17th Sunday of Ordinary Time

In the parables of today’s gospel, Jesus reminds us that the Kingdom of Heaven is hidden and valuable.  It is a tremendous treasure that brings us many blessings, including eternal life.  Like the one who discovered the buried riches and the other who found the pearl of great price, we are to do whatever it takes in order to share in the Kingdom.  And then we are to be faithful to life in the Kingdom so that at the final judgment we are not cast aside, but instead found to be worthy of a place for all time in the fullness of the Kingdom.

We enter into the Kingdom through our baptism.  We become adopted sons and daughters of God, brothers and sisters of Jesus.  We are filled with the Holy Spirit, who gives us what we need to fulfill God’s will for our lives.  In the first reading, God is pleased with young Solomon who knew what he needed to be a strong king.  Solomon asked for wisdom and for a discerning heart and was given what he asked for from the Lord.

And yet, when we recall our place in the Kingdom, and the love of God that was poured into our hearts through the power of the Holy Spirit, we know that we too have been given all we need.  Solomon was given wisdom, and we too have been given wisdom, the first of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  And we have been given understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord, as well. 

Solomon used the gifts he was given, but we, unfortunately, at times forget that God has given so much to us and don’t put His gifts to use as often as we should.  There is much the Holy Spirit desires to do within and for us, as individuals and as communities, but we fail to give Him permission.  God has work for us to do and already has equipped us for that work, but we hesitate to act. 

We need to trust God more.  We need to treasure our place in the Kingdom of Heaven more.  We need to make everything else in our life secondary to seeking the Kingdom of God, believing that all else will be given to us.

The second reading from Romans 8 tells us too that we need to trust that “all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”  We love God.  We are called according to God’s purpose.  Therefore, all things – everything – that happens to us – will work for God.  It’s amazing what Paul is saying here and most of the time we don’t even hear it.  No matter what we are up against or struggle with or have to endure, God will make sure that it will work for our good.  God is good, all the time and, therefore, we can trust the Lord to be there for us at every moment of our lives.

God’s love has given us a place in the Kingdom as well as many magnificent gifts.  God’s love will be with us every step of the way, working everything for good.  And how should we respond?  First, of course, with gratitude, but then quickly followed by generosity. 

St. Ignatius Loyola, whose feast we celebrate tomorrow, said that love is a mutual exchange of gifts.  And since God has given us everything, we ought to make an offering to God of all that we have.   Each day with a simple Morning Offering, we sanctify our day and glorify God with such a gift.

Our relationship with the Lord in the Kingdom of Heaven is a treasure, a pearl of great price, that we need to put above all else in our life.  God has and will continue to give us gifts with an assurance that everything in our life will work together for good.  May our generosity to God always seek to match His generosity to us.

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Since Jesus came to save all people from sin, the Church, the Body of Christ, is made up of saints and sinners.  That is one of the lessons we can learn from the parable of the wheat and the weeds.  From Judas until today's priest pedophiles, those who belong to Christ are sometimes the worst.  What is sad is when people leave Peter because of Judas. God is merciful and the final reckoning will not come until the end of time and it will be up to the Lord and His angels to take care of things.  In the meantime, we Christians struggle to be as accepting and forgiving of each other as we can be because that's the way Christ is.  The Church can be a messy, unattractive collection of people at times, but God's Spirit waits to empower each of us.

Bringing it a little closer to home, we realize that each of us is part saint and sinner.  We have beautiful days when we are in right relationship with God and everyone else.   Grace is flowing, the angels are singing, and all is well.  We smile and sigh contentedly.  God must be so pleased with us. We are doing everything just as God has asked.  Our life is a stunningly beautiful field of golden wheat.

Then, perhaps even the next day, we fall into sin, we can barely stand ourselves, and darkness overtakes our lives due to our weakness and wretchedness.  We go flying headfirst into a hole that we don't think we will ever get out of.  Fear prevails and all is lost.  The weeds of wickedness are choking whatever little wheat there may have been.

Fortunately, most of our life is lived somewhere between those two extremes.  Each new day gives us an opportunity to pray and serve the Lord and love others.  Sometimes we will succeed in doing that and sometimes, well, we won't, at all, not even a little.  But until the end of our lives, we keep trying to be good and to do good.  

What we need is to be patient with ourselves. What we need is to love ourselves, both good and bad. Why? Because that is what God does.  The Lord is patient and gives us as many chances as we need. God loves us all of us, saints and sinners.  Like a young mother or father with their child, God delights in us.

The type of weed Jesus mentions in the parable looks very much like wheat as it grows. Similarly, we really can't tell who is holy and who is sinful.  Sometimes we can't even tell which we are.  The good news is that we don't have to.  That's God's business, and God is not getting around to that until the very end.  In the meantime, God is hoping and working for the best.  We need to do the same.

15th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Parables are a type of riddle, something we have to stop and think about.  They are not simply comparisons between the things of God and common day images or experiences.  Parables can be confusing and unclear.  They cause us to stop and think.  Today we hear the beginning of Matthew 13 which is made up of a series of parables.  We will hear more parables from Matthew 13 in the next two weeks.

