Mother Church invites us to celebrate Sunday, July 26, 2020 as the 17th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A. In the entrance antiphon we pray: “God is in his holy dwelling; he will give a home to the lonely, he gives power and strength to his people. Amen.”
Today’s first reading, from the first Book of Kings, shows Solomon asking God, not for wealth or long life, but for wisdom. Popular proverb and Old Testament tradition alike consider Solomon as the embodiment of wisdom. In the second reading, from Saint Paul’s Letter to the Romans, Paul declares that when we do good, God cooperates with us. God turns everything good for those who love him. In the Gospel from Matthew, Jesus continues his discussion in parables with his disciples, explaining to them the meaning of the kingdom of heaven in terms they all can relate to.
First Reading: First Book of Kings 3:5. 7-12.
The Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night. God said, “Ask something of me and I will give it to you.” Solomon answered: “O Lord, my God, you have made me, your servant, king to succeed my father David; but I am a mere youth, not knowing at all how to act. I serve you in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a people so vast that it cannot be numbered or counted. Give your servant, therefore, an understanding heart to judge your people and to distinguish right from wrong. For who is able to govern this vast people of yours?” The Lord was pleased that Solomon made this request. So God said to him: “Because you have asked for this— not for a long life for yourself, nor for riches, nor for the life of your enemies, but for understanding so that you may know what is right— I do as you requested. I give you a heart so wise and understanding that there has never been anyone like you up to now, and after you there will come no one to equal you.”
V/ The word of the Lord.
R/ Thanks be to God.
Comment
There are two books of Kings in the Bible, commonly known as First and Second Kings. The African Bible tells me that the two Books of Kings cover about four centuries of Israel’s history, marked by three main events: the first is the united monarchy (during which time Israel and Judah remained united under Solomon as they had been under Saul and David); the second event is the divided monarchy (from the rebellion of Israel against the rule of the Judean kings until Israel was carried off into captivity by the Assyrians); and the third is the period of the surviving kingdom, which record Judah’s history from the deportation of Israel to Judah’s own defeat and exile by the Babylonians.
Both Books of Kings serve, therefore, as a record of the kings of both Israel and Judah, showing the decline of the northern and southern kingdoms and pointing out the reasons for this decline and the fate of each king. The author seems to have intended to teach the people of Israel in exile in Babylon the reasons for their plight so that they could learn from the errors of the past. He instructs the exiles by demonstrating to them that through their kings they have been unfaithful to God’s covenant but that God, far from abandoning Israel, has remained loyal and patient with them.
The First Book of Kings, from where the passage of our meditation is taken, begins with a lengthy account of the person and life of Solomon, David’s successor. We hear how Solomon came to the throne and how magnificent his reign was. Solomon’s most prominent feature was the wisdom God gave him, which is seen in his building projects, notably the Temple in Jerusalem; also in the way he administered his people and how he developed trade with neighbouring kingdoms. To accomplish all these tasks, Solomon was humble enough to realize that he could not do it all by himself. That is when he turned to God for wisdom to enable him to fulfill God’s plan – especially the task of building the Lord’s house.
What lesson does this reading have for us in Cameroon today? It shows Solomon turning to God for wisdom in governing his people. This is an example for our leaders, whether political or religious, to emulate. True wisdom is found nowhere else but in God, the Almighty, the Compassionate, he who is always ready to listen and to grant us our wishes. If our own leaders had also turned to God in their decision making, this senseless war that has been raging in our country for the past nearly five years would have been avoided. Let us pray to God to change the minds of those in authority in our country, so that they can see the importance of putting a rapid end to the destruction of our land and our people. May they always turn to the God of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and not to the gods of their own creation, for wisdom to govern our country well.
Let us pray with the Psalmist: “Lord, let your compassion come to me that I may live, for your law is my delight. Let your kindness comfort me according to the promise you made to your servants. We make this prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.”
Second Reading: Romans 8:28-30.
Brothers and sisters: We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined he also called; and those he called he also justified; and those he justified he also glorified.
V/ The word of the Lord.
R/ Thanks be to God.
Comment
Saint Paul speaks in an earlier chapter of his Letter to the Romans of Christian love as not being deceptive “because the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” With these words, he prepares us for the themes he is dealing with in chapter 8 from where our text for meditation is taken. Having spoken at length of the Spirit, our hope of glory, and explained how the Spirit sanctifies our prayers, he now speaks of God’s plan of love for us.
Those endowed with God’s justice are really those who have divine love. Those who love him are his chosen ones who respond to his call in faith and hope. Awareness of God as Father helps us to see all events of our life as orchestrated by the lovable will of God. He gives us what is best for us and expects us to discover his paternal love in everything, even in those situations that are not comfortable to us.
What is this reading telling me? I hear from this passage that through his Spirit God forms us into other Christ figures, making of us his children and hence brothers and sisters of Christ. We are thus brothers and sisters of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Consequently, as brothers and sisters of the same Lord, we are bound to treat one another with love and understanding, forgiving each other’s trespasses as our Father forgives us ours.
