many years ago, John XXIII was remembered as a kindly Pope and pastor of the church. He wanted to tone down the rhetoric, to be more understanding and inclusive, to show love rather than condemnation. And here’s how he summarized it: in essentials, unity; in non-essentials, diversity; but in all things, charity.

It seems to me that in a lot of our dialogue these days, whether it be within the home, in the community, or in political life, it’s the charity that is missing. In our life of over-stimulation and busy-ness, we can put our relationship with God on the back burner. And so we lose our balance, we approach each other without love, we adopt the ways of the world rather than the ways of God. And like Martha, we are filled with anxiety and frustration. Jesus wants to bring us healing and peace, but sometimes, we’re just too uptight to listen.

So…what do you need to learn from this gospel? Are you overly anxious and upset? Do you make time for God? Are your speech and actions rooted in love?