18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

August 2, 2026

God’s generosity and ours

GOSPEL

Matthew 14:13-21

When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said, “This is a deserted place and it is already late; dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.” Jesus said to them, “There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves.” But they said to him, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.” Then he said, “Bring them here to me,” and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass.
Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over—twelve wicker baskets full. Those who ate were about five thousand men, not counting women and children.

REFLECTIONS ON THE GOSPEL

First Impressions, A Division of the Southern Dominican Province

The Isaiah reading names the dissatisfactions we feel when we look  for fulfillment in places that are not of God. We deceive and drain ourselves in a search for what can only be satisfied by God. God holds out a lavish food for us, free of charge, a food that will not run out when life tests us. We are being offered a food that assures us that, when the testing of the desert comes, we will find the sustenance for the life we need. God fed the Israelites in the desert, and the Gospel reminds us that through Christ we are nourished in sustaining ways. The gestures and words of Jesus in the Gospel bring to mind the Last Supper. The Gospel writer is making clear references in this miracle story to the Eucharist. How can we read this story today and not see a gracious God (the God of Isaiah) saying to us too, "come receive grain and eat"? This is a crowd that realized that Jesus had something to offer them in their "desert places." Jesus wasn’t just filling their stomachs. They were a deserted people; life had passed them by. They were not the rich, the famous, the educated or the powerful; they were the afflicted and the marginated. Life may have passed them by, but Jesus didn't. He took note of them, and they in turn saw in him a place to be nourished, a place where deep hungers and longings would be fulfilled.  Why else would they have stayed so long listening to him in that deserted place? They were not disappointed, for at the end of the day they were filled. He had seen their many hungers and had fed them, “all ate and were satisfied.” The miracle recalls God’s feeding of the Israelites in the desert. The God of the Promise has not abandoned the chosen ones in the desert, but continues, day by day, to nourish us with food that does not disappoint. Are we turning for nourishment to places that will eventually disappoint us? What and who will sustain us when we are in distress, in our own private "desert place?" We need nourishment that will be there for us in the desert. And we all must pass through a desert of some type,  at some time. The Gospel shows that Christ can offer us a food that will really fill and satisfy us. This miracle is also a reassuring sign to us that when that "desert day" comes, God will see us in our need, as Jesus does in the Gospel, and have a heart "moved with pity" for us. We will not be alone in these deserted place, there will be an abundance of daily bread to sustain and give us our fill. This is not a story of “just enough to get by on.” This is a story of “more than enough.” After everyone has had their fill there are lots of leftovers. In God’s place no one need go hungry, all experience abundance. Where else and what else can satisfy in this way? Remember Isaiah’s probing question, “Why spend your money for what is not bread?” The physical bread of the miracle story was of temporary value. It could not satisfy deeper hungers, but it was a sign that Jesus can and that his heart is moved with pity for us. Notice how he handled the food with reverence, the same reverence he felt for the crowd whom he knew were the beloved of God. The miracle is a sign to us that we too are the beloved of God, and we will not be left hungry. The disciples are overwhelmed by what they see and the seeming insufficient resources they have. In this version of the story, there is no boy to provide the loaves and fishes  for this miracle. The disciples have the food. Was it their own food for the trip? Is Jesus asking them to share out of their supplies? Is he asking them to risk it all, to take a chance at extravagant generosity? And they do – maybe this too is the miracle; the change in the disciples who now have learned that whatever they have, it will be more than enough in collaboration with Christ? They are learning to cast their lots with him, to risk what they have in his service. As we heard last week, the person who discovers the treasure in the field goes out and sells everything to buy the field and have the treasure. The disciples too are being invited to invest their all in Christ. Are we? Sell it all. Invest yourself in the One who will not disappoint. We have Eucharistic ministers in our parishes who take the bread of communion beyond our assembly to those in "deserted places." That's often how the sick, dying, imprisoned, and elderly  feel in our society—deserted. They feel on the fringe of life, less than appreciated, less than valued. We send our Eucharistic ministers out to them with communion to tell them that they are part of us, part of the people being fed by God. They are not forgotten in their difficult places. The bread from our altar extends Christ's presence to them but also extends our presence as well. We invite the Eucharistic ministers today to share this Gospel story with the sick and to tell them that the community has prayed for them and shares with them our life and hope sustaining bread. Many of us have sat beside the bedsides of the sick and dying.  We have seen them with tubes in their nostrils and with needles in their arms. We feel useless and  fragile before the enormity of their suffering and fears. We feel we should step aside and let the professional medical experts do their  specialties; what can we do after all? The disciples in the Gospel experience that same helplessness; so many hungry and so little to give them. Yet, Jesus urges, "give them something to eat yourselves." Give them what you can. We feel we have nothing to offer in the enormity of their need. Yet we do have something to give, the gift of our presence, as meager as that feels. And so, we make the offering of ourselves. But Christ takes what we have to offer, blesses it, breaks it and gives more than enough nourishment to the hungry in deserted place. And in giving ourselves, we become the "true presence" of Christ to others. Aren't we being challenged to look into our own resources, as insignificant as they may seem, and take the risk for "the crowd"? I know a nurse in a terminal ward in a nearby hospital. While on duty, she tries to find as much time as possible to be with the dying in their last moments. She works the night shift, when the ward is quiet and she can take some free moments. It is when the dying are most alone, and all one can hear is their labored breathing. She may hold their hand, maybe just sit there with them. Her spiritual practice is the Jesus Prayer, which she prays quietly to herself throughout the day. While tending the dying, she prays the Jesus prayer over and over again. “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, have mercy on me a sinner.” She experiences it is a privileged place to be, with  someone as he or she lets go of this life. She hopes her presence can help. For those who are afraid to die, she prays and calms their fears, stroking their forehead. At this moment in a dying person’s life, what else is wanted or needed?  What about all the things we saved up to buy, all our ambitions, professional achievements, all our “stuff”? What good are they at this moment? The prophet speaks a sobering reminder to us today, “Why spend your money for what is not bread, your wages for what fails to satisfy?” This nurse offers what will satisfy, and gives a strength no other thing can, her calming presence, a person of faith being there for another. It may feel like just five loaves and two fish in the presence of the powerful force of death, but her prayer is a reminder that Someone else is there, multiplying the offerings of the disciple so that they are more than enough. Can the preacher think of other ways people’s simple offerings are multiplied for those in need? The Eucharist is like Isaiah’s call from God to turn away from that which is not satisfying and will only disappoint. We have this liturgical celebration today to examine what we search and strive after and whether or not we are really being filled. We need then to rethink our unhealthy or abusive relationships—false priorities—value on achievements—obsessions with our careers—any  misplaced energies and investment of ourselves. We need to have confidence as well, that no deserted place we may find ourselves is outside the compassionate gaze of Christ at this Eucharist. “...he saw the vast crowd and his heart was moved with pity for them...”

Justice Bulletin Board by Barbara Molinari Quinby, MPS, Director Office of Human Life, Dignity, and Justice Ministries Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral, Raleigh, NC

The Lord is good to all and compassionate toward all his works. — Psalm 145:9

In ancient times the poor were subjected to insult, blamed for their poverty, and lived without hope. When you think of the poor, what thoughts come to your mind? What things influence your attitude to the poor? How does this passage from Psalms, as seen through the lens of Jesus’ life, affirm or challenge your attitude? What should you do? The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops write: “Catholic disciples are called to put Two Feet of Love in Action! This foundational tool describes two distinct, but complementary, ways we can put the Gospel in action in response to God's love:  social justice (addressing systemic, root causes of problems that affect many people) and  charitable works (short-term, emergency assistance for individuals). Charitable Works  are our ‘response to immediate needs and specific situations: feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, caring for and healing the sick, visiting those in prison, etc.’ ( Deus Caritas Est, no. 31). We step with the Charitable Works foot when we work to aid or assist others both locally and globally to meet their immediate, short-term needs. Examples include engaging in direct service or providing food, clothing, shelter, or monetary assistance to help those in need. Social Justice ‘concerns the social, political, and economic aspects and, above all, the structural dimension of problems and their respective solutions’ ( Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, no. 201). We step with this foot when we work to address the  root causes of problems facing our communities by advocating for just public policies and helping to change the social structures that contribute to suffering and injustice at home and around the world.” 

Faith Book

Mini-reflections on the Sunday scripture readings designed for persons on the run. “Faith Book” is also brief enough to be posted in the Sunday parish bulletins people take home.

From today’s Gospel Reading: Taking the five loaves and two fish, and looking up to heaven, Jesus said the blessing, broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds.

Reflection: Jesus saw the hungry crowd and with the loaves and fish his disciples offered, he fed them.  While we might receive comfort knowing that our inner hungers are fed at our Eucharistic meal, let’s not just “spiritualize” today’s gospel. Let’s remember that Jesus’ pity extended to the crowd’s physical needs  he saw when he disembarked from the boat. Matthew tells us, “he was moved with pity for them and he cured their sick,” and, with the disciples’ help, he fed their hunger.

So we ask ourselves:
• What hunger do I bring to this Eucharist today that I turn to Jesus to feed?
• In my world, what hunger am I hearing Jesus invite me to feed—with his help? 

Some Thoughts on the Feeding of the Five Thousand (John’s Gospel 6:1-15)

From Walter Burghardt, S.J.: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. How many of us can remember any encyclical except the one on contraception (Humanae Vitae)? WE never listened to Leo XIII declaring the right of workers to dignity, a living wage, labor unions. WE never heard Pius XI recommend that workers share in the profits of owners. WE never heard Pius XII insist on the strict right all human beings have to whatever materials goods they need to develop as persons, as images of God. WE never heard John XXIII declare that farmers should share in the rewards of industrialized societies, that developing countries should share in the benefits of more highly developed nations. WE forgot Paul VI declare to the UN: "War! Never again!" We have not heard John Paul II denounce both Marxist socialism and unbridled capitalism, castigate the all-consuming desire for profit and a destructive thirst for power; the danger of "having" over "being". 

From Nancy Greenfield: How many of us have read Francis I's recent exhortation: "Rejoice and Be Glad"? In this document he says: "Hedonism and consumerism can be our downfall….We will find it hard to feel and show any real concern for those in need, unless we are able to cultivate a certain simplicity of life, resisting the demands of a consumer society, which leave us impoverished and unsatisfied, anxious to have it all now." He enjoins us to avoid complacency which leads to a state of spiritual lethargy, and self-deception, which is a comfortable and self-satisfied form of blindness.--Everything then appears acceptable…

From: Rev Paul Gallagher, OFM: The crowd misses the meaning of the signs and again, after the feeding, does not understand what the signs say about who Jesus is for them. When they see the signs they interpret them to mean that Jesus is the expected messiah ("the Prophet") and they want to make him king. That's not what Jesus hoped the sign of the feeding he performed for them would communicate, so "...he withdrew again to the mountain alone." "Again"...sounds like he has had to withdraw before, doesn't it? This is not the first time people have misunderstood Jesus and the meaning of the works he was doing. This time they think he is "the Prophet." The bread miracle stirs and excites them because they had been waiting for from one like Moses or, in light of the first reading, one like Elisha. Both prophets had provided bread for the hungry and scattered people. Jesus sees the seeming inadequacies, but he also sees great potentials for what God can do. First of all he gives thanks for the loaves---God has given gifts and God will feed the crowd's hunger with them. How did God provide more than enough food? By means of a seeming nobody, a little boy with five barley loaves and two fish. Even the type of bread suggests inadequacy; barley was the grain of the poor. We face huge hungers. The story reminds us that when we offer, even what seems insignificant and small, that God can more than make up for our lack. God can do wonders with willing servants. Jesus sets the example for us. He takes what little he has, acknowledges it as a gift from God by giving thanks and then sets about serving those in need. Jesus was the first to note the crowd's hungers. He reminds us that God is the first one concerned for those who lack and God wants to address those in need through us, even though we feel what we have to offer is negligible in the face of the needs around us. 

Justice Bulletin Board from Anne and Bill Werdel, Sacred Heart Cathedral, Raleigh, N.C.