Let us say this prayer of love and reconciliation that comes to us from the Visigothic liturgy: “Lord God, out of your great love for the world, you reconciled earth to heaven through your only-begotten Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. In the darkness of our sins, we fail to love one another as we should; please pour your light into our souls and fill us with your tenderness that we may embrace our friends in you and our enemies for your sake, in a bond of mutual affection. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.”
Gospel acclamation: “Alleluia, alleluia. I call you friends, says the Lord, because I have made known to you everything I have learnt from my Father. Alleluia.”
Gospel: Matthew 13: 44-52.
Jesus said to his disciples: “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind. When it is full they haul it ashore and sit down to put what is good into buckets. What is bad they throw away. Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. “Do you understand all these things?” They answered, “Yes.” And he replied, “Then every scribe who has been instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old.”
V/ The Gospel of the Lord.
R/ Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ.
Comment
Today’s readings invite me to give a name to what the kingdom of God is for me. The kingdom of God is God’s reign in my heart, in my family, in my home, and in my society. This gospel reading tells me that if I succeed to find the kingdom of God, then I will find everything desirable besides. That is why the kingdom of God is compared to a hidden treasure in the field, which a man finds, then goes off and sells all that he has and buys the field. It is also a precious pearl, which a merchant finds, then goes and sells everything, he has and buys this one pearl.
Christ does not want me, as a Christian to live an aimless life. He does not want me to live from day to day. Rather he wants me to have a focus in my life. This focus is the Kingdom and that is why he asks me to first seek the kingdom in all I do.
When he compares this kingdom to a pearl, he is not talking about something you put on your finger or around your neck. No! He is talking of that quality of life where we find our truest home, our deepest humanity, where we are at one with God in whose image and likeness we are created. And when he compares the same kingdom to a treasure, he means that which is central in our lives, that to which all else is secondary. For Solomon, wisdom and understanding were more important in his service of God than long life and riches. Does this mean that Solomon hated long life and riches? As a young king, he definitely needed wealth, military might, fame, security, prosperity, long life and happiness. But when God asked him to ask for one thing, he chose wisdom from above. Everything else took second place in his life.
What then is this kingdom that Christ is asking me to seek first and all else would be given me? No one has seen the kingdom but there are events that attest or point to its presence on earth. At the onset of his earthly ministry, Christ says: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring the good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the Lord’s year of favour” (Lk 4: 18-19). In Saint Mark’s Gospel, I read, “The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God has come near, repent and believe the good news” (Mk 1:15). From these two verses I conclude that God’s reign is present, that his saving power is in action where people are healed, where the unfairly treated find justice and love, where sinners find forgiveness for their wrong doings.
What this means is that wherever human welfare is promoted there the kingdom of God is present. It is not only a spiritual reality of the future; it is a social reality of the present. It is the elimination of misery, exploitation, hunger and loneliness. That is what Christ did and continues to do for us. So when he calls on me to make the kingdom a priceless pearl, he is asking me to make the promotion of the welfare of our brothers and sisters a reality in all I do each day.
So, when God asks me to identify what his Kingdom is for me, it is the same as asking me how I make him present on a regular basis in my life. How do I, as a parent, make Christ present in my family? How do I, as a judge make Christ present in the decisions I render in court? How do I as a businessman or woman make Christ present in my business? How do I, as a journalist, write stories that uplift people and not denigrate them?
Christian joy consists in discovering that which gives meaning to all of his or her life. Take the simple case of someone who works as a cleaner. They might say: “I am only a cleaner who works alone. How can I bring this kingdom of God in my work?” When you do your job not just as a job or duty but with the spirit of service, which provides a healthy, and hygienic environment for others, you are promoting their health and welfare. If you offer to God the health of the people where you clean, then you bring God to the places you clean. People may not see you doing it, but as Matthew says (6:4), God who sees all that you do in secret will reward you. Or, when people express their love for their offices and work there with joy because of the cleanliness you bring, then in your discreet way you have brought the kingdom of God to them by making them happy and relaxed. Do ordinary things in an extraordinary way, and you will bring the kingdom of God wherever you happen to be.
The question then is, what is the kingdom of God for you? How do you bring it about in your daily life where you live or where you work, to your family, friends and the people you meet? Let us pray to God to grant us the wisdom to understand that his kingdom is the supreme good, the one and only thing that we really need to achieve total satisfaction and fulfillment in our lives. It is doing good to our neighbour and sharing joy around us.
Let us ask the Holy Spirit to help us to find the kingdom through generosity and hospitality, especially to the poor, the needy, and the stranger. Let us say this prayer which our beloved Saint John Paul II, left to the Church: “God our Father, in Jesus, your Son, you have welcomed all men and women as your children. He became a brother and a friend to all, especially the poor and the dispossessed. We pray to you, Father of all men and women, deliver the world from the evil of selfishness and violence. Help us to love all men and women as you love them unconditionally and without limits. Hear our prayer through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord and God, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.”
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