JULY 29, 2026 FATHER PETER JAE CHOI
I drive an old pickup truck. As you can imagine, things tend to break down, especially being an old vehicle.
You see, I don’t mind spending money fixing things that are necessary. But minor issues that aren’t safety hazards, I can live with.
About five years ago, I noticed a crack on the side-view mirror on the passenger side. I could still see it without a problem, but the crack was just too obvious for me to ignore. It really began to bother me, so I went to the dealership and asked them if they could just pop out the mirror and replace just the mirror part.
The service manager explained to me that I would have to replace the entire unit, which comes with the motor and the heating element, for $1400 plus tax. It was a lot of money for a mirror. I really didn’t want to spend that kind of money on a mirror, but I felt like I had no choice since it was bothering me so much. So, I had to bite the bullet and have it replaced.
A few days later, I was talking to my friend and told him what happened, and he got upset and said, “Why didn’t you ask me? I could have done it for you. I know how to fix it. It pops right out.” Then he pulls out his phone and looks up on Amazon a replacement mirror from Amazon being sold for $25.
I was really upset. What can you do? You live and learn. Thankfully, I have a trustworthy mechanic that I go to now, because he’s very good and very honest.
So, when it comes to trust, what qualities do you look for in a person before you decide to put trust in that person? I’ll say four things that are important for me are competence, reliability, transparency and honesty.
So, let me ask you: in your opinion, is God trustworthy? Can you and do you trust him?
The truth is what you worry about the most is where we trust God the least. So, what we worry about the most reveals where our trust in God is lacking. Here are the top things that people tend to worry about the most. Money, future, job security, relationships and health.
You see, worry is a future-oriented thinking that sees what hasn’t happened yet as a threat. So, worry derives from wanting to control things that are beyond our control. There’s nothing more useless than worrying, because worry does absolutely nothing. Worry cannot change our past. Worry cannot control our future. To worry is to assume responsibilities that belong to God.
When we are worrying, we are doubting God’s goodness and his plan for us. We behave like God doesn’t know what we are going through, and that he isn’t able to get things right.
In today’s Gospel, we encounter Martha being busy and overwhelmed with cooking and serving, and venting to Jesus about how Mary is not helping her. So, Martha not only complained to Jesus about Mary, but she also tried to control him by telling Jesus what to do. Even though I can totally sympathize with Martha, I don’t think you can tell God what to do.
Surprisingly, instead of taking Martha’s side, Jesus corrects her by telling her that she was being too anxious and worried about many things. He goes further by seemingly praising Mary for having chosen the better part. In the Latin Vulgate, St. Jerome actually translated this verse as “unum necessarium,” or “the one thing necessary.” Jesus told Martha that Mary was doing what was necessary.
We need to listen to God, discern God’s will before we spring into action. Jesus not only taught his disciples about the importance of prayer, but he also showed it by his own examples. Jesus prayed at baptism. Before he chose 12 disciples. Before he was transfigured. Before he taught his disciples how to pray. On the Mount of Olives, before his arrest and his Passion. While being nailed to the cross, and before he took his last breath.
When Jesus prayed, prayer was not just a communication, but a profound expression of his communion with the Father. Jesus prayed to discern and submit to the Father’s will. We not only need to pray to discern God’s will, but we also need to pray that we may have the strength to carry out God’s will.
In my experience, God not only wants me to pray and depend on him. But he also challenges me by placing me in situations where I need to grow in my trust. He intentionally puts me there to challenge me to grow. I’m certain that God does the same thing with you in your life. This is because the only way that God can challenge our trust to grow is when things do not go according to our plans.
Back in 2024, the legendary tennis player Roger Federer gave a commencement speech at Dartmouth College, and this is what he said.
“I won almost 80% of matches. “What percentage of points “do you think I won in those matches? “Only 54%. “In other words, even the top-ranked players “win barely more than half of the points they play. “When you lose every second point on average, “you learn not to dwell on every shot. “You teach yourself to think, okay. I double-faulted. “It’s only a point. “I came to the net, and I got passed again. “It’s only a point. “Even a great shot, an overhead and smash “that ends up on ESPN’s top 10 list, “that, too, is just a point. “When you’re playing a point, “it has to be the most important thing in the world. “But when it’s behind you, it’s behind you. “This mindset frees you to fully commit to the next point, “and the next point after that. “You want to become a master at overcoming hard moments. “That is, to me, the sign of a champion. “The best in the world are not the best “because they win every point, “but because they know they lose again and again and have learned how to deal with it.”
So, what is the best way to trust God? We learn to trust God by not being self-reliant, by not dwelling on our past mistakes. We need to focus on the present moment. Not worrying about the future, but firmly trusting that God will never put us to the test beyond our strength.
So, rather than being anxious and worrying about many things like Martha, let us entrust everything in the hand of God, like her sister Mary did.