When they had eaten, there was some left over, as the Lord had said (2 Kings 4:44) (John 6:1-15) Most of us have so many leftovers in our lives. We likely have leftover time in our week, leftover space in our homes, leftover knowledge, leftover food in the freezer or fridge and maybe even leftover money that we just might need someday. It’s even possible that we have more than enough compassion and love to give some of our very selves away. In today’s first reading and in the Gospel, we learn what God can do with leftovers that are offered for sharing. The world’s needs for food, for healthcare, for education, for housing and for love could be easily met with our leftovers, if they were offered by us generously and blest by God’s Spirit and grace. “No man or woman of good will should stand as an idle witness to the complex social problems of our day. Equally deserving of our attention and care is the private suffering of countless children, women, and men who do not have enough food to eat; who are deprived of adequate education, housing, or employment; or who suffer the trauma of abuse or neglect.”“Social ministry is an expression of the Gospel and of the prophetic, servant ministry of Jesus Christ; as such, it is a fundamental element of the mission of the Church.” “The charitable and justice-oriented activities of the Church are integral to the collective responsibility of all citizens to build the common good of our nation and of the entire human family.” (US Catholic Bishops "In All Things")

ENCOUNTER CHRIST REFLECTIONS AND MEDITATIONS

Preparation for the Session

Adapted from Sacred Space: The Prayer Book 2025

Presence of God: Jesus, As I come to you today, fill my heart, my whole being, with the wonder of your sacred presence.  Help me to become more aware of your presence in my life, and more receptive to that presence. I desire to love you as you love me.  May nothing ever separate me from you. (1-2 minutes of silence)

Freedom: Jesus, Grant me the grace to have freedom of spirit. Keep me from being bound by desires and actions that are not good for me or others. Cleanse my heart and soul that I may live joyously in your love. (1-2 minutes of silence)

Consciousness: Where am I with God? With others in my life? What am I grateful for? Is there something I am sorry for, words or actions that have hurt others, and which I now regret? I take a moment to ask forgiveness of God and of those whom I have hurt. God, I give you thanks for your constant love and care for me. Keep me always aware of your presence in my life. (2-3 minutes of silence)

Opening Prayer

Lord, help me to see the Eucharist as gift--your gift to us  so that we would always know that you are with us, deep inside us. You sustain my life in so many ways. Help me to be thankful by showing generosity of heart to others.

Companions for the Journey

from "First Impressions", a service of the Southern Dominican Province

A few years back I preached in a city where there was a soup kitchen for street people run by three Catholic sisters.  Well, it wasn't a soup kitchen exactly---it was more like a restaurant.  The "guests" were greeted at the door by church volunteers and shown to tables with tablecloths and given a menu.  The fare was limited, but they had a choice of "entrees" from which they could choose.  There are quicker and more efficient ways to feed the hungry, especially these days with so many homeless and hungry on our streets. Food 

pantries and soup kitchens can barely keep up with those who come seeking food and clothing. The current numbers of the hungry are increasing and the charitable collections of food and clothing are just not enough to meet the urgent needs.  But still, that special soup kitchen, with its parish volunteers and special "guests" stays with me as a wonderful sign of what the scriptures reveal today 

about the food and drink we are promised at God's table---where we will be treated as honored guests and where no one will lack food and clothing. That's a promise we can bank on.  Are we believers all just dreamers?  Considering the plight of so many poor, homeless and victimized in the world, who has the audacity to promise anything better in the future when things are so very bad now?

That's how it always is with God. When we are at our lowest point, in one exile of our own making, or another, a special delivery letter comes to invite us back home, where a meal is waiting us. The invitation reads, "I don't care what you have done, come on home!  Let me supply the nourishment you have desired and searched for in all the wrong places.  I have what you really need and I want to 

give it to you free of charge.  For heaven's sake, forget the past, we have a future together!"  Here in the southern U.S. we might word the invitation differently: "Ya'll come!  Set yourself down. Eat.  Hear?"

In Jesus, God has sent out another similar invitation to special guests to come, sit down, eat and drink.  The multiplication of the loaves and fish is a spectacular miracle.  But it starts very small and among seeming-insignificant people. Which is where God usually starts a good work, so that the people can't claim any success was based just on their skills and merits. God is at work here. It is God's idea to feed the least and it is God who makes it possible to do it.  Nevertheless, as we learn from Matthew's account, people do have a part to play; though it does seem small by the world's ways of measuring.  The disciples understand their situation: the crowd is large and they have next to nothing to give to address the people's hunger. "Five loaves and two fish are all we have here."  They may have practically nothing to offer, but at least they "heed" what Jesus says and offer up what little they do have.  They could have looked to their own needs and saved the few loaves and fish for themselves. That would have been the prudent thing to do. But the crowd was hungry, they had to be fed and the disciples put what little they had to feed them completely into Jesus' hands. There are times when we just have to throw our whole lot in with the Lord; take a chance on him; join him in his sometimes reckless project. We provide the best we can to do God's work and, instead of standing far off to see how we do, God rolls up the sleeves and gets to work with us. We have got to trust that -- otherwise, we would never set about to address the huge issues we face in our world, like hunger, racism, war, injustice, violence, disease, social inequalities, etc.  We do what we can, even though it feels puny to us and appears insignificant by the world's standards of measurement.  We hand over what we have to Christ who invites, "Bring them here to me" and we see what he does with our offerings.

We pray that the Spirit come upon us who gather to "heed" God's Word so we will be guided and empowered in Christ's service.  May the "loaves and fish" of our daily lives feed those hungry Christ sends us into the world to feed. 

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today's reading and discussion? Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow.

Reflection Questions:

This story shows up in all four gospels because of its obvious connection to the Eucharist celebration. Do I view the Eucharist as basic food for my very life?

What hunger to I bring to the Eucharistic celebration that I turn to Jesus to feed?

What hunger in the world am I hearing about that I am being called to address—with God’s help?

Has there been a time in your life when you were sorrowful or troubled, but went out of your way to help someone else?

How is sharing a meal a way to enhance community?

Jesus fed the five thousand through the agency of his disciples.   In what way is Jesus expecting me to be an agent for his message/mission?

This miracle required the cooperation and the generosity of those who gave what little they had. How often do I approach life and my own obligation to others in need through a mentality of scarcity, worried that I might not have enough?

A priest I know said that there is enough for everybody if everybody shared when they had more than they needed. Where in my life are there opportunities to “share my food” with those in need?
In what way does my Church mirror this practice?  

Has there ever been a time in your life when someone helped you in a time of need?
Were you grateful?   
Did you express your gratitude?  
Did you pay it forward?

Do I really trust in God’s goodness and generosity? Why or why not?
Do I ever doubt that God will want to meet my needs? Why do I think this?
Do need to pray for the trust to “sit down” in a time of crisis and give my worries to God?

Do I ever think my insignificance, or lack of education, or lack of money exempt me from service?  
What about the original disciples?  
What about Mother Teresa?

Closing Prayer

Give us this day our daily bread. We come to you Lord, for sustenance, for comfort, for our very lives. Give me this day what I need, and nothing more; if there is excess, let me be generous with what I have and attuned to the needs of others.

FOR THE WEEK AHEAD

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today's session…“There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves.”

Meditations

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:

(From Sacred Space 2025)

This is the only miracle that is reported by all the four gospels, because the link to the Eucharist is obvious. The verbs used at the end of this miracle to describe what Jesus did with the bread are repeated at every mass. The Eucharist has the same characteristics of this miracle: the community, the transformation of humble elements into what satisfies us and is a sign of God’s abundant gifts. Yet the gift is immeasurably greater: it is the body and blood of Christ. I stand in awe of this great gift, and ask for the grace to be grateful and to enter more deeply into this great mystery.

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

Read the first part of Mt 14, which describes the banquet thrown for Herod on his birthday, and how that turned out in the end. Contrast that with the story of the feeding of the five thousand, and, finally, Read Matthew 25: 35-41. (Lord, when did I see you hungry, etc.) Reflect on the various segments of our current society reflected in the three passages. Which people in our current world fit into one of these categories Jesus is describing in Matthew 25?  Do you find it difficult to see Christ in those around you? Which group annoys you the most? Why? How do you reconcile Jesus' teaching on this question of justice, need, and personal responsibility with the Church's social teaching? With this country's policies? With your own attitudes and actions? Then read James 2:1-9 (Do not make class distinctions). Think of all the ways in which we categorize people. Why is this common? Why is it wrong?

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:

Read today's selection from Romans 8 slowly and solemnly. 

“What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? No, in all these things we coner overwhelmingly through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things,* nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth,* nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Then rewrite these words, speaking them to Christ (eg.: What will separate me from your love?) Pray this prayer several times this week, reflecting on your personal relationship with Jesus. How does it affect you?

A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action:

Read Matthew 25-46, which included the following about the final judgement.

“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you made me welcome, lacking clothes and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to see me." Then the upright will say to him in reply, "Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and make you welcome, lacking clothes and clothe you? When did we find you sick or in prison and go to see you?" And the King will answer, "In truth I tell you, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me."

Pastor Emeritus James Forbes, of Riverside Church in Manhattan, was famously quoted as saying: “Nobody gets into heaven without a letter of reference from the poor.” How would I fare? Has my generosity been active and personal? Has it been distant and reluctant? Has it been non-existent while I focused on other aspects of my religious journey? I ask Jesus to open the eyes of my heart so that I can respond more fullly to the needs of those less fortunate, and maybe eventhose less worthy. Give me the spirit of true generosity.

Poetic Reflection

Through the stories and reflections in her book My Name is CHILD of GOD, And Not “Those People,”  Julia Dinsmore puts a face on poverty and challenges readers to answer God's call to respond to poverty and its effects, to feed the bodies and very souls of those “five thousand” who have little or nothing.

My name is not “Those People.”
I am a loving woman, 
a mother in pain, giving birth to the future, 
where my babies have the same chance to thrive as anyone.

My name is not “Inadequate.”
I did not make my husband leave – he chose to,
and chooses not to pay child support.
Truth is though, there isn’t a job base for all
fathers to support their families.
While society turns its head, my children pay the price.

My name is not “Problem and Case to Be Managed.”
I am a capable human being and citizen, not a client.
The social service system can never replace the compassion
and concern of loving Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Fathers,
Cousins, Community – all the bonded people who need to be
but are not present to bring children forward to their potential.

My name is not “Lazy, Dependent Welfare Mother.”
If the unwaged work of parenting, homemaking and community building 
was factored into the Gross National Product, my work would have untold value. 
And I wonder why my middle-class sisters whose husbands support them to raise their children 
are glorified – and they don’t get called lazy and dependent.

My name is not “Ignorant, Dumb or Uneducated.”
I live with an income of $621 with $169 in food stamps.
Rent is $585. that leaves $36 a month to live on. 
I am such a genius at surviving that I could balance the state budget in an hour.
Never mind that there is a lack of living-wage jobs.
Never mind that it is impossible to be the sole emotional, social and economic support to a family.
Never mind that parents are losing their children 
to the gangs, drugs, stealing, prostitution, social workers, kidnapping, the streets, the predator.
Forget about putting money into schools – just build more prisons.

My name is not “Lay Down and Die Quietly.”
My love is powerful and my urge to keep my children alive will never stop. 
All children need homes and people who love them. 
They need safety and the chance to be the people they were born to be.
The wind will stop before I let my children become a statistic.
Before you give in to the urge to blame me,
the blames that lets us go blind and unknowing into
the isolation that disconnects us, take another look.
Don’t go away.
For I am not the problem, but the solution.
And…My name is not “Those People.”

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

July 26, 2026

What do the parables illuminate about the experiences of your life?

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." 

