PRAYING FOR THE GIFT OF WISDOM

XVII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - 1 Kings 3:5,7-12

Solomon is celebrated as a great king, remembered for his good administration, which brought peace, prosperity and stability to his people. The Holy Scriptures present him as someone who became known for his outstanding wisdom, shown in the way he solved difficult problems and judged with fairness. This Sunday’s first reading, taken from the first book of Kings presents Solomon asking wisdom from the Lord, so that he may “discern between good and evil”. The Lord was pleased with this request and granted him much more than he had asked for. Later generations, looking back at history, remembered and glorified Solomon’s kingdom as the golden age of the people of Israel. And they realised that such times were only possible through the wisdom of God granted to the rulers and to the people in general. Jesus would say that if we ask for what is really important, God will give it to us in abundance. In the prayer of Our Father, Jesus taught us to ask earnestly: May your kingdom come. It will be a kingdom of freedom, justice and love and that kingdom will only become a reality if we are guided by the Holy Spirit, who is the source of all wisdom. Without God’s wisdom, we will become entrapped in the pursuit of wealth, power and glory for ourselves. 

If we read attentively everything written about Solomon in the Scriptures, we will discover that he was not the holy man praised and glorified in many other passages. He got the throne through the intrigue of his mother and her friends, taking the place of his elder brother Adonijah. Then, in order to establish his throne and secure his power, he took immediate action against those who might be a threat to him, giving orders to kill Adonijah, who had claims to the throne, and the general Joab, who supported him and banishing the high priest Abiathar. Later in life, enjoying peace and wealth, he forgot his commitment to the Lord and built altars and temples to the foreign gods of his wives. Solomon allowed his heart to be corrupted by power and wealth, in spite of the great gifts he had received from the Lord.

In his parables, Jesus speaks of the end of times as a time of judgement. The dragnet will be cast into the world, bringing “in a haul of all kinds.” Then, “the angels will appear and separate the wicked from the just to throw them into the blazing furnace where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.” (Mt 13:49-50). It is not enough to start well; the most important is to end well. Our faithfulness will be tested to the end. May the Lord grant us perseverance and steadfastness in keeping the word of the Lord.

DARNEL AND WHEAT MIXED TOGETHER

XVI SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Matthew 13:24-43

In his preaching, mainly to the common people, Jesus made big use of parables, that is short and simple stories, easy to memorise and to reflect upon. This is very much a feature of all oral cultures and, even today, one marvels at the easiness with which many people make up stories full of insight. The parable always speaks to the listener according to his situation and can be understood from different angles. We may ignore it, but, if we pay attention to it, then it challenges us and forces us to have a good look at our attitudes and thoughts.

This Sunday, with the parable of the wheat and the darnel, Jesus invites us to reflect upon the reappearance of a puritanical mentality in our society.

Someone sowed good seed on his field. It germinated well and it was promising. However, something very strange happened: mixed and intertwined with the wheat, there was quite a bit of darnel. Puzzled, the workers questioned the owner of the field about the darnel: Where did it come from? The owner answered: “Some enemy has done this”, but that answer does not solve the problem. The workers thought of a solution and they put it forward: “Let us weed it out.” It was a radical solution and it seemed flawless. However, they forgot the obvious: being so intertwined, they would pull up the wheat together with the darnel. The solution was completely different: allow them to grow together and then, at the time of harvest, it will be easier to separate them.

The world is like that field of wheat, with plenty of darnel in it. And may question ourselves how to get rid of it. Throughout history, there have always been groups of people, who consider themselves good and pure, who plan to clean society of all mischief and all evil and they will do that by eliminating the corrupt and sinful. The Pharisees were like that. And many other movements have appeared which tried to create a new society, in which only the pure and the holy have the right to exist. Anyone who thinks differently is a heretic and should be burned at the stake. 

Nowadays, we are going through a wave of puritanism in which everything and everyone has to be politically correct. All those who do not profess the creed, based on the new fundamental truths - such as white supremacy, systemic racism and toxic masculinity, which make blacks, women, homosexuals and transgender people the eternal victims, must be excluded and vilified. They may lose their jobs and even barred from their neighbourhood. We are seeing an attempt to banish the past and cleanse the present of everything that is a memory of times gone by, to create a new society. For that, they are willing to use revolt, looting and vandalism. There is a clear plan of cutting the roots, showing total ignorance of the paths that have brought us here. But will they create a society where fairness, freedom, compassion and peace are at home? If we forget that we carry the darnel in our hearts, we will bring nothing else than chaos, which will end in a more oppressive society than the one they condemn. 

