Readings and meditation on the Word of God on the 16th Sunday in ordinary time, July 20, 2025

Delivered by Jonathan Axel, Jovinson Tansil and Grace Larope from the Parish of Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral in the Archdiocese of Makassar, and Everine Lo from the Parish of Saint Theresia in the Archdiocese of Jakarta, Indonesia. Genesis 18: 1-10a; Rs psalm 15: 2-3ab.3cd-4ab.5; Colossians 1: 24-28; Luke 10: 38-42.GOD TEACHES US TO ACCEPT The title for our meditation today is:God Teaches Us To Accept. According to our faith, God is the first to act ordo. God creates, loves, chooses, sends, and helps; all these happen to us whenGod in the first time and place takes initiative and action. Then we can raisethis question: Why does God first initiate and act, and not we? The answer isbecause if we humans are the first to act, then God becomes inferior while the creationis superior to him.  As we deal with this theme: God is teachingus to accept, we want to pay attention especially to human actions. Someone whowelcomes or receives an invitation from God, he is actually showing a veryfundamental act of faith. The baptism that we have received to make usdisciples of Jesus, departed from the initiative of God who called or came tous. He then brought us to faith. This basic call or invitation becomes thepoint of departure of all kinds of God's calling and will to us, which alwaysask for our willingness to accept. We can mention a number of teachingsto accept, beginning from our fundamental vocation to become believers who havefaith in Jesus Christ. In this life, accepting responsibility, duty and missionis a calling that complements our fundamental calling as believers. In the bookof Genesis today, Abraham's family and especially wife Sarah, accepted a newresponsibility. She was blessed with the dignity of a mother, who wouldconceive and bear a child for Abraham and certainly for God also. Every one ofus is encouraged to accept responsibility, duty and mission with gratitude andmake it a challenge to be realized in accordance with God’s will. In addition to responsibilities andassignments, we are also taught to accept the fruits of our works. A workoutcome can be satisfying, it can also be disappointing. The teaching for us asSaint Paul reveals in the second reading today is that no matter how the workis may be in suffering or the cross, we must continue to accept it openly andthankfully. We must dedicate to God our work and its result. The next teachingto accept is our ability to accept criticism, improvements, corrections, andmaybe even strong rebuke. A criticism like what Jesus gave to Martha is quite alesson for us about focusing on the growth of our faith and calling. When acriticism or rebuke made by comparing our bad or less qualified actions tothose of our neighbors, we must see it as something hard that pushes us tochange. We should to put into practice all these teachings to accept and not tounderestimate or resist them. Let's pray. In the name of theFather ... O Lord Jesus, strengthen our faith to accept and put into practicethe Father’s will for us. Hail Mary full of grace ... In the name of theFather...