REFLECTIONS ON THE GOSPEL

First Impressions

“Such a deal!” You can almost hear the young king Solomon say that to God in our first reading. Imagine getting an invitation from the Almighty, “Ask something of me and I will give it to you.” What an opportunity! Who wouldn’t want to have such an offer from One who could give anything? Makes us wonder what we might ask for if God gave us a blank check. So much to ask for! Where to start? How to choose? Solomon the young king and son of David, is about to take the throne. We now know him by his reputation for wisdom. When we refer to someone as having “the wisdom of Solomon,” it is high praise. But at this stage in his life and reign, Solomon isn’t feeling very wise. He knew what he needed to reign properly: he needed wisdom and he also knew he couldn’t get it on his own. Only God could give him this gift, so wisdom is what he asks for in response to God’s magnanimous offer. Solomon didn’t have to climb a distant mountain, or succeed at Herculean tasks to get the wisdom he would need to rule well. He just had to ask for it. Biblical wisdom is about everyday life; it concerns practical matters and guides us in living a godly life. Readers familiar with the bible will know the unique qualities of this wisdom. A person of wisdom may not be the most intellectually brilliant person in the room.  When the bible speaks of a wise person, a wisdom figure like Solomon, or a prophet, it presents a person who is closely attuned to God.  The wise one and God have a strong and intimate relationship and the recipient of wisdom is characterized by very practical, everyday knowledge that enables him/her to live an ethically upright life. Solomon isn’t asking for esoteric knowledge about other-worldly mysteries. He knows as a ruler he will have to make decisions between right and wrong, not only for himself, but for the people he has been chosen to lead. He wants to be a good king, one who rules in conformity with God’s ways. Unfortunately, later in his life, we learn that Solomon betrays God’s will and becomes self-seeking. Since he was also the ruler, the nation of Israel suffers dire consequences for his betrayals of God. Still, at this early stage we can learn from Solomon about the importance of the divine gift of wisdom as we struggle to live out our Christian calling in some very ambiguous situations. We want to live good lives that reflect the divine life in us we have through baptism. We repent those thoughts and actions that were unwise and pulled us away from God. We, in short, are sorry for the things we have said and done that have hurt others...if only we had acted more wisely. Remember two Sundays ago, Matthew began this parable discourse with Jesus’ sitting down in a boat to teach. He presents Jesus as a wisdom teacher and thus suggests to us that the wisdom we seek is given us in Jesus. He is wisdom made flesh; his actions and words are our guidance for daily life and his life in us keeps us in intimate relationship with God. When we need to know how to live and act in conformity to God’s will, Jesus is our guide. In today’s gospel he is the wise teacher who invites us to ponder and learn God’s ways; he does this by telling his disciples parables. Today’s gospel reading is comparatively short. The lectionary even gives a shorter option. I would use the whole passage for the proclamation, but focus on one of the parables for the preaching. There are plenty of preaching possibilities in each parable.  Let’s look at the first two and leave the decision up to each preacher which to choose for a focus. Each of today’s parables is introduced in the same way, “The kingdom of heaven is like....” (Matthew prefers “kingdom of heaven” so as to avoid using God’s name; Mark and Luke use, “kingdom of God.”) First a reminder. When a parable begins in this way it is not saying the kingdom is like a treasure, a pearl or a net. Rather, the kingdom is like what happens in each complete story. Jesus’ basic message was that God’s kingdom/reign/dominion had come near. The kingdom is present when God’s sovereignty, actions and presence are felt. It is where and when God’s will is being done and God’s rule accepted and acted upon. Those who live in accordance with God’s will might then hope to enter the kingdom when it finally comes in its fullness. We are of an age and culture that looks for things neatly defined and clearly described. If only Jesus had satisfied our need for exactness and given a precise definition of what the kingdom is and exactly where and when it occurs. If he had, we would have a precise measurement, or standard to apply. We would then be able to say, “This is definitely of the kingdom of God; this definitely not.” Of course, that would put us in control. Then other people and events would depend on us for our stamp of approval where and in whom God was acting. Instead, with parables like today’s, we have the opposite. We hear that God’s reign is multi-colored and multi-layered. We see only part of it; just when it seems to be only here...it pops up over there too—in the most unlikely places and occasions. You just can’t box in God’s movements and inspirations. In his gospel John would say it this way, “The Spirit of God blows where it will....” Let’s look at the “issue” of the buried and found treasure. Listeners to this parable have countered by saying the one who found the treasure is dishonest. They claim he should have reported the find to the “rightful owner.” But Jesus is not teaching about honesty here and it is not uncommon for his parables to contain characters who act in a shady way. Jesus uses worldly stories to open our eyes to the acts of the divine in our midst. He is focusing on a person’s finding a treasure, realizing its value, rejoicing and selling everything to get what is so precious.  We also have to remember the times and circumstances. It wasn’t usual for people to bury valuables during times of conflict, invasion, or insecurity. Who knows? Maybe the one who buried the treasure had died; or the plot may have now been under a foreign power, like the Romans. There are numerous possibilities to explain the treasure’s presence in the field.  We do best to stay with the parable: a person finds a treasure and does what he must to get it. What a risk he is willing to take, for he sells all he has! It’s parallel to what Jesus is asking his disciples to do; to leave everything else and invest their well-being and future in him. Isn’t Jesus a “hidden treasure” for us too? Grace to follow him has been freely given us and we are invited to celebrate this “find” with joy and total dedication.  We preachers will want to avoid moralizing this parable, i.e. making its primary thrust just a moral teaching and then telling people what they  ought to do. Remember, the finder does nothing to earn the treasure, nor does Jesus, in this case, stress the sacrifice required to acquire it. Recognition, joy, “pure luck” and excitement dominate the emotions of the fortunate finder. At today’s Eucharist why not celebrate the sheer gift God has given us in Jesus and the constant renewal of that gift through another gift – the Holy Spirit? The second parable varies slightly from the first; we have a merchant out searching for fine pearls. Yet, the two parables have some common elements: the discovery, joy (which we presume for the merchant since he finds what he has been searching for) and a follow-up action. The first parable has a clear element of surprise to it. How often have we found in a person, or a situation, something so good that we realize, even though we weren’t aware we were searching, we have found a treasure Or, have we ever searched for something meaningful for our lives, found it and it was even better than we had ever hoped?While we put so much into our search, we realize we received so much more than our efforts warranted. When things like this happen, we can hear an echo of Jesus’ introduction to the parables – with a slight modification, “There, that’s what the kingdom of God is like!” The bottom line....it’s about grace. (Cf. Quotable) In the parables we encounter God’s gracious rule. Judging from the two parables we focused on, the treasure and pearl, this rule is not something to fear. Instead, we learn that God’s reign promotes vitality, freedom and a sense of having found what we have always really wanted. We know life and service in the reign Jesus is proclaiming, will require sacrifice. But these parables encourage us to take the plunge, they tell us, “it is worth whatever you must change, or give up.” In both parables the investment is total. Each person has taken a huge gamble by selling “all that he/she has.” What guarantee do they have? What have they done to hedge their investments in case they have made a mistake? They haven’t, instead they have plunged ahead without reserve. Is God and Jesus’ way worth the full gamble of our lives? In the parables, the wise Jesus tells us it is. He should know, he has first hand experience. It’s like a friend of mine, who rushed head long into the ocean and when he came up for air, turned to me and shouted, “Come on in, the water’s fine!” And so I did, because he was already in the water and I trusted him.

Justice Bulletin Board by Barbara Molinari Quinby, MPS, Director Office of Human Life, Dignity, and Justice Ministries Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral, Raleigh, NC

Give your servant, therefore, an understanding heart. — 1 Kings 3:9 

The word “understand” is used at least five times in today’s readings. To comprehend the term, “understanding heart,” from the ancient biblical perspective, we should know that Solomon is asking God for a “listening heart.” The heart in the Old Testament refers not to the organ circulating the blood, but to the seat of the intellect and the ability to discern good and evil. Solomon wants to follow God’s direction through the process of discernment. But something else also happens when a person starts listening with their hearts. Our late Pope Francis writes, in The Joy of the Gospel (Word Among Us, 2013), that: When we live out a spirituality of drawing nearer to others and seeking their welfare, our hearts are opened wide to the Lord’s greatest and most beautiful gifts. Whenever we encounter another person in love, we learn something new about God. Whenever our eyes are opened to acknowledge the other, we grow in the light of faith and knowledge of God. If we want to advance in the spiritual life, then, we must constantly be missionaries(272). You see, if we are to grow our relationship with God, we cannot have a spirituality that is merely a vertical me and Thee. No, to grow our relationship with God, we must have a spirituality that is me, Thee, and the other. This is a spirituality that is both vertical and horizontal. As Pope Leo states: We must be ready to put our hands into the dough of the world! It is not enough to talk about flour without getting our hands dirty; we must touch it. . .Our time presents itself as a mill where the pains of poverty, social divisions, the challenges of new technologies, and the sincere desires for peace are still being ground together like new flour that risks being fermented with a bad leaven. . .The Kingdom will grow, not by force or by numbers but through the patience of those who, with faith and love, continue to knead with God. Pope Leo to Missionaries: “We Must Do the Will of the Father” (Vatican News) How do we do this? First, we must make the decision that we want to deepen our relationship with God and ask God for an understanding heart. Then, we must step out to encounter the other—the poor, the disadvantaged, the incarcerated, the immigrant, the sick. . . Join the justice ministries community here at HNOJ Cathedral.

One Good Book for the Preacher by Anne Lamott, PLAN B: FURTHER THOUGHTS ON FAITH. New York:  Riverhead Books 2005.

This book makes great reading, especially for reflective summer moments.  The author, a single parent, reflects on contemporary world and national events.  She also turns her reflections to parenting (a teenager), her mother’s Alzheimers, the death of friends, the change of seasons, and her political activism .  She takes a preacher’s look at her daily life’s joys and questions through the eyes of  faith—aided by the support and prayers of her small church community in northern California. (The story of Lamott’s finding faith is told in her previous books, especially TRAVELING MERCIES.) 

Quotable

Grace means you’re in a different universe from where you had been stuck, when you had absolutely no way to get there on your own. —Anne Lamott in, PLAN B: FURTHER THOUGHTS ON FAITH, (New York: Riverhead Books, 2005), ISBN1-57322-299-2, $24.95 hardcover.

Faith Book

Mini-reflections on the Sunday scripture readings designed for persons on the run. “Faith Book”is also brief enough to be posted in the Sunday parish bulletins people take home.

From today’s Gospel reading: The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again and out of sheer 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. 

Reflection: Why are we gathered at church today? We are here because we want wisdom;  we don’t want to be tempted by fake pearls and fool’s gold. It is just not worth it. We want the real thing in our lives. We sense what it is—WHO it is—and we want more. We have stumbled on a treasure and know that everything else is of much lesser value. We have found a valuable pearl and we are willing to put aside whatever stands in the way of having that pearl.

So we ask ourselves:

• What keeps us from having a closer relationship with Jesus in our daily lives?
• Do we realize our faith is a treasure we have found, rather than a reward we have been given?

From “Living Space”, a service of the Irish Jesuits

Discovering a Treasure

In the first parable Jesus compares entering the Kingdom to a man who finds treasure in a field. We need to remember that in those days, ordinary people did not have banks. Only the rich had access to places where their possessions were secure. If ordinary people did have valuable things, the simplest and safest thing was to hide them under the ground. Of course, because of war or some other unforeseen calamity, they might have to leave a place suddenly and not be able to take their belongings with them. They might not be able to return or they might die before they could do so. Someone else, then, might stumble on their treasure and, according to Jewish law, the finder could regard it as his own. In this parable, the man comes across the treasure but the field where it is hidden does not belong to him. He sells everything he has in order to get ownership of the field and hence of its buried treasure. The idea obviously is that when one really discovers Jesus and his vision of life everything else becomes secondary. In the service of the Kingdom there are no half measures and in that service there is a special kind of liberating joy. This was Paul’s experience: “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8) and again “For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 2:21). To have a personal relationship with Christ and to have made his view of life one’s own is the most beautiful, the most precious thing in the world. It is not enough, of course, just to say this; one must personally experience it as a fact – as many have done and many, unfortunately, have never really tried to do.

In Search of Treasure

The second parable is similar. A businessman is looking for fine pearls. When he finds the one he wants, he sells everything else he has in order to acquire it. A slight, if significant, difference has been pointed out between the two stories. For, in the first, the man was not actually looking for the treasure. Perhaps he found it while digging the ground or ploughing the field, that is, in the course of his ordinary working day. Jesus – and the real meaning of Jesus — may come to me unexpectedly through some daily experience. Many people have described their conversion to Christ as happening in such an unexpected way. There is a need, as the Gospel constantly urges, for us to be ready whenever and however Jesus comes into our lives. In the second parable, however, the man is on the lookout for the “pearl of great price”. He knows it must exist and he uses all his energies to find it. Although we are baptised Christians, we still need to pursue constantly the true and full meaning of the Gospel which can escape us for many years. We always need to understand more, to love more, to serve more.

