Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time 2025

Published: July 18, 2025

Bishop Anthony B. Taylor preached the following homily at the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Little Rock July 18, 2025.

Bishop Taylor

Karl Marx described religion as the opiate of the people; a drug that sedated oppressed people by promising future rewards for putting up with their present intolerable circumstances. Marx opposed religion because the powers-that-be used it to keep the people under control.

You don't have to be a Communist to see that religion is often used for non-religious purposes. In our own country, both political parties craft platforms designed to win our votes. One party opposes abortion and hopes by means of this issue to get the Catholic vote because of our absolute opposition to abortion, the single gravest evil of our times, forgetting that abortion is not our only concern. 

The other party appeals to our Catholic vision of inclusion and care for the poor. But in both cases, the underlying objective is often about power: to get elected. There's always the danger that we will be taken in by the empty promises of some politicians whose real agenda has nothing to do with the truths we proclaim and the values we hold dear.

This is also true in our relations with each other: people often use religious language for non-religious purposes. In today's Gospel, Martha invites Jesus to the house which she shared with Mary of Bethany, and then under the veneer of trying to be a good hostess, she makes a little power play, a move designed to put Mary in her place. 

The attitude of the time was that only men discussed theology; women belonged in the kitchen. So, when Martha asks Jesus to make her sister help her, what she wants is for Jesus to use his religious authority to put Mary in her place and get her off her duff and back into the kitchen where she belongs. But Jesus doesn't buy this at all. He says Martha, Martha, you are anxious and upset about many things; one thing only is required. Who cares about what's going on in the kitchen? We're in here discussing the kingdom of God and you can't sub-contract out your religious life to the men. You need to understand and believe on your own. Mary has chosen the better portion and she shall not be deprived of it. 

And there you have it! Jesus wants us to get to know him ourselves, and we will do so by sitting at his feet like Mary did, listening to his words. 

One of the biggest impediments to people truly opening up to the Lord is the scandal that occurs when people use religion to further their own personal agenda. For example: religious battles within families sometimes serve as a proxy for conflicts that are really about power — who will get their way and which side of the family will have more influence: power plays dressed up in religious language. And of course, the kids are caught in the middle.

When religion is used for non-religious purposes, innocent people get hurt. Jesus does say that conflicts will arise on account of our faith — because following him requires us to put doing God's will ahead of everything else — but most such conflicts are really about trying to make others do our will, which is not the same as God's will. 

It is very easy for us to be blind regarding our own real motives. Any time you see so-called Christians conducting themselves in a unkind manner, you can be sure of three things: 1) the conflict is not of the Lord, 2) the basic issue is power, not faith, and 3) innocent people will be hurt.