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1.
1Kings3:5,7-12
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2. Rom8:28-30
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Matt 13:44-52
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"
what the Kingdom of God is all about?"
A certain writer wrote
the following poem that goes on like this way: Many times I attempted to find
God in the midst of the busy world He kept silent. Many times I attempted to
find readymade answers to my problems He hid Himself. Many times I asked him to
grant my wishes He did not listen. It is only then when I kept silent and stop
looking for Him when I found Him sitting next to me. Showing me the many
splendors things that created for me.
I don't know if you
experience this too, but I experience it myself. It is because every time I' am
worried where to get all these things, they do not come, instead every time
everything to Him, they just come without my knowledge and expectations.
Dear brothers and
sisters, we are given three parables in our gospel today. These parables are
about the hidden treasure, the pearl and the dragnet. Today we are encouraged
to choose the real treasure. The joy over the found treasure of the Kingdom and
the pearl of great price enables us to sell everything to get these two
loveliest things. When we talk about parable, Biblical scholars would say that
it talks about the Kingdom of God, what it is all about and how does it happen.
However, these search for a treasure buried in the field and for a "pearl
of great price" have led many souls go astray. How many persons, homes and relationships
have been shattered because of money and greed? How many people have sold their
principles, their bodies and their very souls for money? Thus when we neglect
the spiritual aspect in our search for the material, we end up with what Mahatma Gandhi calls ' sins of the world' :
Wealth without work, knowledge without character, science without humanity,
worship without sacrifice, politics without principles.
Then what does the
Kingdom of God is all about? In the Old Testament, Kingdom of God refers to the
provident and protective Kingship of God of God over the chosen people. The
fruit of this Kingdom is a whole moral order of peace, justice, love and mercy.
In the New Testament,
Jesus proclaimed that the Kingdom of God is near at hand ( Matt4:17). He
called, therefore, for conversion and repentance and for watchfulness. He also
said that the Kingdom of God was for sinners and outcasts, the poor and the
despised too. Entrance into the kingdom will be determined by our response to
the neighbor in need.
In the early Christian
community, St. Paul and St. Luke proclaimed Christ as the personification of the Kingdom. According to St. Augustine
and St. Gregory the great, they identified the Kingdom of God with the Church;
that the church is the Kingdom. So, we must enter and be members of this
Kingdom or else. But our modern understanding of God's Kingdom is this:
First it is God's reign
here on earth whereby He brings humanity and the world the blessings of
salvation. Second it is the total liberation of mankind involving all
dimensions of man( socio-cultural, religious, economical, political and
ecological. Is mankind's final destiny where God shall be in all, where peace,
love, truth and justice reside? Third, it is God's eternal rule where love
reigns, the supreme dominion of the Father over all things and mankind's
complete ultimate happiness.
If you ask me about the
definition of God's Kingdom I would argue that it is to accept and to do God's
will. Whenever and wherever we find the promotion of the values of God's
Kingdom: Truth, justice, love and peace. If these values rule people's lives,
it means that God's Kingdom is reigning in their hearts, in their community or
society.
However, when try to
look at around us, can we say that God's Kingdom reigns the hearts and minds of
people? We can say ' No' It is because there are so many people who are hungry
for power, for prestige, for money and for security.
How the Kingdom of God
can be realized into our lives? it can be realized when we make better use of
the following three resources namely 3Ts ( Time, Talent, and Treasure), Give to
the needy, love more simply, Visit the imprisoned, offer hospitality, visit the
sick, support the bereaved, admonish the sinner, spread the good news of the
Kingdom of God, counsel the doubtful, comfort the lonely, bear wrongs
patiently, forgive all injuries, free your heart from hatred, free your mind from
worry, live simply, expect less, give more and pray for the living and the
dead. These are very simple, very practical. They are not impossible to do and
let us joyfully do them.
0 Response to "HOMILY FOR THE 17th SUNDAY YEAR A ORDINARY TIME"
Chapisha Maoni