Example of Solomon

It is in this context that we can take a look at the First Reading from the First Book of Kings. The young King Solomon is told by God, “Ask what you would like me to give you.” It is a question that Jesus sometimes asks in the Gospel and he is asking it of me in today’s Mass. How am I going to answer? What do I most want to have or to be right now? We can make a good guess at what a lot of people, including ourselves, would be likely to ask. For many it would be likely to have some connection with money or material security. What did Solomon ask for? “Give your servant a heart to understand how to discern between God and evil, for who could govern this people of yours that is so great?” In other words, he asked for wisdom and discernment. Wisdom is much more than knowing a lot of things or having prestigious university degrees. Being endowed with wisdom is much more than being just a morally very good person. Wisdom gives an in-sight into what is truly important in life, an awareness of the meaning and purpose of living, of what really matters. It is an understanding of where our real wellbeing and happiness lies.  That is indeed a pearl of great price, price-less in every sense of the word.

Wisdom as Seeing

Solomon did not ask for wealth, or power, although these things came to him. He did not ask just to have things, or to have obstacles in his life removed. He asked to be able to see. A constant theme running through the Gospel is the healing of blind people and of the incurable blindness of those who thought they could see. The true disciple is the one who begs Jesus, “Lord, that I may see.” The one who sees is the one who has wisdom. The one who has wisdom knows how to cope with the situations of life whether they bring ease or difficulty, pain or joy. This is what Solomon asked for and this is what God gave him. “Since you have asked for this and not asked for long life for yourself or riches or the lives of your enemies, but have asked for a discerning judgement for yourself, here and now I do what you ask. I give you a heart wise as none before you has had and none will have after you.” And, of course, the ‘wisdom of Solomon’ is a by-word down to our day. This is the treasure hidden in a field for which a man sells everything to have. This is the fine pearl for which a merchant sells everything he owns in order to get it. The ability to see is what opens the door to the Kingdom of God, that world of interlocking relationships between God, human beings and our world which brings to all security, happiness and peace. For here there is truth, here there is love and caring, here there is freedom and peace. For much of the time, we are chasing false treasures, mainly money, status and pleasure. For much of the time we are locked into the past – full of nostalgia or regrets, or focused on the future – not yet achieved longings and desires, or depressing fears and anxieties. Meanwhile the enriching present passes us by and the treasure is never discovered and the really valuable pearl is never found.

A Mixed Bag

This brings us to the third parable today. While the first and second parables speak of the total commitment and dedication which are the ideal of every follower of Christ, this third parable helps to put our two feet firmly back on the ground. While the ideals are valid and still beckon us, they must not lead us into any form of elitism. This parable reminds us that the Church and even the Kingdom in the process of its evolution is full of all kinds of people. Our Church is a Church of both saints and sinners. And we might say it is primarily for sinners. “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17). The role of the Church is to accept into its bosom “the poor, the crippled, the blind, the lame” (Luke 14:21) and lead them to the treasure and the pearl of great price. The lesson of this parable is similar to that of the weeds growing up with the wheat, namely, that the kingdom is a mixed body of saints and sinners (good and rotten fish). There will be always be a temptation on the part of some who feel they are more “faithful” to separate themselves from the “bad eggs”, from the weeds, but Jesus is here telling us that that is the work of God in his own good time. In the meantime, it is for us to learn to be tolerant, compassionate and understanding of those who seem to fall far below the requirements of the Gospel and the Kingdom. And, as we said in discussing the parable of the weeds, there are very few of us who are not, in the one person, a mixture of the good and the rotten. If there are some who clearly do fall by the wayside we can sincerely say, with Saint Augustine, “There, but for the grace of God, go I.” Judgment is for later. Right now, it is for us to use the time given to us to go in search of the treasure and the pearl of great price, of the gift to be able to identify, with Jesus, the really true, the good and the beautiful, and to help others too in the same search.

ENCOUNTER CHRIST REFLECTIONS AND MEDITATIONS

Preparation for the Session

Adapted from Sacred Space: The Prayer Book 2025

Presence of God: Jesus, As I come to you today, fill my heart, my whole being, with the wonder of your sacred presence.  Help me to become more aware of your presence in my life, and more receptive to that presence. I desire to love you as you love me. May nothing ever separate me from you. (1-2 minutes of silence)

Freedom: Jesus, Grant me the grace to have freedom of spirit. Keep me from being bound by desires and actions that are not good for me or others.  Cleanse my heart and soul that I may live joyously in your love. (1-2 minutes of silence)

Consciousness: Where am I with God? With others in my life? What am I grateful for? Is there something I am sorry for, words or actions that have hurt others, and which I now regret? I take a moment to ask forgiveness of God and of those whom I have hurt. God, I give you thanks for your constant love and care for me. Keep me always aware of your presence in my life. (2-3 minutes of silence)

Opening Prayer

Jesus, do you look at me and see a hidden treasure? How can I learn to recognize that my heart  truly lives in you? Help me to prioritize my wants, desires and actions so that I seek to attain only what you want for me.

Companions for the Journey

The discussion on the first two parables in this section are adapted from a sermon called “Salvation is free but it is not cheap” by Hugh David: In these parables Jesus was using illustrations from everyday life that everyone could understand because He spoke about landowners, farmers, gardeners, bakers, people who found treasure, jewelers, fishermen, shepherds, students and so much more. It was almost like He was looking at the crowd in front of Him and showing everyone how each and every one of them needed to be saved. So, let’s begin with the parable of the treasure which tells us that “the kingdom of heaven is like someone finding buried treasure in a field.” And the very idea of finding buried treasure reminds me of the quote, that says,: “Lord, give me the strength to change the things I can, the grace to accept the things I cannot, and a great big bag of money.” After all, everyone likes the idea of finding buried treasure. And the people who Jesus was talking to had probably known or heard about someone who had found some. You see, there were no banks or credit unions back then and the land of Israel had been a battle field for a long time and everyone wanted somewhere safe to keep their money, gold, jewelry, non-perishable food, clothing and even some extra pieces of furniture. They wanted to make sure that if the enemy soldiers came; they didn’t take everything they had. So, somewhere in the back of their property or even under their house they dug a hole and they buried everything they considered valuable. And then there were several deportations to Babylon and Assyria and many of those who had been deported were hoping they’d have and enjoy the things they buried when they came back but many of them died in captivity and then others came along and found their treasures by accident.  We don’t know if he was just walking through or maybe he was doing some farm work but it says he found it and then he hid it where he found it. Now, we might think, why didn’t he just keep it? But the rabbinical law said, “If a man finds scattered fruit or money, it belongs to the finder.” But, the law also stated that anything that was found by a worker on someone else’s land belonged to the owner of the land but since it was obvious that the treasure didn’t belong to the present owner; because if it did, then he would have dug it up before he sold the property.  So, the only way the finder of the treasure could claim it; was to buy the land. And the scripture says; he sold everything he had and bought the field.  You see, everything in life that he had accumulated was insignificant compared to the value of this treasure. So, he doesn’t give it a second thought but gave everything he had to get more than he could ever wish for. Jesus said that the man who finds this treasure "for joy over it goes and sells all that he has." Listen, he doesn’t do this reluctantly but he does it with joy. He doesn’t regret it or complain about the sacrifice he has to make. As a matter of fact, he doesn’t even consider it to be a sacrifice. He gives everything he’s got because he knows he’s going to get so much more in return. And then in the second parable we have a situation that’s similar but it’s also different. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” This man was a business man who happened to trade in pearls and he would buy things wholesale and then sell them to a retailer and make a profit. Pearls were seen back then the way we view diamonds today and it was common for men in this business to look for high-quality pearls for themselves. There was a good reason pearls were so expensive because finding them involved incredible danger. The best quality pearls come from oysters that live at an average depth of 40 feet. So, a pearl isn’t something you just stumble across as you’re walking along the beach. In Biblical times pearls were obtained at great cost in human life and there were many who died while pearl hunting. A pearl diver would tie a large rock to his body and jump over the side of a boat and allow the weight of the rock to carry him down the forty feet to the oyster beds. He risked danger from sharks, moray eels and other creatures in order to scour the mud below for oysters and only one oyster in a thousand contains a pearl. And while he’s holding his breath he hopes he won’t drown. So, you can understand why pearls were so valuable. By the first century pearls had become such a status symbol that people would save them like we do cash. The pearl is an especially appropriate figure for the kingdom because it’s the only gem that cannot be improved by man. All other jewels must be cut and polished by skilled craftsmen before they have any retail value but the pearl is perfect when it is found and it cannot be improved by cutting or polishing. So, the scripture says, one day this man was making his rounds probably visiting the various pearl divers or those they worked for; when he discovered a pearl that he knew was very valuable. And then he went and sold everything he owned and bought it. This guy knew value when he saw it. He had spent his life looking for pearls; buying, selling, trading and probably even had his personal savings tied up in pearls but when he saw what he considered to be the ultimate pearl he cashed in everything he had to make the ultimate investment. So, we have two men from two different backgrounds who sell everything they own to get everything they’ve always wanted. And there are lessons from both of these accounts. Both of them sacrificed everything they had in order to have something that was absolutely above anything they could possibly wish for. The first man finds his treasure by accident while the second finds his after searching his whole life. The scripture gives us examples of both. In John 4 we have a woman who meets Jesus at a well. She didn’t go there looking for salvation but went there for water like she did every other day but when she met Jesus, the scripture says, she left her water pot and went to tell everyone she knew about Jesus. And then in John chapter 9 we have a blind beggar who was sitting by the side of the road just hoping that someone who was going by would give him a handout and then when he heard Jesus was going by he called out and was both healed and saved. He got more than he ever dreamed of asking for. The woman at the well and the blind beggar weren’t looking for anything when they found everything worth finding. And then the second parable shows us a man whose business was searching for the very thing he found. He was in the market for pearls and he was looking everywhere he could but couldn’t find the right one but one day he made the ultimate find. And this is like someone who tries everything they can to fulfill a void in their life and they do their best in education, sports, business and power of every kind but have no success and then one day they hear the gospel and give their lives to Jesus and they recognize that this is what they’ve been searching for their entire life. They find in Him the answer to the deepest longings of their heart and everything else becomes secondary. In the first parable we have someone who isn’t even looking for treasure when he stumbles upon it and in the second we have someone who has spent his entire life searching for the perfect pearl that he ultimately finds. And some of us were just doing our own thing and going our own way when God stopped us in our tracks. We weren’t looking for Him but He was looking for us; while others have had a spiritual longing and have spent their lives pursuing God and then one day they discovered their personal faith in Christ and found exactly what they were looking for. Listen, it says this treasure was “hidden” and maybe many people walked by it every day, but they didn’t know it was there. And the kingdom of God is like that, the message has been preached on television, on radio, in churches and almost everyone has an IPhone or a computer that has the Bible; but they’re oblivious to it.  So, both found of these men found what they wanted and realizing the value of what they had found, they gave up everything they had in order to have it. Listen, no matter if we find Him when we aren’t even looking or as the result of a lifelong search both of these illustrate how we can all take different paths to the same Savior. Both of these parables teach us that the kingdom is made personal by a transaction or a trade because both teach us man has to give everything he has to receive something of infinite value. And when we surrender all we have and all we are we receive Jesus The kingdom of heaven isn’t about us giving up something great but it’s a great deal. We’re trading death for life. We’re giving temporary trinkets for eternal riches. We’re trading bondage for freedom. We’re trading. We’re trading shame for joy. We’re trading rejection for acceptance. We’re trading rejection for acceptance. We’re trading our fear and emptiness for a love that never disappoints.

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today's reading and discussion? Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions which follow.

Reflection Questions:

What would I consider a pearl of great price—something for which I am ready to give up everything I have to acquire it?   
Is it fame?  
Fortune? 
Love of another? God?  
(If it IS God, what do I actually mean by that?)

What things in my life do I consider special and valuable?  
How much have I invested in them?  
In the long run, how valuable are they?  
What would I give away/sell in my life to obtain what I consider so special?  
Is there sacrifice involved?  

Has there ever been a goal in my life that required tremendous effort on my part?  
Did I attain it?  
Was it worth it?  
Did I have to make compromises along the way? 
Did I see this goal as a long-term process of an all-or-nothing commitment?
Did I give up part way through the process?  
Why? Do I have regrets?

How hard is it to develop the discipline of deferred gratification in our current culture?

Because of the risk and possible discomfort involved, do we sometimes resign ourselves to a life of mediocrity, in our work life, in our prayer life, in our relationships with others and with God?

Do we sometimes believe we “can have it all”?—that is, we need not give up something we want to experience or get something else?

