17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

This Sunday we read the final three parables about the Kingdom of Heaven found in Matthew 13. In these parables Jesus describes the Kingdom as a hidden treasure, a pearl of great price and a net full of fish. The parables are not really about treasures, jewels and fish. They are about what we are willing to sacrifice to enter the Kingdom.

There is a subtle difference between the parable of the hidden treasure and the pearl of great price. In the parable of the hidden treasure, the man who found the treasure was not looking for it. He found it by luck and, probably, some good plowing. On the other hand, the man who found the pearl of great price was seeking pearls. The outcome of both parables is that each man found his treasure and each was willing to sacrifice everything (joyfully) to possess that treasure. They understood what the rich young man Jesus encountered in Matthew 19: 21 - 22 could not comprehend: "’If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to (the) poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’ When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.”

This brings us to the parable of the fishing net. Like the parable of the wheat and weeds, Jesus reminds us once again that sorting out good from evil is not our responsibility. It is our responsibility to gather as many fish as possible into our net. It is up to God and only God to determine who is in the Kingdom and who is not.

The good news is that God wants all of us to be in the Kingdom. As Jesus told his followers in Luke 12: 31 – 34, “Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.”

God of eternal wisdom,

you alone impart the gift of discernment.

Grant us an understanding heart,

so we may value wisely the treasure of your kingdom,

gladly reject all lesser gifts,

and accept with gratitude the ones you alone can give.

We make our prayer through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

God for ever and ever.

AMEN.

Faith Should be Strong

In our spiritual life, we should be attuned to the seasons and strive to get the most out of every breath we take and every prayer we speak. Stopping to look back on the year, not to relive, but to learn, we have an opportunity to assess: how has my relationship with Jesus grown, how has my prayer life deepened and how have I allowed the Holy Spirit to help me to live the beatitudes?

In the Gospel of Luke 21:34-36, we are called to be wary that our hearts do not become drowsy, that we will be vigilant at all times. Jesus calls us to be watchful and to pray for the strength to be what we need to be for God and for all the people of God.

In other words, our faith should be strong and have a firm foundation in Jesus our Lord, and guided by that, all our actions should be oriented to follow Jesus as closely as we can.

I-25

A cop pulls over a carload of nuns. The cop says, “Sister, this is a 55 MPH highway. Why are you going so slow?”

The Sister replies, “Sir, I saw a lot of signs that said 25, not 55.”

The cop answers, “Oh, Sister, that's not the speed limit, that's the name of the highway you are on!”

The Sister says, “Oh! Silly me! Thanks for letting me know. I'll be more careful.”

At this point, the cop looks in the backseat where the other nuns are shaking and trembling.

The cop asks, “Excuse me, Sister, what's wrong with your friends back there? They are shaking something terrible.”

The Sister answers, “Oh, we just got off Highway 101.”

 

I Am

I was regretting the past and fearing the future

Suddenly, God was speaking,

“My Name is I Am”

He paused. I waited. He Continued.

“When you live in the past, with all its mistakes and regrets,

It is hard. I am not there.

My name is not I was”

“When you live in the future with all its problems and fears,

It is hard. I am not there.

My name is not I will be”

“When you live in this moment,

It is not hard. I am here.

My Name is I Am.”

Hidden Gems

A man was exploring caves by the Seashore. In one of the caves he found a canvas bag with a bunch of hardened clay balls. It was like someone had rolled clay balls and left them out in the sun to bake. They didn't look like much, but they intrigued the man, so he took the bag out of the cave with him. As he strolled along the beach, he would throw the clay balls one at a time out into the ocean as far as he could. He thought little about it, until he dropped one of the clay balls and it cracked open on a rock. Inside was a beautiful, precious stone!

Excited, the man started breaking open the remaining clay balls. Each contained a similar treasure. He found thousands of dollars worth of jewels in the 20 or so clay balls he had left. Then it struck him. He had been on the beach a long time. He had thrown maybe 50 or 60 of the clay balls with their hidden treasure into the ocean waves. Instead of thousands of dollars in treasure, he could have taken home tens of thousands, but he had just thrown it away!

It's like that with people. We look at someone, maybe even ourselves, and we see the external clay vessel. It doesn't look like much from the outside. It isn't always beautiful or sparkling, so we discount it.

We see that person as less important than someone more beautiful or stylish or well known or wealthy. But we have not taken the time to find the treasure hidden inside that person. There is a treasure in each and every one of us. If we take the time to get to know that person, and if we ask God to show us that person the way He sees them, then the clay begins to peel away and the brilliant gem begins to shine forth.

May we not come to the end of our lives and find out that we have thrown away a fortune in friendships because the gems were hidden in bits of clay. May we see the people in our world as God sees them.

A nun walks into Mother Superior’s office and plunks down into a chair. She lets out a sigh heavy with frustration.

“What troubles you, Sister?” asks the Mother Superior. “I thought this was the day you spent with your family.”

“It was,” sighed the Sister. “And I went to play golf with my brother. We try to play golf as often as we can. You know I was quite a talented golfer and was a full scholarship student at the university before I dedicated my life to Christ.”

“I seem to recall that,” the Mother Superior agreed. “So I take it your day of recreation was not relaxing?”

“Far from it,” snorted the Sister. “In fact, I even took the Lord’s name in vain today!”

“Goodness, Sister!” gasped the Mother Superior, astonished. “You must tell me all about it!”

“Well, we were on the fifth tee -- and this hole is a monster, Mother -- 540 yard Par 5, with a nasty dogleg left and a hidden green and I hit the drive of my life. I creamed it. The sweetest swing I ever made. And it’s flying straight and true, right along the line I wanted, and it hits a bird in mid-flight not 100 yards off the tee!”

“Oh my!” commiserated the Mother. “How unfortunate! But surely that didn’t make you blaspheme, Sister!”

“No, that wasn’t it,” admitted Sister. “While I was still trying to fathom what had happened, this squirrel runs out of the woods, grabs my ball and runs off down the fairway!”

“Oh, that would have made me blaspheme!” sympathized Mother.

“But I didn’t, Mother Superior!” sobbed the Sister. “And I was so proud of myself! And while I was pondering whether this was a sign from God, this hawk swoops out of the sky and grabs the squirrel and flies off, with my ball still clutched in his paws!”

“So that’s when you cursed,” said the Mother with a knowing smile.

“Nope, that wasn’t it either,” cried the Sister, anguished, “because as the hawk started to fly out of sight, the squirrel started struggling, and the hawk dropped him right there on the green, and the ball popped out of his paws and rolled to about 18 inches from the cup!”

Mother Superior sat back in her chair, folded her arms across her chest, fixed the Sister with a baleful stare and said “You missed the putt, didn’t you?”

Parachute

A small private plane was flying with three passengers on board: the Pope, a rich businessman, and a boy scout. 

Suddenly, the engine sputtered and stopped altogether. They all rushed to get their parachutes. They were horrified to realize that there were not enough parachutes for all of them. One of them will be left without one. 

The pilot took one, saying, “I have a wife and two kids. They need me.” And off he jumped. 

The businessman, seeing that the boy was holding a parachute, grabbed it away from him, saying, “I am a very important person in this world. I must not die!’ And putting the straps on his shoulders, he quickly jumped out of the plane. 

Only the Pope and the boy were left on the plane. The Pope told the boy, “Son, take the last parachute. I am old and I have no family. I’m ready to leave this world. You are still young and have a great future. Save your life.” 

The boy, with a naughty smile, said, “Don’t worry, Holy Father. There are still two parachutes left. The 'very important man in the world’ just jumped out wearing my knapsack!"