Quality Hospitality
Homily on the 16th Sunday in OT, 20 July 2025, Maryville Chapel Talamban
We Filipinos are known for our distinct hospitality. Whenever foreign visitors and guests arrive we always offer them the warmest welcome we can give. We serve them the best food, and we prepare the cosiest accommodation, to make sure that they are more than comfortable and contented while they are with us. In fact some years ago the Department of Tourism has come up with a powerful tagline “It’s More Fun in the Philippines.” This was in order to allure and entice more tourists to come and visit our beautiful islands, showcasing everything that is good and beautiful about us: from the most amazing white sand beaches, the colourful and vibrant marine life, the golden sunsets to the mouth-watering food, “bonggacious” feasts, captivating smiles and charming faces that exude the highest quality of hospitality.
Today we celebrate the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. If you recall last Sunday, the Lord told us that the way to eternal life is by being sensitive to the needs of our neighbour no matter who they might be. And he exemplified this by telling the story of the good Samaritan who went out of his way to rescue someone who fell victim to robbers along the road. Today’s set of readings highlights the same theme but gives particular emphasis on the virtue of hospitality.
The first reading (Gen 18:1-10a) presents to us the story of Abraham, our father in faith. One day he got the biggest surprise in his life. We recall that he and his wife Sarah had been childless for years with no more hope for them to have a baby due to their advanced age. One sunny day, however, three travelers made a stop-over in front of their tent-like house.
They were tired and exhausted from their long journey. Abraham saw them and offered them hospitality. As soon as his visitors expressed delight he quickly had some bread baked for them, and a male cow slaughtered and roasted. He also offered them a foot spa under the tree while they wait for the food to be ready. Abraham did not even know who his unexpected guests were, but from the goodness of his heart he extended to them the highest quality of Asian hospitality for free, without any service charge at all.
But what happened next is even more surprising as it had left Abraham blown away. One of his guests inquired where his wife was. And then, upon learning that she was just there inside the tent, he promised to Abraham that his wife Sarah by the following year would already be nursing a baby boy. When Sarah overheard the visitor’s statement she just laughed in disbelief. However what she heard was not a fake and empty promise at all. For after a year she and her husband were indeed gifted with a baby boy according to the promise they received.
Don’t you sometimes get similar surprises in your life? I myself just got one yesterday. Allow me to share this personal experience,. For several months I had been going to Lawaan every Saturday to teach Liturgy. Yesterday was my last meeting with my students. And I had a feeling they were preparing a little surprise for me, but I couldn’t figure out what it would be. Then, as soon as I ended my lecture, they got something from inside the cabinet and presented to me their gift. To my big surprise it was a brand new luggage. They knew exactly what I would need in my frequent travels to visit our communities around Visayas and Mindanao.
In the Gospel story we just heard (Lk 10:38-42), we see a similar kind of hospitality being shown. When Jesus came to Bethany he was gladly welcomed by a woman named Martha who immediately busied herself with preparing some special food for him. But to her dismay she was left alone to do all the work at the kitchen, while Mary, her younger sister, sat comfortably at the feet of the Master to listen to him. When she couldn’t take it anymore Martha approached Jesus and voiced out her complaint: “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.”
Jesus, however, chose to disregard her request. He must have been annoyed by Martha’s words ordering him what to do. However, instead of conceding to Martha’s demanding request, he chose to affirm what her younger sister opted to do, that is, to sit down and listen to the Master. The point is this: the kind of hospitality shown by Mary proved to be more acceptable to Jesus than the kind of hospitality shown by Martha. Mary, the younger sister, chose to put aside the work of her hands in order to honor Jesus’ work of preaching the Gospel. She allowed his words first to reach her ears, warm her heart and nourish her soul so that she could be fully energized to serve her Lord and prepare for him the food that could nourish the body.
What is Jesus teaching us through this factual event that happened during his public ministry? It is this: in Christianity there exists a much better and much higher form of hospitality. And it is when we put aside all our activities including our services and acts of charity for the purpose of listening to God and meditating on His Word.
I believe what Jesus meant waste that we cannot allow ourselves to be overly busy serving others that we neglect to pray and listen to the Lord speaking to us and nourishing us. For him every follower should give top priority to prayer and meditation over any other activity because prayer is our ME time with God who loves us and empowers us for selfless service. And that is why he affirmed more the attitude of Martha’s younger sister Mary who during his visit immediately sat down at his feet to listen to him.
This somehow explains why before we begin the six days of work during the week, we Catholics put aside everything that we are doing and gather together in church every Sunday to pray. This is the privileged moment for us to honor God’s presence and listen attentively to His Word. And then as a fitting response, we proceed to offer to him our Eucharistic sacrifice, namely, bread and wine which when transformed into Christ’s Body and Blood would empower us to engage faithfully and fruitfully in his saving mission.
Brothers and sisters, the Catholic Church could most probably be the biggest non-government institution doing good on earth, working for the victims of poverty, violence and exploitation through her countless charitable works, catering even to non-Catholics and non-Christians as well. But in the light of today’s gospel, we realize that we really cannot accomplish much good if, individually and as a Church, we do not spend quality time first to pray and listen to God’s Word. It is by listening that we discern what, where and how our next mission will be. And if we offer to him the highest quality of human hospitality, we will soon experience the fulfilment of his promises and receive a reward beyond all expectation.
We pray in this Holy Mass that the Lord may continue to call and send more laborers to work in his vineyard and that many more young people may listen to his voice and respond generously to his call. May we also be inspired by Martha’s sister Mary to give top priority to prayer over everything else allowing the Lord to do first his work in our hearts, so that our apostolic work of being “good Samaritans” may truly be fruitful and pleasing in God’s eyes.
Finally let us tell the world that our country the Philippines is not just another beautiful tourist destination. Being the biggest Catholic country in Asia it is above all a spiritual hub where people from all walks of life can experience God’s presence among us and his WORD so amazingly alive and changing lives. GiGsss!
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