Sunday, July 27: Seventeenth
Sunday in Ordinary Time
The Gospel for this Sunday is a continuation of the teaching
Jesus shared with his disciples with regard to the Kingdom of Heaven. Again Jesus speaks in parables. This week Jesus shares three analogies which
help the disciples, and us, gain a better understanding of the Kingdom. Jesus describes the kingdom as a treasure,
as a merchant and a net. Both the parable of the hidden treasure
and that of the pearl of great price tell us that we cannot fully understand
the value of the Kingdom of Heaven and that in order to obtain the Kingdom we must be willing to give up our attachment to earthly things. That is not always an easy thing to do; too often earthly things can become our idols. St. Gregory Nazianzen (died in 390 AD) described his Pearl of Great Price as being the Word. He said that he "would never willingly neglect this possession, but on the contrary honor it and embrace it and take more pleasure in it than in all other things combined that delight the multitude --he made it the partner of his whole life and his guide. Would that I too, can continue to treasure the Word and avoid falling into the pattern of embracing the idols of our world.
As I thought more and more about the net, a dragnet, I
thought about the Final Judgment. The
righteous will be separated from the
evil ones. We women and men will be
gathered up and we will be judged by our faith and our works. As I think of all of us as various species of
fish, I pray that I will be judged as a fish worth keeping and not a fish to be
thrown back into the abyss "where there will be wailing and grinding of
teeth."
In these past weeks, we have been reading about the Kingdom
of Heaven. Jesus has told us parable
after parable in order to help us better understand the Kingdom. Beginning to know more about the Kingdom is
truly a gift from God. Those mysteries
are beyond us, but Jesus in His love for us gives us a glimpse of the
Kingdom. Just as in our first reading of
today, Solomon asked God to give him an understanding heart, we too are being
given a gift of understanding.
Jesus described the Kingdom to us in such ordinary things
like seeds, light, salt, yeast, farming, fishing, and baking. New life comes with the Kingdom of Heaven and
Jesus helped His followers understand this. As I mediated upon the Gospels of
these past three weeks, I wondered what ordinary things I might use to help
increase my understanding of the Kingdom and how Jesus might use those
things. For example, "The Kingdom
of Heaven is like my computer. It can
connect me to people all over the world and help me share my thoughts and love
for our Savior no matter where I am or where others are."
How could you complete this sentence?
The Kingdom of Heaven is like ----------
The Kingdom of Heaven is like ----------
Peace and Blessings,
Judy
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