Is there anything in my life that I have “overinvested” in? (academic or business success, money, physical beauty, power, a certain relationship?)
Did it fulfill me?

Where your treasure is, there also is yourheart.  Some religious advisors have told us that to figure out where are treasure lies, we need to look at our checkbook and our datebook….Looking at where you spend your time and money, where does that tell you about what you value?

In the third parable of the nets, we see that as people of God, we are a very mixed bag.  God spreads the nets out to catch each and every one of us.  We are all worth God’s time.   Have I been more discriminating than God, rejecting people I don’t think belong in my net before I even start to cast it?

Do I think it is my job to judge people, to separate the good from the unworthy?  
Why do I have a problem letting God do this?

In the first reading, Solomon was told he could have whatever he asked for, and he asked God for Wisdom.   What is the value of such a “treasure”?

Closing Prayer

Don’t forget to provide some prayer time at the beginning and at the end of the session (or both), allowing time to offer prayers for anyone you wish to pray for.

Lord, help me to see in myself the hidden treasure that you see in me. Help me to see the hidden treasures that are others in my life. Give me the wisdom to see where my actions are leading me, and help me to discern your way.

For the Week Ahead

Weekly Memorization: (Taken from the gospel for today's session)

The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field. 
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea.

Meditations:

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions: Everyone knows that the bad guys should get their comeuppance and we are a little irritated that we don’t get to decide who gets left out of the Kingdom, and we don’t get to decide when that actually happens. Jesus tells us to wait and let God sort it all out. Sorting out the bad from the good is not our job. But what if we don’t like the outcome? Anne Lamott, in a book called Hallelujah Anyway: Rediscovering Mercy, says that she is the Elder Brother in Luke’s parable, the goody two-shoes who is angry that God’s mercy extends to those who clearly do not deserve it. She goes on: Another fun-house mirror for me is the story of Jonah, which all Sunday-school kids love because of the whale. Yet the real meat of the story is what happens after Jonah is burped onto dry land, and despite his best efforts, ends up in Nineveh, where God told him to go all along. Nineveh is any big city, hypercompetitive, full of corruption, cruelty, bankers and Tea Party types. It would later be the capital of Assyria, where Iraq is now, and the Ninevites were like Klingons, violent warriors who were Israel’s enemy. Jonah, like all Israelites, felt about them the way Ronald Regan felt about the Russians, that they were the Evil Empire. And Jonah was furious that God was making him go there instead of someplace nice. With minimum effort, Jonah spreads the word for exactly one day, since he is positive that God hates the Ninevites. Or ought to. They’re doomed. If they don’t become people of God, people of peace and mercy, they’ll be destroyed. So on the spot they repent. It’s like the Klingons turning into Alan Alda. And God spares them. And Jonah is furious and sulky because God has refused to destroy the awful evil people that he hates, a destruction that would be a big victory for Israel. He thinks God makes him look bad. Maybe he thinks God is too soft on evildoers. I love this so much. So we each need to ask ourselves if we are a little overly focused on who is included or excluded from God’s kingdom of mercy and forgiveness. Am I a teeny bit judgmental about others? Is it not enough for me to be included; will I only feel justified if others are excluded? Do I want to see those evil, mean, miserable excuses for human beings get their comeuppance? How do I think God feels about letting go of one of his children? Will I go into the feast if there are unworthy people also attending? I pray for largeness of heart and generosity of spirit to love as Jesus loves…

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship: (Adapted from Rev Bill Bausch in The Word in and Out of Season) “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field for which a person sells all he has and buys that field.” Suppose you see that field through the eyes of Jesus. Initially, He sees what everyone sees: dirt, weeds, brown soil. But he knows that beneath the grime and the dirt there lies a treasure: you. And so he goes and sells all that he has, that is, his divinity,—“but being in the form of God, he emptied himself and took the form of a slave” is the way St. Paul puts it—and purchases this treasure at the price of his blood. We must never forget the foundation of our own worth. We are made in the image and likeness of God. We are deeply loved by Jesus who sees in us, everywhere and at all times, a treasure which he ardently desires and for which he has given everything, even his life, to possess. I sit and contemplate with joy how beloved I am, how special I am, and what gifts I possess that make me invaluable to the Kingdom. Am I using them for myself or for Jesus? Do I ever share with Jesus my appreciation of the gift, not only of his death, but of his life—his walking with us, sharing our humanity experiencing our experiences? Who knows you better than Jesus? Who loves you more than Jesus?  Share your joy with him.

A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/Discernment: The novelist Rick Moody writes that the parabolic tradition is a rich motherlode of wisdom in the gospels, especially since Jesus used parables so often to teach about the Kingdom.   However, when we look at the parables, we make several mistakes: We in the modern world, using our literary brains, analyze the parables with our heads instead of experiencing them with our hearts. When we hear with our hearts, we catch the emotions of joy and longing that are so much a part of the full human experience. We tend to view parables like analogies, just looking for easy comparisons, which allow only for a pretty simplistic interpretation and shuts off  the various possibilities and challenges that a more expansive reading of these stories could provide. We assume that there is only one true meaning of any given parable which comports with an institutional message of some sort.  This is so much less creative and so much more limiting that the parabolic tradition provides, and as a result, we are missing out on a lot of wisdom. So I invite you to go back and re-experience these parables, or pick a favorite of your own (like the Prodigal son, or the rich Farmer, or the unjust steward, for example) without trying to figure out the salvation message, or trying to fit the story into your own theological pre-conceptions, or trying to fit the story into your own--dare I say it—prejudices.  Listen to it with new ears, new enjoyment.  In the spirit of Lectio Divina, let certain images stay with you, comfort you, or challenge you where you are in your emotional life right now. Enjoy the adventure!

Poetic Reflection

St. John of the Cross, a mystic, saw in the deep darkness and emptiness what he had been searching for all along: God.

St. John of the Cross  “En Una Noche Escura”  translated by Arthur Symonds
Upon an obscure night
Fevered with love in love's anxiety
(O hapless-happy plight!),
I went, none seeing me
Forth from my house where all things be. 
By night, secure from sight,
And by the secret stair, disguisedly,
(O hapless-happy plight!)
By night, and privily,
Forth from my house where all things quiet be. 
Blest night of wandering,
In secret, where by none might I be spied
Nor I see anything;
Without a light or guide,
Save that which in my heart burnt in my side. 
That light did lead me on,
More surely than the shining of noontide,
Where well I knew that one
Did for my coming bide;
Where He abode, might none but He abide. 
O night that didst lead thus,
O night more lovely than the dawn o light,
O night that broughtest us,
Lover to lover's sight,
Lover with loved in marriage of delight! 
Upon my flowery breast
Wholly for Him, and save Himself for none,
There did I give sweet rest
To my beloved one;
The fanning of the cedars breathed thereon. 
When the first moving air
Blew from the tower and waved His looks aside,
His hand, with gentle care,
Did wound me in the side,
And in my body all my senses died. 
All things I then forgot,
My cheek on Him who for my coming came;
All ceased, and I was not,
Leaving my cares and shame
Among the lilies, and forgetting them.

This poem from Rev. Ed Ingebretzen about his search for the pearl of great price, and his hopes that his relationship with God will help him get there. What is the pearl he is looking for? What are you looking for?

Digging
I (fragments)
I am digging in a field
for pearls.
Perhaps I’m in the wrong field
perhaps here I’ll find only
damp potatoes, tough
ivy roots, arrowheads
and old 1830 masonry jars
smelling of snails and clay

III

Dear God see me dig
With this energy I thee
Seek; to find, to have,
To hold, to keep.

The kingdom is a well-thrown pearl
loose under my feet;
my feet plow with desire
my fingers massage the supple earth.
This marriage keeps me in love.

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

July 19, 2026

What are the weeds in our lives? God gives us the chance to slowly grow and bear fruitful lives.

GOSPEL

Matthew 13:24-43

Jesus proposed another parable to the crowds, saying: "The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off. 
When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well. The slaves of the householder came to him and said,
'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?' He answered, 'An enemy has done this.' His slaves said to him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?' He replied, 'No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters,
"First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn." He proposed another parable to them. "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the 'birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.'" He spoke to them another parable. "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened." All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables. He spoke to them only in parables, to fulfill what had been said through the prophet: I will open my mouth in parables, I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation of the world. Then, dismissing the crowds, he went into the house. His disciples approached him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field." He said in reply, "He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears ought to hear."

REFLECTIONS ON THE GOSPEL

From Living Space, a service of the Irish Jesuits

Parables of the Kingdom (cont’d)

The next parable, which is only found in Matthew, is also about the planting of seed but the concern is quite different and again it reflects the experience of the early Church. A man has sown good seed in his field but, unknown to him, an enemy has come and planted weeds among the wheat. As the plants come up the farmer sees the weeds growing all through his wheat. His slaves want to pull them out but the farmer tells them to wait until the harvest time. The wheat and the weeds are similar in appearance in the early stages and it will be much easier to differentiate them as they mature. In the meantime, let both grow side by side. This is a picture of the Kingdom and also of the Church which is trying to be part of it. For the early Church more distressing in many ways than persecution from outside must have been betrayal and shortcomings on the inside. There would have been a strong temptation immediately to get rid of such people. But wiser heads prevailed. Wait. Let God be the judge and, in any case, people can change. The sinner of today may be the saint of tomorrow. This has been a problem all through the history of the Church and today is no exception. There is always a strong temptation among those who feel themselves more committed to living out the Gospel to adopt an elitist approach to the faith. This can take two forms: either members who are seen as falling short of the Church’s requirements in faith and behaviour are got rid of, or, which may be more common, those who see themselves more committed form a relatively closed group, a church within a church. There has been a certain amount of tension over such situations with the appearance of a number of Catholic movements in recent times. Today’s parable reminds us of something very important, namely, that the Church is and always will be a Church of sinners and for sinners. Our Church is, as Paul puts it, a vessel of clay, leaking and easily broken. At the same time, we have been called to help bring about the Kingdom in our world and we have constantly to try to do that. But we need to distinguish between the vessel and its contents, the weeds and the wheat, to distinguish between the Christian vision and the Church which tries to communicate it. Some have been disturbed by so-called ‘scandals’ and some have left the Church because of them. This, I feel, is not to understand today’s parable. These scandals far from undermining the Christian vision only affirm it. That vision remains a shining ideal. But the Church, which is not to be identified with the vision, is the flawed and fragile bearer of that vision. It has always been so and always will be. The Church is called to proclaim the Kingdom but it has to struggle to realise that Kingdom in itself also. Today’s parable is a call for tolerance, patience, compassion and understanding while not compromising on the vision that comes to us from Jesus.

Reflection

• The Gospel today presents Jesus’ explanation, at the petition of the disciples, of the parable of the wheat grain and the darnel. Some experts think that this explanation, which Jesus gives to His disciples, is not Jesus’ but the community’s. This is possible and probable, because a parable, by its nature, requires the involvement and the participation of people in the discovery of its significance. Just as the plant is already contained within the seed, in the same way, certainly, the explanation of the community is in the parable. And it is precisely this objective that Jesus wanted and wants to attain with the parable. The meaning which we are discovering today in the parable which Jesus told two thousand years ago was already enclosed, or contained, in the story that Jesus told, just as the flower is already contained in its seed.

• Matthew 13:36: The request of the disciples to Jesus: the explanation of the parable of the wheat grain and the darnel. The disciples, in the house, speak and ask for an explanation of the parable of the wheat grain and the darnel. (Mt 13:24-30). It has been said many times that Jesus, in the house, continued to teach His disciples (Mk 7:17; 9:28,33; 10:10). At that time, there was no television, and people spent  the long winter evenings together,  speaking about the facts and events of life. On these occasions Jesus completed the teaching and the formation of His disciples.

• Matthew 13:38-39: The meaning of each one of the elements of the parable. Jesus responds taking again each one of these elements of the parable and giving them significance: the field is the world; the good seed are the members of the Kingdom; the darnel is the members of the adversary (the evil one); the enemy is the devil; the harvest is the end of time; the reapers are the angels. And now reread the parable (Mt 13:24-30) giving to each one of these six elements: field, good seed, darnel, enemy, harvest and reapers, the right significance. In this way the story assumes a completely new sense and it is possible to attain the objective that Jesus had in mind when He told the parable of the darnel and the good seed. Some think that this parable should be understood as an allegory and not as a parable properly so-called.