A danger for us with parables is that they are too familiar to us since we have heard them so often.  We miss the shock or confusion that the first hearers of the parables would have experienced.  For example, do we think about what a poor planter the man in the parable was?  He let some of the precious seed fall on the path.  Then he threw some more on  rocky ground and some more among thorns.  He was wasting good seed; it didn’t stand a chance of growing in places like that.

The seed is the word of God.   And so we know it is infinite, like God’s love.  And God lovingly chooses to spread it everywhere, anywhere at all, as long as there is a chance that it will grow.  God wants us to hear God’s word.  God wants us to know God’s love.  Consequently, God is always and everywhere putting it in front of us and in places that we wouldn’t expect it.  God is good – all the time and in every place - even in places and situations where we wouldn’t think we would encounter it.  Amazing! And yet we may miss this beautiful point of the parable when we hear it because it has become familiar to us.

The different places the seed falls, the different types of ground in which it seeks to grow, affects how much or how little it grows.  Each of us, depending on where we are in life or even what type of day we are having, has some rocky ground, some ground with little soil that will sustain roots, and some ground good for growing.  It’s up to us to be aware of this and to do what we can to be receptive ground for God’s word as much and as often as we can.

The Christian life is one of success and failure, of growth and of withering, or even dying.  But since God never gives up and never has had enough of us when we fall and fail, we can count on being given countless opportunity to grow again.

How best can we do that? Take time to pray with the Scriptures.  For God’s word to grow, we need to be familiar with the Bible, especially the gospels.  We need to take time to pray and to ponder over God’s Word.  Listening to four short readings for a few minutes each Sunday isn’t enough.  More is needed.  And once we discipline ourselves to read and pray the Scriptures each day, our love for the Word grows and we start to grow. 

God is throwing out seed right now.  Watch for it, make room, and work with it, for we are guaranteed a harvest beyond anything we could ever imagine.  Our good God will be delighted and we will know the peace that only God can give.  

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

There are only a few times in the gospels when we hear Jesus praying and today’s gospel is one of them. How He prays, of course, is the way we ought to pray. And His prayer is one of gratitude.  He thanks His Father.  He gives praise to His Father.  He rejoices in the relationship they have and the fact that the Father has chosen to bring His disciples into that same relationship.

When we give thanks and praise to God, God is glorified and we are set free from all that holds us down and distracts us from God’s love and will for us.  Prayers of praise and gratitude puts our priorities in order.  Gratitude is the best starting point for looking at our lives as we consider what comes next.  Jesus shows us the way even when He prays.

Following His prayer, Jesus invites us to come to Him. His words here are among the most consoling and wisest words in the gospels. At all times and in every way, we ought to go to Jesus so as to be united with Him.  When we do that, we will find rest.  We will learn from Him.  We will be given a share in His meekness and His humility.  With God all things are possible, and when we join ourselves to Jesus, when we take His yoke upon ourselves, we will have a peace and strength that is beyond anything the world or anyone else can offer us.

When Jesus prays to His Father, He calls His disciples “little ones.”  We have to become little ones.  We have to become like children.  Children are not wise; they know they need their parents or others to do for them what they cannot do for themselves.  Children, without thinking too much about it, know that they will be cared for and provided with what they need.  Little ones don’t hesitate to trust those who love them.  All of that is what we have to do when we go to Jesus.

Today’s gospel offers three keys to the life that the Lord desires for us: gratitude, surrender to Jesus, and trust in the Lord. All of that will keep us little and safe within God’s will for us.

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today's gospel is the end of Matthew 10 in which Jesus gives instruction to the twelve disciples as He sends them out to begin their work. He tells that He must come first in their lives, even ahead of their family. And that was true not only for the Twelve, but is true for us as well. His words may sound harsh, but when Jesus is the Lord of our lives, we are better able to love our family and all others in our life.  It's like the saying, “The best thing a father can do for his children is love their mother.”  Once our priorities are set and we have put first things first, everything else is in good order.

Jesus also tells the Twelve that they have to take up their cross and follow after Him.  That, too, is true for us.  Being a disciple of Jesus requires us to take up our cross and follow Him.  We have to model our lives on His life.  Just as He had to carry His cross and offer up His life, we have to do the same in whatever way God chooses for us.  But when we do that, we are guaranteed a share in His eternal life and the glory of heaven.  Following Jesus is not easy, but it is worth all that awaits us when we do.

Jesus then speaks about what we might call hospitality - being kind and welcoming to others. He tells the disciples they will be welcomed because they belong to Him, as do prophets, righteous people, and little children.  Those are all other names that could be used for the disciples.

Hospitality is a virtuous practice that perhaps we need to give more thought to so as to practice it more faithfully.  To welcome others warmly and kindly, especially those we don't know, is a beautiful Christ-like action. And we see from the wonderful story from 2 Kings in the first reading that being hospitable, especially to those who speak God’s words, will bring a reward.

Having heard this gospel, we, like the Twelve, have to put it into action.  We do whatever it takes to put Jesus first in our lives, we take up our cross, and we welcome those we meet on the way.