Don’t Miss the Good Part – Missionary Commentary for Sunday, July 20, 2025

Don’t Miss the Good Part

God’s Word requires only our full attention—the one, essential thing that we may, unfortunately, be unconsciously avoiding! We might be able to impress people with our capacity to throw a great party—but do we lose out, in the end, and miss the message meant just for us?

Missioned priests who leave their countries of origin, however, may choose to live close to the largely unevangelized people they serve, in a house that is distant from church or chapels, and less imbued with the formality of an office or reception room.

In the eastern zone of Santiago, in Chile, Father Leo and I rented a house in the back of a slightly larger house, and neighbors would drop in for a cup of tea in the mornings or afternoons without previous notice. When we first moved there, they were afraid that we would move away if they didn’t keep entertaining us with good conversation, stories and songs.

We later laughed together with our neighbors about these needless fears, and while we learned to appreciate and respond to spontaneous visits with hospitable attentiveness, they learned to respect our limits of needing a siesta once in a while, or praying in silence, undisturbed.

As they grew in their own faith, over the years, they understood better what our Gospel-based presence was about. And like Paul in today’s second reading, we looked forward to the awakening of their own missionary consciousness and evangelizing of others, perhaps even to the point of going abroad to other countries, like we were called to do.

May God help us to always appreciate the one, essential thing that Jesus identifies for Martha today, in sharing the Good News—hospitable attentiveness to the living Word of Christ, which urges us to receive strangers who arrive in our country, and who contribute so much to our society.

Notes on the Readings

First Reading, Genesis 18:1-10a 
When Abraham and Sara saw the three majestic strangers, who mediated the presence of the Lord, they immediately act to receive them with dignity and hospitality, as many cultures require, even today. The strangers then promise them a child (Isaac) the following year.

Responsorial, Psalm 15:2-5 
The person worthy to enter God’s presence is one who does no wrong to the neighbor, declares the psalmist in this entrance hymn for the Temple in Jerusalem. Placed just after our first reading, Abraham and Sara are recalled as two people worthy of entering into God’s presence, having shown justice in practicing hospitality toward the stranger.

Second Reading, Colossians 1:24-28
Paul defines his mission as mediating the mystery of God to the Gentiles at great personal cost and suffering—which he is glad to do, for the sake of the Church, warning and wisely teaching those who will show Christ to the world themselves, in their turn..

Gospel, Luke 10:38-42
When Martha accuses her sister Mary of abandoning her to do all the work of receiving and feeding a guest, Jesus reminds her that hospitality requires only one essential thing: attention to the guest. Mary made the right choice, listening to the word of the prophet, Jesus.