16^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

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

Theme: A generous heart

Today is the 16^th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year C. Today’s readings show us that generosity attracts the blessings of God. The 1^st reading today shows us how the generosity of Abraham to the three visitors brought him the blessings of God. A promise was made about Sarah the wife of Abraham and was fulfilled by God. In the same way my brothers and sisters, God continues to invite us to a life of generosity. In our dealings with one another, we must learn to be generous and kind. In that way, we can equally attract the blessings of God that will make us better people, and our society a better place.

In the gospel reading of today, we hear the story of Mary and Martha (two sisters). The actions of Mary and Martha in today’s gospel, point out to the fact that they are two sides to a coin: the word of God and Service. Interestingly today, Jesus emphasizes the place of God’s word in our lives that is why he said Mary chose the better part. Jesus was not downplaying the need for service; He was simply saying that the word of God was more important.

This is because it is in hearing the word of God that our faith is strengthened. When we allow the word of God that we hear to guide and direct us, we can be rest assured that we will be prompted in such a way that service will become part of our lives. That is why my brothers and sisters, on this 16^th Sunday of the year, we are all encouraged to ensure that both sides of the coin become part of our lives. We must learn to be people of service and learn to take into consideration and make good use of the word of God that we continue to hear. The word of God will go a long way in making us better people and better servants.

Dear friends in Christ, on this 16^th Sunday of the year, the word of God is encouraging us to make good use of the word of God we hear. It encourages us to be generous people, and the more generous we are, the more we experience the blessings of God. Generosity should be done because it is a necessity in our lives, we must do it because it is necessary. Not because we are looking forward to reward. This is because if we are prompted to be generous based on the reward we expect to get, we may end up disappointed. But if we are doing it because we know that generosity is a necessity in our lives as children of God, then we will experience the blessings of God like Abraham and his household. That is why dear friends, we must continue to strive after that which is of God.

Similarly, service to humanity is a necessity and listening to the word of God and putting it into practice is also a necessity. We are all encouraged to live out the word of God in our lives if we truly want to be Gods people. And we listen, we should put to practice the word of God by servicing others, especially those who are in need. In the way, we must have fulfilled the teaching of Christ Jesus in today’s gospel: listen to God’s word and serve diligently in generosity.

We pray today that God will help us and grant us the spirit of generosity and the grace to put into practice the word of God that we hear. Peace be with you!