The parable shows clearly that God's plans and ways are vastly wiser than our plans and ways.

LET US ALLOW THE POWER OF GOD’S WORD TO TRANSFORM US

XV SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Matthew 13:1-23

According to Isaiah, the Word of God is compared to the rain and the snow, which water the soil, making it possible for the seed to germinate and to grow. It acts upon what was sent to do and always produces results.

“The word that goes from my mouth does not return to me empty, without carrying out my will and succeeding in what it was sent to do.” (Is 55:11).

This passage of Isaiah was chosen as an introduction to this Sunday Gospel, in which we find the parable of the Sower. Listening to the parable, we remain with the impression that the seed did not produce always a good harvest. In fact, in some cases, it did not produce anything at all. However, that lack of results can be attributed neither to the seed, which was very good nor to the sower who was hardworking and proficient. When it happened, it was due to the soil, which was poor or had no conditions at all to receive the seed. We may think that the seed that fell on the rock,  the path or a thorny patch was wasted. 

Faced with this lack of results, the sower could be discouraged and disappointed. Faced with the disbelief and the hostility of the Scribes and the Pharisees, Jesus might see his ministry as a failure. However, the sower takes his time with confidence and, when the harvest time comes, the results are extraordinary with the seeds producing “some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty”. Indeed, he did not work in vain.

Like Jesus, we should not get tired of sowing the Word. Not everybody will welcome it, but, in the end, the result will surpass all our expectations.

The word of God is the seed that must be sowed. It must be proclaimed in all places and at all times. Jesus is the Word. He is the proclamation. He is the Son of God speaking out to us. This word is not in the past and we are not hearing its echo coming to us from past ages. God’s word is being spoken aloud to us every day, in this present moment. If it produces or not, it all depends on the kind of soil that we are. If we allow ourselves to be touched and moved by the Word, then our lives will become full of God’s wisdom. On the other side, our hearts have become so hard that we cannot feel the touch of God’s Word, then this same word will stand as a witness of our stubbornness. The word will stand in judgement against us.

God speaks to us in many different ways, but he reveals his inner self through his Son Jesus Christ. We must listen to him. “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (Jn 8:31).

COME TO ME ALL YOU WHO LABOUR

XIV SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Matthew 11:25-30

Prophet Zachariah tells Jerusalem to rejoice and “shout with gladness”, because her king is coming and he presents himself as “victorious” and “triumphant”. However, he is a king of a different kind, since his victory was not achieved by using instruments of war in the conquest of the nations or in the overpowering of the enemies. It is on a donkey that he rides into the city, openly showing that he is not a threat to anybody. Although victorious, he is “humble” and he is determined to banish horses, chariots, bows, spears and swords. “He will proclaim peace for the nations” (Zach 9:9-10), because he is the Prince of Peace (Is 9:6).

The text of Zachariah (the firs reading) comes as an introduction to the gospel, in which Jesus presents himself as humble and in his humility he calls everybody to come to him and find peace.

Jesus gives thanks to the Father, because he reveals his mystery and the mystery of his plan of salvation to the humble, “to mere children”, while hiding them from the rich, the powerful and the learned. Those who are full of themselves and boast of their power, wealth and knowledge. Surely, Jesus had in mind the Scribes, the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the Herodians, all influential people, who had the control of the political power and who thought to know the right way to God. They despised everybody else and considered them sinners. However, throughout the Scriptures, we always find God listening to the cry of the poor and showing mercy to the humble ones.

The Father has put everything in the hands of the Son (Jesus) and Jesus comes to establish His Kingdom of Peace, since he comes to fulfil the Father’s plan, which is a plan of life and salvation, a plan of peace. It is through Jesus that we come to know God’s plan and decision. It is Jesus who reveals the inner self of the Father, who accepts us as his beloved children. 

In Jesus, we see the face of the Father and we can be touched by his love and compassion. In all truth, Jesus can say to us: 

“Come to me, 

all you who labour 

and are overburdened, 

and I will give you rest. 

Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, 

for I am gentle and humble in heart, 

and you will find rest for your souls. 

Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.”

In difficult times, when we lose direction, becoming hopeless and distraught, we must turn to Jesus and address to him our concerns. Where there is no way, he will find a way for us, and he will bring peace to our hearts. 

Let us entrust ourselves to Jesus, confiding in him. Let us entrust to Jesus our relatives, our friends, our neighbours, our community and our country, so that we may find peace.