Walking with Jesus: 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

For Sunday, July 30, 2023

1 Kings 3:5, 7-12; Romans 8:28-30; Matthew 13:44-52

Question: What do I focus on? Do I concentrate on living my life the best I can? Do I feel that the gifts I’ve been blessed with are used for the betterment of those God has placed in my life? Are the yearnings of my heart and my life in line with God’s plan? In 2005 there was a TV show called “Three Wishes” that focused on granting the wishes of participants. In one episode they focused on the residents of a small town. Many asked for individual needs, but there were a few who focused on the needs of the community. A Girl Scout had collected 6,000 books, and she wished for a library for her small town. Some wished for help for a retired couple who made toys for underprivileged children. One group of students was working together to save the job of their music teacher who was losing her hearing. So inspiring. Unfortunately the show only lasted a year. But the question is an interesting one: What would I wish for? Would I wish for family, the larger community, the world? Would my wishes be directed to others? Would there be a “hierarchy” in my choices? Does this seem so strange?

Solomon is asked by God for his wishes: “Ask something of Me and I will give it to you.” [1 Kings 5] There was a very large, four-family house across the street where I grew up. One family had a dog that seemed to have litters almost yearly, and that inspired me to ask my dad if I could have a dog. Once I succeeded, I learned that there is a lot of work involved in what I wished for. Well God is very pleased with the wish Solomon requests, because it is something that will serve the people in his kingdom. At different stages of my life I would ask for A’s … help for those in need … those I love who were facing death. The Church continually asks for help in the Prayers of the Faithful. We start out with the Church, then on to the world, and finally, usually, for our own church community and ourselves. Somehow it always seems right to focus this way.

It’s intriguing that Solomon is the person God asks. Solomon is not the next in line to take over for David, his father. He has already chosen to marry the Egyptian pharaoh’s daughter to keep his international reputation with his neighbors. He has not finished building the temple and the defensive wall around Jerusalem. He doesn’t wish for power or riches, although they are “part of the job, or a long life.” The bottom line is that Solomon is not the source of his success and wisdom: God is. He wants the wisdom and understanding to rule God’s people. Do I ask God for the wisdom and guidance to use my gifts?

Paul emphasizes what is important: Every day we find ourselves boxed in with worries and anxieties. Are the children safe? How do I care for aging loved ones? Will I have enough for retirement? Will I be safe? If I hear, “All Things Are Safe” … will I feel safe? Paul is telling us that “… all things work for good for those who love God.” [Romans 8:8]. The bottom line is that Paul trusts that God will not — cannot — abandon those who trust in Him. The Father has sent Jesus to remind us of His total love and commitment. God has justified us, which means God has forgiven our sins. Paul understands God’s purpose — that in the end all things will be well (Julian of Norwich’s mantra). Where do I struggle with this belief?

Matthew is giving us a series of small parables emphasizing the kind of single-mindedness required to maintain our focus on heaven. An interesting question is: What does being a citizen of the kingdom of heaven mean to me? We know in our hearts the deep love of Jesus and how He came to rescue us from the power of sin and condemnation. His death, resurrection and ascension are proof that we should let nothing come between Him and us and heaven. Today He is telling us that the kingdom of God is like a treasure or a pearl of great value, and we are to do all that we can to obtain it. If God is love and God loves us unconditionally, then we, in turn, are to be people of love. In Matthew 19:16-22, Jesus tells of a rich young man whom He instructs to abandon his beloved worldly possessions. This is more than this wealthy Israelite expects to be asked to do. His wealth is more meaningful to him than Jesus. His material goods are more real than the promise of eternal life. If we realize that we are loved and have experienced God’s love, doesn’t that make us long for His kingdom above all else? Have we asked the Holy Sprit to touch our hearts so that we may know the great love of God the Father in Jesus Christ — and knowing this, that we may come to understand that the kingdom of God is worth everything? Jesus constantly reminds His apostles, and all of us, of the need to keep the focus of our lives on God’s love and our loving. How am I doing right now, today, with this? That's a question I must ask myself each day.

So I reflect on:

• Do I consider myself a treasure? God does. Is my gratitude proportionate to my gifts?
• Who or what in my life is pulling me away from God? Who finds me precious enough to give up everything on my behalf? Gifts … love … God … heaven forever … think on this!

Sacred Space 2023 states:

“Selling everything to obtain what they really desired so deeply filled both men in the parables with deep joy. This seems a contradiction but this is what our experience tells us. As the prayer of St. Francis puts it, it is in giving that we receive. I ask for a heart full of freedom, freedom to give all and to receive all.”