Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
THE REVELATION OF YOUR WORD SHEDS LIGHT
Jesus is speaking in parables
and offers three different images for the kingdom of heaven. Remember that popular line from a phone commercial: “Can you hear me now?” Jesus is trying to teach and basically says, “Do you understand me now? Do you get it now? Then let me explain it another way.” He is shedding light on just how very important his mission is, that the kingdom of God is the most important thing, and that we must make every choice, every effort to strive for it. To use a sports metaphor, Jesus is telling us we must not look for immediate satisfaction, but we must “play the long game” because in the end, this is the only thing that really matters.
GIVING UNDERSTANDING TO THE SIMPLE
This message again seems very countercultural. We live in an age of instant gratification. Consumer debt is at an all-time high. Houses get bigger and bigger and more luxurious. Instead of saying “I can’t afford a new car,” people stretch payments out over six or seven years in an attempt to afford the unaffordable. Today we are called to put it all in perspective, to follow the “pearl of great price,” to put all things aside that we might seek the kingdom of God and reach our heavenly goal, our salvation. This may require a paradigm shift and making radical changes in our lifestyle, in how we spend our time, our money, our energy, how we define what is important to us. May each of us find the wisdom of Solomon to guide us in making the right choices.