If the listeners are worried about how Jonah was swallowed by a whale, for example, they will miss the author's point which is an attack on racism and nationalism, sins of which Jonah was guilty. Drawing concrete lessons from the Scripture readings for his congregation is probably the homilist's most difficult problem. He must know his congregation, their prejudices and problems. The lessons will be different for rich or poor, white or black, rural or urban residents, young or old, single or married. A mixed congregation presents a special problem because, in speaking to all, the homilist can easily reach a level of abstraction that touches no one concretely.
Today there is also the opposite temptation to be as relevant as the morning's newspaper.
But bringing the woes of the world into every homily is as masochistic as the older habit of always preaching on the cross, even on Christmas. The prayers of the faithful are an appropriate place for these woes when they do not fit the themes in the Scripture. Another temptation for the homilist is to preach to the saved. For example, preaching against the abuses of corporate power to a group of radical leftists is as sensible as preaching against lewd and drunken behavior to a convent of cloistered Carmelites. It is easier to tell them what they want to hear.