• Matthew 13:40-43: The application of the parable or of the allegory. With the information given by Jesus, you will better understand its application: Just as the darnel is gathered up and burnt in the fire, so it will be at the end of time. The Son of Man will send His angels and they will gather from His kingdom all causes of failing and all who do evil, and throw them into the blazing furnace where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father.”

The destiny of the darnel is the furnace. The destiny of the grain is to shine like the sun in the Kingdom of the Father. Behind these two images there is the experience of the people. After they have listened to Jesus and have accepted Him in their life, everything has changed for them. This means that in Jesus what they expected has taken place: the fulfillment of the promises. Now life is divided into before and after having accepted Jesus in their lives. The new life has begun with the splendor of the sun. If they continued to live as before, they would be like the darnel in the furnace: life without meaning, which is good for nothing.

• Parable and Allegory. There is the parable. There is the allegory. There is the mixture of both which is the more common form. Generally, everything in the parable is a call. In the Gospel of today, we have the example of an allegory. An allegory is a story which a person tells, but when she is telling it, she does not think about the elements of the story, but about the theme which has to be clarified. In reading an allegory it is not necessary to look at the story as a whole, because in an allegory the story is not constructed around a central point which later serves as a comparison. Rather, each element has its own independent function, starting from the sense which it receives. It is a matter of discovering what each element of the two stories tries to tell us about the Kingdom, as the explanation which Jesus gave of the parable: field, good seed, darnel, enemy, harvest, reapers. Generally the parables are also allegories, and a mixture of both.

Personal questions

• In the field everything is mixed up: darnel and grain. In the field of my life, what  prevails: darnel or grain?
• Notice that this parable includes “all who cause others to sin” as well as “all evildoers”. We often just focus on our own sins. Do I focus on what effect I have on others and whether I cause others to sin by what I say or do? Will I think about that, now and during my self-examinations? Have you tried to talk with other people to discover the meaning of some parable?

ENCOUNTER CHRIST REFLECTIONS AND MEDITATIONS

Preparation for the Session

Presence of God: Jesus, As I come to you today, fill my heart, my whole being, with the wonder of your sacred presence.  Help me to become more aware of your presence in my life, and more receptive to that presence. I desire to love you as you love me.  May nothing ever separate me from you. (1-2 minutes of silence)

Freedom: Jesus, Grant me the grace to have freedom of spirit. Keep me from being bound by desires and actions that are not good for me or others.  Cleanse my heart and soul that I may live joyously in your love. (1-2 minutes of silence)

Consciousness: Where am I with God?  With others in my life? What am I grateful for?  Is there something I am sorry for, words or actions that have hurt others, and which I now regret?  I take a moment to ask forgiveness of God and of those whom I have hurt.  God, I give you thanks for your constant love and care for me. Keep me always aware of your presence in my life. (2-3 minutes of silence)

Opening Prayer

God, you are merciful to me and others. You give us time and space to grow in your love.   Help me to be receptive to your grace and give me the courage to change what needs to be changed and the wisdom to allow myself and others to flourish at your pace, not ours.

Companions for the Journey

From "First Impressions", a service of the Southern Dominican Province, by Jude Siciliano, O.P.

Today we have the parable of the weeds and the wheat—and we need it. We tune in sports events and ask, "Who's winning?" We also tune in the world around us through tv, newspapers, radio and now internet coverage and are tempted to ask the same question, "Who's winning...Good or Evil?"... "The decent people of the world or the violators of innocence?" The twentieth century was the most brutal in the history of the world. Aren't things supposed to be improving as we advance as a people? It gets discouraging; the evidence mounts against optimism. We tend to want give up on the world and wonder where God is in it all. Which is why we need to look at the parables and, in particular, today's parable about weeds and wheat. The early church, the recipients of Matthew's gospel, had to face the mystery of wickedness too. Why is there evil in the world, in the church and in our own hearts? That's a very big question and this parable doesn't give an easy answer. It doesn't explain it at all! But neither does it ignore the problem of evil in our midst. The owner of the field says it quite plainly, "I see an enemy's hand in this." This is not a naive or other-worldly parable. It faces the facts: wickedness is very real, it can't be ignored. It is not an illusion and, like the weeds in the midst of healthy plants, evil drains human life of its vitality and dedication. We see the weeds, not just in the world out there, but "up close and personal." The parable spoke to an early church that had its divisions, arguments and wickedness—why else would they have saved the parable? Our own congregations also have "issues."  Sometimes they feel like they will split us in two—and sometimes they do. Our faith communities have been rocked by clergy scandal; divided along ethnic and racial lines; between original members and newcomers; between traditionalists and those who want to update.  While we are at it, we look into our hearts and examine our own conduct. Weeds are part of the landscape of our personal spiritual field as well. Such vistas of evil, so obvious to us, make us want to get about the business of ripping out the weeds.  They are the work of the enemy, we say and we want to purge evil from our country, church and our own hearts. Of course we have standards to guide us and there are times we must act decisively against the evil we perceive. Yet, the parable cautions us and it advises us about the dangers of rushing to judgment. We could destroy what is good in our attempts to rid the world of the bad. Jesus knew from his own experience that you can't always tell from initial signs how things are going to turn out. In the beginning Judas showed promise, early initiative and administrative skills—he was in charge of the purse. He seemed like excellent disciple material, a "keeper." If you were Jesus, wouldn't  you have thought about eliminating Peter, Thomas or Martha? They didn't show initial signs of discernment and understanding of what following Jesus would entail. They were slow to catch on to Jesus' message. But Jesus was patient, he let the good work itself out in their lives. He gave them a chance to grow and bear fruit. Have you ever had a friend whom you disliked upon first meeting, yet, over time, he or she turned out to be your best friend? The parable says, "You never know." The parable is a story of grace for us. As we look into our own lives and recall the mistakes we have made and the wrongs we have done, aren't we glad we have had some time to change and work things out? Aren't we thankful we had the space to let the wheat grow and bear the rich harvest it has? Suppose we had been judged on the spot. Suppose God moved in quickly to judge and rip up? If we look at our present lives, we can still see what looks like weeds. Rather than being overcome by discouragement, we hear this parable of hope. Time is being given us, to let the good seed planted in us bear its fruit. We can trust the Owner knows what to do, and we can have trust in the outcome. This is a parable of confidence. God is in charge and will help us work things out. We don't give up the struggle to do what is right, even when we feel dismayed at how much still needs to be done. Parables, like pieces of ribbon, don't look powerful—a piece of cloth—a story. But they have power to touch us deeply. One symbolizes our unity through an exterior sign. The other gathers our faith and asks us to put trust in it—especially to trust the One who is telling us the parable right now. We wear the parable on our hearts; the way people wear ribbons—as a reminder. When the world confounds us and evidence seems to mount against our hopes, we look inside ourselves and see today's parable. We play it back so we can hear it again. It reassures us. We repeat it in our assemblies to stir us to action: to return to the struggle; to ignore the odds; to stop counting wins and losses—mostly, not to count our losses! In our struggle against evil, we keep at it, till Someone in charge sends word that it is time for the harvest; till Someone, who knows better than we how to do the sorting, gets around to it. The parable links us together here at our assembly. It stirs us hope in us. We are not dismayed by what still needs doing. There is no doubt in the story: the Owner is in charge. The Owner planted good seed and it is growing towards fruition and there will be a sorting-out—but later, under Someone else's supervision. Meanwhile, we still have time to let what is good grow in our lives. What time is it? The parable says, "There's still time, hang in there!" Thank God!

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today's reading and discussion? Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions which follow.

Reflection Questions:

In Matthew, a parable is both a riddle and a revelation.   Sometimes, we think the message is obvious until some twist or inconsistency causes us to look more deeply, sometimes without answers. Are these three parables riddles or revelations for you? 

Is it hard to understand why God does not simply remove the “weeds” on our lives?
Are we surprised or even irritated by God’s passivity?
Do I truly believe that God will have the last word?

Are there both weeds and wheat in my own life?  In my own personality?   
Which is prevalent?

What are the “weeds”, or limitations and evils found in my culture? 
In my relationships?
In my religion? 
In my personal make up?

Have I ever been, through word or example, the “weeds” in someone else’s struggle to grow in God’s grace?

Have I become more robust in my faith as I struggle to be strong enough to overcome the weeds in my life?
What is the role of personal humility in this struggle?

An undeniable message of this parable is to refrain from judging myself or others. We cannot give up too soon. Do I really believe that God is not finished with me yet?  
Do I believe that God has given up on someone or some persons in my life, or on certain situations?   
Am I willing to wait for God to complete the solution before rushing to do it myself by excluding or destroying another?

Jesus does not condone what is not of God, yet he seems to acknowledge that different motivations and spirits are at work.  How may I let this spirit of Jesus shape my life? (from “Sacred Space”)

What is my position in this all-too-familiar struggle between good and evil?   
Am I a spectator, an armchair critic, a consumer, or a warrior?  
Do I consider myself a co-worker with God trying to bring about truth, peace and justice?  
If I am a co-worker, what authority to I have to dismiss or punish others?

Has there been a person in my  life whom I saw change from "weeds" to "wheat"?  
Did I stick with him or her through that growth?  
If so, what kept me hanging in there?  
If not, what would I have done differently?  

I try to look at my own "inner landscape" as a field that was sown with God's word at my Baptism.  Where has God's word taken root in my life?  
Do I see any "weeds" (attitudes or behaviors which run counter to the kingdom) choking out that word?  
What are I going to do about it?

Have there ever been projects in my life, personal, academic or professional, which started out small and then flourished beyond my expectations?  
How did that happen?  
What elements were in play: timing, God's help, hard work or luck?  

I recall a time in my life when someone saw my raw potential and gave me the time to develop it.  
Has this happened in the spiritual realm as well?

Closing Prayer

Don’t forget to provide some prayer time at the beginning and at the end of the session (or both), allowing time to offer prayers for anyone you wish to pray for.  

Dear Lord, give me the humility to see the weeds in my life; give me the courage to grow my good qualities so that they mitigate the less savory ones.  Give me the compassion to understand the struggles others are going through and keep me from judging others too harshly.  Above all, keep me from destroying in myself others what I perceive as weeds and let God do the weeding.

For the Week Ahead

Meditations

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions (Adapted from “Sacred Space”, a service of the Irish Jesuits): Sometimes we think that perfection is acquired by becoming aware of our faults and working to root these out.  However, when we become more familiar with Jesus’ attitude to the limited and sinful side of ourselves, we learn to accept our limited and sinful self just as Jesus did with Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10).   If we don’t accept this side of ourselves, we tend to become fixated with it and fail to appreciate the fullness of life Jesus has already given us.  Am I frustrated and baffled by the presence of evil in my midst, or in myself? Do I believe that Good will have the last word?   Do I believe that God’s grace is at work in the world and in me?   Can I cultivate patience and tolerance toward myself, and toward others? I sit with Jesus and let Him teach me to let the weeds grow with the wheat in my life. I ask for help to appreciate all that is good and beautiful about my life.

A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action: People often confuse the phrase "kingdom of heaven" with heaven itself.  Instead, it refers to Jesus' dream of a better, more perfect world in which God's ideals replace human selfishness. We pray for this whenever we say the Lord's Prayer (Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven). We need to remember, however, that the kingdom will not come to be without the efforts of people to change themselves (personal conversion) and without their efforts to change unjust and murderous power structures as well. Pray the Lord's prayer every day this week, stopping for a few moments to reflect on what you are doing personally to bring about God's kingdom on earth. Then pick one or two attitudinal things you can work to change yourself, and at least one action you can take on behalf of those suffering from poverty, systemic prejudice, a flawed justice system. Do it.

