Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Gospel: Matthew 13: 44-52

As per the parables told by Jesus today, there are two possibilities for finding the Kingdom of Heaven.

1. The first is a chance encounter. The man in question casually encountered a treasure in a field owned by someone else. He quietly goes home and sells everything he has and returns to purchase that property. Thus, he became the rightful owner of the treasure.

2. The second man, a merchant in search of precious stones, finds the dream of his life, at the end of a long search. The owner of this fine pearl is not ready to sell it easily; the merchant had to sell everything to buy it. 

Both of them had to sell everything so that they can possess the newfound treasure. It sounds strange, each treasure was worth the total possession of the finder. If they wanted to hold on to some of their old possessions, they could not have bought the treasure.

The Kingdom of Heaven is expensive but affordable for everyone. It is an all-or-nothing business. One has to let go of everything to own it. It does not limit to money and assets. We have to let go of everything to enter into the Kingdom of God.

The kingdom of God is worth more than your car, house, deposits, and other assets: all combined. The Kingdom of God is worth more than your parents, spouse, children, siblings, friends, and colleagues: all combined. The Kingdom of God is worth more than your reputation, degrees, social status, and power: all combined.

The kingdom of God is worth more than your worries, anxieties, frustrations, and expectations; give them up! The Kingdom of God is worth more than your sins, anger, jealousy, avarice, gluttony, greed, lust, and hatred; dump them.

It doesn’t matter how you encountered the Kingdom of God a chance encounter, or the result of a long struggle. You have to give up everything to possess it.

The Kingdom of God itself is choosy. It does not accept everyone who knocks. The third parable explains it well.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind. When it is full, they haul it ashore and sit down to put what is good into buckets. What is bad they throw away.”

You need to belong to a certain class to be let into the Kingdom of God. It is an all-or-nothing game as mentioned earlier. Halfhearted sacrifices would end up good neither for the basket nor for the waters. They will end up like dead fish in the sea.

It is not enough to pretend to belong to Jesus. Make the Kingdom of God the first priority in life; get hold of it no matter what you have to pay. Everything else can wait.

Amen.

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Also Read: Mass Readings for 23 July 2023 Mass Reading Reflection for 23 July 2023

Gospel: Matthew 13: 24-43

The first parable we heard just reminds us of the old dictum, “All that glitters is not gold.” Everyone who appears to be a Christian is not a true Christian. Hence, we need to caution ourselves while approaching them. However, it is not up to us to pass judgment and isolate them. There are three reasons for it: first, deciding between the weed and the wheat is not easy. They look so similar to each other. Second, the roots are so intertwined, you cannot de-weed without hurting the wheat if not you unintentionally destroy some wheat along with the weeds.  Finally, we humans have the possibility of conversion once we let the Word of God work within us. Hence we must be non-judgmental about others and ourselves, and let the Word of God work. The second and third parables tell how the Word of God works.

The kingdom of God does not make a noisy entry. It works like yeast in flour. It transforms the flour considerably. The transformation is within, but the result is self-evident. The flour is thus ready to be cooked or baked to make it better bread. It happens because the flour lets the yeast work within.

Let the word of God work within you, and witness the miracle happening within you. Those who have let the Word of God work in them have transformed considerably. The flour that does not let the yeast work within renders itself useless and worthy to be thrown away.

Let the word of God work consistently within us, the result could be visible over some time. We are going to be better and more refined human beings. We are going to be worthy of God. We are going to be Christians in all senses of the word Christian.

To let it happen, we need to help ourselves with the Word of God every day, we need to nourish ourselves with the Holy Eucharist, and we need to be in close contact with Jesus through our prayers. We need to let Jesus remove the stains of sin through His holy blood at confession. We need to make our lives holy by promptly receiving the sacraments. Yes, we need to let Jesus do His works in our lives.

Let Jesus work within you, and see and enjoy the results. Many great saints were ordinary ones like many of us. But when they let Jesus work within themselves the results were terrific. Mother Teresa of Calcutta is a good example. She let Jesus work within her, and later on, she let Jesus work through her. Subsequently, she passed on the yeast to hundreds and thousands of women and men, who continue the mission to this day.

Let Jesus forgive through you. Let Jesus care for the needy through you. Let Jesus comfort the desolate through you. Let Jesus love your family and neighbors through you. In a word, let Jesus work through you.  

Amen.

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Also Read: Mass Readings for 16 July 2023 Mass Reading Reflection for 16 July 2023

Gospel: Matthew 13: 1-23

Seeds do not come free. They are selected and preserved with utmost care. No sensible farmer would waste it. A seasoned farmer knows the field well. He doesn’t come to the field just to sow the seeds; he would oversee preparing the field. When he sees the field is ready for the seeds, he takes the seed basket and begins to sow. If the field is large, he avails the help of his best colleagues to accomplish the job on time. He would not let his precious seeds waisted to feed the birds of the air, nor let it thrown over rocks and among thorns.

But, the sower of the parable is so generous to the point we can call him careless. He does so because we are not inanimate pieces of land. Jesus is talking of human hearts, and their ability to respond to the word of God. Many a hostile piece of land has turned good thanks to shine, shower, and untiring labors. If lifeless pieces of land can change, we too can change and produce better. That is the reason Jesus telling this parable. The word of God is showered without prejudice. If one remains unresponsive, it is by choice.

Midway through the reading, we see Jesus citing the prophet Isaiah, lamenting the people who widely shut their eyes and ears. The prophet is lamenting the people who deliberately shut their eyes and closed their ears so that the word of God does not penetrate into their lives. Jesus is repeating that criticism.

There is hope. We can be different. We can be responsive to the Word of God. If interested you can produce a hundred-fold from now on. Start from receiving the word of God with joy. Help yourself with the Word of God in plenty. It is there at home, on your table or shelf. It is there on your computer and your mobile phone. I am talking of the Bible. Help yourself by reading or listening to the Bible daily. Use any of the media, but help yourself with Bible every day.

The word of God is powerful. It can move mountains. It can turn hostile hearts into welcoming hearts. It can chase away Satan who comes to steal the word of God away. It can crush the stones to fine earth. It can remove the thorns in our hearts. So, help yourself generously with the Bible every day. Read it, listen to it, meditate on it, and pray over it.

Finally, be a colleague to the great sower. He has invited you when he said the harvest is plenty but labors are few. Spread the word of God without any prejudice. Don’t assume that someone is not worthy enough to receive the Word of God. If Saul can become St. Paul, and if Augustine the atheist could become St. Augustine, every man and woman has a chance. There is hope for everyone. Hence, don’t stop helping yourself with the Word of God, start serving the Word of God without any prejudice.

Amen.