Reading 1
1 Kgs 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."
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 119:57, 72, 76-77, 127-128, 129-130
R. (97a) Lord, I love your commands.
I have said, O LORD, that my part
is to keep your words.
The law of your mouth is to me more precious
than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
R. Lord, I love your commands.
Let your kindness comfort me
according to your promise to your servants.
Let your compassion come to me that I may live,
for your law is my delight.
R. Lord, I love your commands.
For I love your command
more than gold, however fine.
For in all your precepts I go forward;
every false way I hate.
R. Lord, I love your commands.
Wonderful are your decrees;
therefore I observe them.
The revelation of your words sheds light,
giving understanding to the simple.
R. Lord, I love your commands.
Reading II
Rom 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.
Gospel
Mt 13:44-52 or 13:44-46
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."
The King and His Kingdom
What is this kingdom of heaven that Jesus describes in this Sunday's Gospel? First of all, kingdom comes from the word baseilia which means kingship, or reign.1 So kingdom means the rule of someone, namely the king. In this case, who is the king?
In Luke 19:38, the disciples sing "blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord" as Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey. JESUS is the king of the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven (the reign, the kingship) is declared throughout the Gospel. Who better to announce the kingdom of heaven than the king himself? What does he announce? In Mark 1:15, Jesus says, "the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel." So the kingdom of heaven is the announcement of Jesus' reign over all. Yet he makes this announcement in humility. Let's look at Jesus' humility for a moment.
The Humble King
God is humble and he displays his humility in many ways. For one thing, he does not think that he is so great that he wants nothing to do with us. Some people do actually believe they are so great that they want nothing to do with us. But God himself is humble enough that he gives us life for OUR benefit- not his. He certainly wants something to do with us, because he MADE us according to his plan. So, God is humble. You can see it visually if you picture the God of the universe born as an infant in a barn. He rode into town not in a Mercedes convertible, but rather on a donkey. He is humble. Some people who are not humble, feel as though they are too good to talk to the common man. But Jesus talks to us through the bible, through church, through prayer, and other means as well. In Jesus' proclamation of the Kingdom of God, Jesus does more than talk, he announces, "here I am! I am here to save you (his name means "God saves"). This is more than just an announcement- he is offering to save us.
Salvation Through Faith and Baptism
The 2nd Reading assures us that "all things work for good for those who love God." Paul goes on to say that "those he predestined he also called; and those he called he also justified." So who is Jesus calling? He is calling me and you. He wants to justify us. That means he wants to forgive us our sins and communicate to us the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ, and baptism. God wants to forgive us through faith in Jesus and through baptism. What does it means to have faith in Jesus? It means that we willingly give ourselves over to God. Faith means we give our intellect and our will to God. Faith means we give Jesus the steering wheel. Faith means we submit to EVERYTHING that God wants to teach us. Faith means we let God take charge of our lives even if it hurts. Jesus wants to save us through faith in him and baptism.
In humility, God announces to us the kingdom of heaven. God wants to save us. This is the message of the proclamation of the kingdom of God. Remember that Jesus said, "repent, and believe in the gospel." The proclamation of the Kingdom of God is very easy to understand. Jesus says, "here I am to save you. Turn away from your life of sin, and turn to me. Although you are very lowly, I am humble. In my humility, I love you." This is really good news. It is great news that the only person who truly knows us, loves us and wants to be with us. He is offering us healing, peace, and salvation.
Gospel
This news is so good that when we receive it, we are willing to give up everything we have in order to receive it fully. In the Gospel, the persons sell all that they have. The message of this week's Gospel is not necessarily that we should sell our cars and houses. The message is that NOTHING is MORE important than the kingdom of heaven. Remember that the kingdom of heaven is the reign and the kingship of Jesus. He is a great king who loves us and it's NOT okay to turn our backs on him as he makes his invitation of love to us. We are reminded of this in the Gospel where the "wicked" are thrown "into the fiery furnace". God is concerned about us. He does not want us to be thrown into the furnace, so he asks us to stop sinning and to turn our lives over to him. Let's look at an example of how to answer God's call.
1st Reading
This Gospel message is seen very clearly in the first reading as well. It gives us a picture of someone who responds to God's call properly. As God mentioned, Solomon could have asked for a long life or riches. But Solomon had the attitude of the guy who found the pearl or the treasure in the field. Solomon knew that nothing was more important than serving God so he asked God for help to serve God's people. God granted his request because "all things work for good for those who love God". There is much to learn from Solomon's prayer as well. His prayer is very humble. His request for wisdom is already an admission that he is not very wise. He says, "I am a mere youth, not knowing at all how to act". Just 3 weeks ago in the Gospel, Jesus said that, "although you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, you have revealed them to the childlike."3 Solomon did not have childlike intelligence- he was smart. He had childlike HUMILITY and dependence on God just like a child who depends on its mother. God answered his humble prayer. We should pray just as humbly as Solomon. It takes humility to admit that we are wrong (sinful) and then to give the steering wheel to our Lord Jesus in pure submission. This is God's call for us to give our lives to HIM.
The Point
- Because of God's humility and generosity, he gave us life and he cares about us enough to talk to us
- Jesus wants us to know that he desires our salvation and he gives us the opportunity to be saved
- Jesus wants to save us through faith and baptism
- Faith in Jesus means to give our intellect, will, understanding and all that we have to God. Faith means to believe in all that God teaches us. Faith means to allow God to be the absolute ruler or our lives
- The forgiveness of sins is necessary for salvation and Jesus offers us our first forgiveness and life in him through baptism
- God loves us and wants to save us. To ignore and to reject his invitation is to willfully enter hell by our choice
- In order to hear God and to get to know him better, we need to be humble in our prayers and actions
Real Life
Back in his high school days, Father Richard Thomas S.J. was the wealthiest boy in his school.(According to Fr Harold Rahm, his former high school teacher). He went to a private Catholic school in Florida where virtually every student was and is from affluent families. So Father Thomas was quite wealthy although Fr. Rahm said he couldn't' tell by the way he dressed and Fr. Thomas never talked about it. Fr. Thomas even had a girl he liked in high school. It's likely that Fr. Thomas was being prepared to take over the family business and to live a prosperous life.
But Fr. Thomas gave all of that up to become a priest because he heard the Lord's call. It was a major disappointment to his father. As a Jesuit priest, Father Thomas made a vow of poverty which he took very seriously. He refused to use air conditioning even if it was freely available because he was supposed to be poor like the people he served. Whether he was in desert or in the high heat and humidity of Louisiana, he sweated it out. People in the El Paso/Juarez area still talk about Fr. Thomas all of the time. They still love him very much. Many people believe that he will one day be counted amongst the saints.
Even in this modern day, some people hear the voice of God calling, they give everything else up, and follow Jesus.
God loves us!
==============Mass Excitement #22=================
1- Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph 2816
2- CCC 2816
3- Matthew 11:25
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