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship: Sometimes when we think of God, we have an unconscious fear that God’s mission is primarily to separate the wheat from the chaff. Often religions have emphasized heaven and hell, reward and punishment, to scare us into doing the right thing.   This kind of God is a “gotcha” God, waiting to pounce on our mistakes and consigning us to the eternal fire.  Some of these notions of God are echoed in well-known literary references, such as Dante’s Inferno, which teach us to fear eternal punishment and to trod the straight and narrow. Several fictional characters who have made their way into popular culture reinforce this image: The Queen of Hearts, a character from the 1865 book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, is a foul-tempered monarch whom Carroll himself describes as "a blind fury", and who is quick to give death sentences at the slightest offense. One of her most famous lines is the oft-repeated "Off with his/her head!" / "Off with their heads!" Another fictional character to be feared is none other than Santa Claus: You better watch out you better not cry, you better not pout; I'm telling you why: Santa Claus is coming to town! He's making a list; He's checking it twice; He's gonna find out who's naughty or nice:  Santa Claus is coming to town He sees you when you're sleeping; He knows when you're awake; He knows if you've been bad or good; So be good for goodness sake! Too often, in our spiritual life, we forget that we cannot love what we fear.  Obedience out of fear is coercion, and obedience out of love is, well, love!  This parable from Matthew (13:24-30) makes it clear that God has planted us here on earth and is waiting and hoping that we will grow into the kind of person that would want to be with God.  Do I need to readjust my notions of God as the “big narc in the sky”, and look seriously at my motivations for doing God’s will?  Do really desire a loving relationship with God and are my thoughts and actions shaped by this love?  How can prayer help create and intensify my loving relationship with God?

Poetic Reflection:

Too often, we identify with the chaff (weeds)in this gospel, not worthy of God’s love and grace.  Mary Oliver shows us that even the most ordinary person,  a person with a prayer life that others may frown upon, is also a person who just might be included in God’s kingdom.

Praying

It doesn't have to be
the blue iris, it could be
weeds in a vacant lot, or a few
small stones, just 
pay attention, then patch
a few words together and don't try
to make them elaborate, this isn't
a contest but the doorway
into thanks, and a silence in which
another voice may speak

—from Thirst

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

July 12, 2026

What words of Jesus have stayed with me, what words have not?

GOSPEL

Matthew 13:1-23

On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd stood along the shore. And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep, and when the sun rose it was scorched,
and it withered for lack of roots. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it. But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold. Whoever has ears ought to hear.” The disciples approached him and said, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” He said to them in reply, “Because knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted. To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand. Isaiah's prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says: You shall indeed hear but not understand, you shall indeed look but never see. Gross is the heart of this people, they will hardly hear with their ears, they have closed their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and be converted, and I heal them. “But blessed are your eyes, because they see,
and your ears, because they hear. Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it. "Hear then the parable of the sower. The seed sown on the path is the one who hears the word of the kingdom without understanding it, and the evil one comes and steals away what was sown in his heart. The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy. But he has no root and lasts only for a time. When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, he immediately falls away. The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word, but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit. But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.”

REFLECTIONS ON THE GOSPEL

First Impressions by Jude Siciliano, OP

“Did you get it?”  That’s what we ask after we have told a joke, and the punch line doesn’t get the expected laugh.  Why don’t people “get it?”  Well, sometimes the joke teller just can’t tell a joke. Sometimes the joke isn’t funny.  But other times the listener doesn’t get the joke because he or she is from a different background, culture, or generation.  They are not “in” on the joke.  One of the classic comedy routines is the one by Abbot and Costello called, “Who’s On First?” The routine is about fifty years old, but I saw it again recently in a documentary about comedies and comedians. For that routine to evoke a laugh you have to be “in” on the joke, i.e., you have to know at least a little about baseball.  If you don’t – “forget about it!” Today and for two more Sundays in July, we will be focusing on the third discourse in Matthew. His gospel has five major discourses and one way to outline this gospel is around these discourses.  Five discourses also suggest the five books of the Torah – another lens through which to interpret this gospel, which is rooted in Jewish themes and symbols. Today’s passage has three parts.  The parable itself (vv. 1-9); Jesus’ reason for speaking in parables (vv, 10-17) and then an interpretation of the parable (vv. 18-23).  Why don’t we just look at the first two sections.  The third, the allegorical interpretation, seems to have been an added-on explanation by the early Christian community. This third section could be the basis for a preaching all by itself.  We will save it for another time, lest we overload today’s preaching. I wonder if Jesus’ disciples weren’t tempted at times to filter out people in the many crowds they encountered while they were with Jesus.  Why not have Jesus focus on the most likely and receptive candidates, those who looked like they were well disposed to his message?  These “prime candidates” could have been invited to sit up close to Jesus, the way very frequent flyers get to move up to first class on crowded airplanes. Instead, Jesus broadcasts his message to the crowds with their widely diverse personalities and religious types. Jesus is reaching far and wide to convince people that God loves them and is inviting them into a new way of living: what he calls, “the kingdom of heaven.”  From the way he is describing that kingdom you can tell that it isn’t restricted to the few and select. You never know who in the crowd is going to get the message – have a light go off in them that stirs them to accept the fantastic story Jesus is revealing to them. Thus, the parable of the Sower seems, first of all, to apply to Jesus and how he goes about his mission. He is speaking to the crowds and, like the Sower in the parable, he has been sowing the Word freely.  One might even accuse him of being too indiscriminate. Shouldn’t the Sower have been more circumspect and place the seed more carefully instead of cavalierly tossing the seed hither and yon? That might make good sense for a careful and parsimonious Sower.  But when Jesus casts the seed of his word, he just isn’t neat. Anyone who is open to it can receive it. Those who “hear” and “see” through the parables are receiving something they could never have gotten on their own. Jesus says they are “blessed,” they have been given the gift of seeing and hearing the wonderful mystery revealed in the parables.  Today’s parable shows how mysterious God’s ways are.  God reaches out, not only to the well-disposed and upright, but to the “rocky” and the “weedy” as well. All are offered God’s expansive love communicated through Jesus’ extravagant sowing of the Word.  Jesus told this parable to “large crowds” – yet, from the disciples’ perspective, the response to his preaching was minimal. Why wasn’t there a mass number of dedicated disciples in response to Jesus’ sowing? Jesus’ followers must have been discouraged by the seeming small response he was getting. The parable of the Sower is complemented today by our first reading from Isaiah in which we hear the assurance that God’s Word “shall not return to me void but shall do my will achieving the end for which I sent it.”  Isaiah testifies that God’s Word in itself is fruitful, not because of any human achievement, but because it is of God, and so is powerful, alive and at work in the world.  Jesus confirms what Isaiah said and offers assurance that eventually, despite the meager signs of success and his disciples’ disappointment, the harvest will be astounding and surprising.  Those of us who plug away at our ministries without seeing immediate, or impressive results, can take heart in the parable of the Sower. The word we preach, and share is powerful and will eventually bear fruit. What kind of harvest? How big a harvest?  Jesus was a carpenter.  The farmers among his listeners would have thought that he knew nothing about farming since he was predicting a yield of “a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.” Experienced farmers in Jesus’ audience wouldn’t have expected a harvest beyond seven or, at the most, tenfold. Jesus was suggesting an impossible yield. But he wasn’t talking farming; he was encouraging his disciples that, despite the seeming poor response, the eventual harvest to his word would be extraordinary.  He was giving his disciples hope in the face of discouraging returns. People doing ministry, spreading God’s Word through their words and actions, hear today’s parable and cling to the hope it offers.  At times we can identify with the frustrations in the parable:  the good seed gets tossed on the path and the birds eat it; it falls on rocky ground and dies for lack of roots, or the seed gets choked by thorns.  How discouraging to hardworking disciples who would be helped if they saw concrete results – sooner, rather than later! But Jesus’ disciples have been blessed with eyes that see and ears that hear the parables.  We “get it” – the way people get a joke – we are let in on the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.  So, we refrain from jumping to conclusions about the “success,” or “failure,” of our work.  We may see waste and an extravagance of grace offered in all the “wrong” places.  Yet, as hearers of today’s parable, we know the story will have an improbable ending of “a hundred, sixty, or thirtyfold.”  Some other force is at work here, and faith in the Word encourages us to surrender to it and trust that, “my word shall not return to me void.” The disciples want to know what’s going on.  Why does Jesus speak in parables?  Jesus’ response to them sounds like he deliberately intends that people not hear or understand him.  But Jesus is describing how people react to his words. Some are closed and unreceptive to him. They are hard-hearted and so cannot understand: “They look but do not see and hear, but do not listen or understand.”  In Jesus, God is making a gracious offer to humans: some will be receptive and accept the offer, others will reject it. What makes us receptive to hear and accept God’s Word?  What helps us “get” the story Jesus is telling of an extravagant harvest despite all present signs to the contrary?  Jesus reminds us, through no effort of our own, we are blessed. We are gifted with the eyes and ears of faith that help us accept the mysterious workings of God.  Through the parables we know the mysteries of the kingdom of God:  that we are being offered something good we could never get on our own,  the love of a gracious and lavish God who is not stingy in showing us the signs of that love.

Justice Bulletin Board by Barbara Molinari Quinby, MPS, Director Office of Human Life, Dignity, and Justice Ministries Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral, Raleigh, NC

“We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even now.” —Romans 8:22

In the above passage, Paul is saying that creation as we know it is like a woman in labor who is about to give birth. We human beings are mid-wives to that birth. The Catholic Church has a long and storied tradition of care of creation culminating in Pope Francis’ clarion call in his document, Laudato Si’: On Care for our Common Home, wherein he states, “Although it is true that we Christians have at times incorrectly interpreted the Scriptures, nowadays we must forcefully reject the notion that our being created in God’s image and given dominion over the earth justifies absolute domination over other creatures. The biblical texts are to be read in their context, with an appropriate hermeneutic, recognizing that they tell us to ‘till and keep’ the garden of the world (cf Gen. 2:15). ‘Tilling’ refers to cultivation, ploughing or working, while ‘keeping’ means caring, protecting, overseeing and preserving” (67). Laudato Si’ challenges us to “hear the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor” through ecological conversion, changes in lifestyle and society, and strong political action. What are Catholic Christians to do? I offer the following suggestions: 

1. REFLECT on the miracle of the natural world and your place in it and PRAY that you might be intentional in her care. 

2. LEARN by reading Laudato Si’ for free at:                      . http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html

3. USE YOUR HEARING AND SIGHT to respond to the cry of the poor and the cry of the earth. They are interconnected. The poor have been unjustly subjected to the results of abuses on nature brought by wealthy nations.

4. DISCERN what you can do to change your own way of living to one that is more sustainable for the whole community. This includes reducing water usage, reducing use of plastics and eliminating Styrofoam, switching to LED lighting, planting trees and native plants, and by becoming an eco-consumer doing eco-investing.

5. JOIN with others who believe caring for our common home is a responsibility given to us by God when God asked us to care for the garden in Genesis. Here at HNOJ Cathedral, join the Laudato Si’ Circle, or Cathedral’s Earth Care Community, or the Diocese of Raleigh NC Catholics Caring for our Common Home. For more information or to add your name, contact socialconcern@hnojnc.org.

Faith Book

Mini-reflections on the Sunday scripture readings designed for persons on the run. “Faith Book” is also brief enough to be posted in the Sunday parish bulletins people take home.

From today’s Gospel reading: But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

Reflection: Jesus tells his disciples that they are blessed because they have seen and heard what generations before them could only hope for. The prophets longed for the coming of God's Messiah, but the disciples were privileged to encounter him face-to-face. As believers today, we too are blessed. Through the Scriptures, the sacraments, and the life of the Church, Christ continues to reveal himself to us. Familiarity can sometimes dull our awareness of this gift. Jesus invites us to open our eyes and ears anew, recognizing God's presence and action in our daily lives.

 So, we ask ourselves:

• What blessings from God have I become so accustomed to that I no longer notice them?

• How attentive am I to God's voice in Scripture, prayer, and the people around me?

• In what way is Christ inviting me to see or hear something new in my life today?

Parables

The meaning of most parables is not so obvious, or at least it shouldn't be. If we assume we know what Jesus is talking about, we are probably missing the main point; if we are too familiar with the story (having heard it so often before), we might not think carefully enough about its real meaning. We might think that Jesus spoke in parables to make it easier for people to understand his message. According to the Gospels, however, he surprisingly does NOT expect everyone to understand them! In Matthew, at least the disciples of Jesus understand the parables; but in Mark, even they have a hard time understanding, despite receiving extra instructions in private! Parables are puzzling. Parables do not define things precisely, but rather use comparisons to describe some aspect of how God acts or interacts with human beings. Yet to say "A is like B" does not mean that "A is identical to B in all respects"; so one should be careful not to misinterpret or misapply the parables. Some would say that parables should be treated as allegory, not metaphor or simile. Parables use figures of speech, allegorical language, with more than one level of meaning. Parables can be full stories, like the sower and the seed in Chapter 4 of Mark, or they can be allegorical references like the retort of Jesus to his critics  in chapter 2 when they query why the disciples are not fasting. His answer is definitely an allegorical one. Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? They are not entertaining stories that reaffirm the status quo. They turn the world upside down by challenging presumptions, reversing expectations, and presenting a different view of life. The Parables were meant to catch Jesus' listeners off guard, to make them re-evaluate their normal ways of behaving, and to align their hearts with God's heart. They very often begin with familiar images and situations and then impose e a radical or even unnatural twist that leaves the listener hearing it for the first time a little off-balance. Most parables contain some element that is strange or unusual. They should cause you to say, "Wait a minute! That's not how farmers do their work! Wealthy landowners would not give such astronomical sums of money to underlings with so few instructions!! That's not what normally happens in nature!" And this strange element should cause you to think. Many parables, like the one about the Pharisee and the Publican, or the one about the Good Samaritan, employed elements which were very countercultural, and shocking to the people of Jesus' time. In the story of the talents, the master reprimands the last servant for not investing money and charging interest on it. However, every one of Jesus’ listeners would have known that this practice is forbidden in scripture (Exodus 22:25’ Leviticus 25:35-28). This would be a huge red flag to the listener that something is going on here. In our own case, because we have grown up with them, the details of the parables seem familiar or even ordinary to us, and we don’t experience the shock value of the stories. ( to us who have heard them so many times, we forget which details are shocking; we have heard them interpreted so many times that the joke has been explained before the parable is over).  Often, we need to translate those stories using examples from our own social and cultural situations in order to see how truly counter-cultural they are. These parables, which appear to be simple and straightforward stories, are actually multi-dimensional and complex.  Frequently, we are left with things unresolved and have to make some conclusions of our own.  Does the elder brother ever go in to join the party welcoming the prodigal son home?  How do those in the vineyard who worked much longer hours respond to the words of the vineyard owner?  Does the Good Samaritan return, and what happens to the victim?  Does the Pharisee ever understand his spiritual arrogance?  Once they get inside, do the five "wise" virgins enjoy the banquet, knowing that their sisters are still outside?  Why DID a guest at the wedding feast show up poorly attired and refuse to explain why? Why was a servant actually punished when he did not waste or lose any of the landowner’s money?  How we resolve those issues in our own minds tells us a lot about our own attitudes.  Are they in line with God's or not? If there is some overall wisdom to be gleaned from parables, it is this:  God's ways are not our ways.  Parables tell us that the fight for the kingdom is not played out in palaces and war rooms, but in the everyday events of our everyday lives.  The struggle for the kingdom is carried out in our divided hearts, where we sometimes mutter "Thy kingdom come" without fully realizing that we might have to pray "My kingdom go". (Alan Redpath, British Baptist Preacher). The parable demands that each of us answer the question "What do YOU say? What is YOUR reaction to this story and why? How we answer defines our moral landscape. And finally, the gospel writers were not secretaries collecting the speech of Jesus. They were two generations away from Jesus, and most of the stories circulating about Jesus were as often oral as written. The gospel writers then took some elements of the storytelling of Jesus and fashioned them into parables using imagery and narrative particular to that evangelist. The parables in Mark are few and spare. Why? The shadow of the cross and the rawness of the crucifixion hangs over the entire gospel, including parables. Mark has Jesus moving, being and doing—and his spar style even related these events without embellishment. Luke is a gospel full of very complex and interesting parables. He was the storyteller, the evangelist who was the most creative in the way he wove the message of Jesus. There are some parables that only appear in one of the four gospels. What does that tell us about how creatively the authors used the teaching of Jesus? What is your favorite parable?

Reflections on Matthew 13:1-23 from Sacred Space, a Service of the Irish Jesuits

The words of Jesus do not all bear fruit. Knowing this did not stop Jesus from speaking, but he continued to proclaim good news, truth and life to any who would listen. I take care to review the measures by which I value my actions and words. I pray for the strength to continue speaking and acting – even in the absence of evident encouraging results. Truth is not determined by a majority, but is scattered abroad, being recognised and valued by some. I ask God to help me to hear Jesus’ word for me and to take it to heart, where it can grow. Some scholars consider this parable to be at the centre of Jesus’ message. It is the parable of the optimism of the kingdom. The seed is small and fragile, and not all seeds fall on good soil. But most of them do, and they are extraordinarily fruitful, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. I ask myself whether my faith makes me hopeful or whether I am always complaining at how poor is the response to Jesus’ message. Let anyone with ears listen! This is the challenge Jesus lays down, to listen. In our times this is becoming more difficult, surrounded as we are by so much noise, so many different voices calling for our attention. I pray for an open ear and an open heart, for knowing how to seek and find silence in my daily rhythm. This is certainly the parable for the optimists. However much seed fell elsewhere, the sower would make sure that most of the seed would fall on good ground. Even the poorest yield is thirtyfold! In the Gospel Jesus very often uses the metaphor of the seed to describe the Kingdom and its innate energy. Do I share his optimism, or am I a prophet of doom about the future of the Kingdom in our world? I look at my heart, and see that some parts of my heart are more open to the word of God, others find it more difficult. I follow Jesus’ advice, and listen to what this parable is telling me. Jesus’ explanation of the different outcomes for the seeds sown, follows in our Gospel passage for the day after tomorrow. But, in between, there is added in the Gospel of Matthew a full reflection from Jesus on why it is only the committed disciples who are receptive enough to take in that explanation. For what is required is not just any kind of understanding; but understanding-of-the-heart : there needs to be an initial opening of heart, to make space for Jesus’ message. Jesus even quotes a prophet to describe minds that are closed : “This people’s heart has grown dull, and their ears are heavy of hearing, and their eyes they have closed” – little chance, then, of effective healing – “lest they should perceive with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn for me to heal them”. To the disciples, on the other hand, “it has been given [by God] to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven”. These are fortunate – because “many longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it”. This is the parable of Christian optimism: even if the sower was only moderately good, most of the seed would fall on good ground, bringing forth abundant fruit, at least a thirtyfold. Let anyone with ears listen! On the feast day of the grandparents of Jesus and the parents of Our Lady, I pray in gratitude for my parents and grandparents, and for all who have been given this important mission in their lives. Many biblical commentators see this parable as the basic metaphor of the whole Gospel. The seed is the Word, and the sower is God, whose will can never be stopped. The seed falls on different types of ground, but the great majority certainly falls on good ground, and its fruit more than makes up for the seeds that fall on more difficult ground. It is the parable of optimism, something which is often lacking in followers of the Gospel. If I am a normal person, my heart contains all four sorts of ground, being more or less open to the Gospel message. I ask for light to see where the hardness and the insecurity lie, and ask the Sower that my life may bear abundant fruit. Jesus’ parables can heal us to hear and understand how things stand between God and ourselves. They are nuggets of grace that test our heart’s willingness to surrender to the generosity of God. 'Let anyone with ears listen'. This means me! When I come to pray, do I have the soil of an open heart toward Jesus and his teachings? Am I willing to allow his Word to break into my closed heart? Jesus made the boat his pulpit, announcing the word of God from this unlikely place. The word of God has been scattered in my life - sometimes flourishing, sometimes seeming to fade away. I think of where I am strong and consider how I might give witness to God’s goodness from that place, just as Jesus chose the best place from which to make his voice heard. As I think of myself as the field in which the word of God is scattered, I may recognise the barren places, the dry patches and the fertile parts. To which do I pay attention? I take some time to appreciate where God’s word has found a root in me and I ask God’s help to remain open to such seed as may be scattered again today. The different kinds of ground on which the seed falls represent the different ways in which the word of God is received. The degree of receptivity depends on the individual person and the particular circumstances of his or her life. The parable provides hope and encouragement, in that the sower succeeds ultimately in producing a crop from the seed that fell on ‘good soil’. Such crowds gathered to see and hear Jesus that he had to preach from a boat. They were hungry for spiritual nourishment and for leadership. Lord Jesus, I pray for the Church and for all believers today. Make of us a community of disciples, all looking to you. The words of Jesus do not all bear fruit. Knowing this did not stop Jesus from speaking, but he continued to proclaim good news, truth and life to any who would listen. I take care to review the measures by which I value my actions and words. I pray for the strength to continue speaking and acting – even in the absence of evident encouraging results. Truth is not determined by a majority, but is scattered abroad , being recognised and valued by some. I ask God to help me to hear Jesus’ word for me and to take it to heart. I allow my imagination to dwell with the scene that Jesus presents, picturing the growth, identifying threats to it. I take care not to allow the weeds and barrenness to dominate but accept that God pictures a flourishing harvest and never gives up that hope for me. I think of how I might remain on the alert for anything that threatens the Word that is given to me: the life that Jesus offers can be leached away by sceptical attitudes, cynical comments, despairing attitudes or unkind words. Any person who lacks the basic understanding-of-the-heart to take in Jesus’ message, in one sense can hardly be said to have ever even heard ‘the word of the kingdom’ – much less to have had it take root in his heart : more like, the seed (of the word) fell ‘on the edge of the path’, and in this case the birds got there first. The terrain of Palestine is rocky – and for this reason alone seed often fails to take root. So a person can be overjoyed at receiving ‘the word of the kingdom’ – but when faced with persecution, such a person yields, and is found to have no real depth of faith. But persecution may not even be required – temptation alone can cause an initial believer to fall away. Temptation could take the form of ‘the worries of the world’: we recall Jesus’ story of the people first invited to the wedding-feast who all proved to be too busy with their own affairs, to accept. Or temptation could come through ‘the lure of riches’ : we recall the rich young man who might have followed Jesus, but who drew back when he found that he would first have to rid himself of his wealth. Finally, persons who accepted the word deep in their hearts – the several categories of them – are foregrounded here, one might say, in order to off-set or compensate for those others who fell by the wayside. The whole parable is concluded in a manner designed to console and encourage faithful disciples. We get so used to hearing Jesus’ parables that we may fail to appreciate how full of wisdom they are, a wisdom that is beautifully expressed in a language anyone can understand. In an earlier extract in Matthew we heard Jesus talk about how “the queen of the South will rise up at the judgement with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and see, something greater than Solomon is here! (Matthew 12:42)  As you read today’s Gospel let yourself dwell on Jesus’ wisdom as one of his most attractive characteristics. The parable of the sower explains how the Word of God is received. Jesus knows that there are different levels of receiving the Word - allowing it to flourish and bear fruit or not giving it sufficient attention so that its effect diminishes. The Word of God is given to me as a gift. I pray that I may allow allow its goodness to take root in my life and yield a fertile harvest, leading me in the ways of truth and love. Is ‘the word of the kingdom’ sufficiently important to me as to make it a precious treasure in my life? Or do distractions and concerns edge out the primary importance of God’s word? What voices and noises of this world drown it out? Lord, make my heart silent so that I can hear you! Jesus tells me here that ‘understanding’ is essential for the word to take root in my heart and to be effective in my life. Reflective and unhurried listening enables it to speak to my heart. Lord Jesus, may your living and life-giving word always be a priority for me. May I put aside some time each day - like now! - to listen to it and to put it into practice. The Word of God is sown in my heart day after day through Sacred Space. How would I describe my heart? Is it part hard, part rocky, part thorny? I ask the Lord to till the soil of my heart so that it becomes fresh and fertile. If I were challenged in court to explain my faith, what would I say? Would I talk about what I know about God, or rather that I try to live according to the command of love? Would there be much evidence available to support my statements? Jesus speaks of the word of God as something organic and growing. Let me think back to seeds that have grown in my heart: probably happenings rather than preachers’ words. I saw a kindness, a courageous stance, an example of honesty that cost the honest man dearly. That was the seed. It stayed with me, and was active in my heart. In the same way I sometimes find, to my delight, that others have noticed something I did or said, and it became a seed in their heart, yielding good fruit over the years. Jesus explains the story of the sower and the seed. He knows that we have different levels of hearing and responding to him. Maybe this story can throw some light on the desires in our heart to bear fruit; or on what may prevent me from heating fully the word of god. There are thorns in all of us; with Jesus we can remove them so that we may bear more fruit.

ENCOUNTER CHRIST REFLECTIONS AND MEDITATIONS

Preparation for the Session

Adapted from Sacred Space: The Prayer Book 2025

Presence of God: Jesus, As I come to you today, fill my heart, my whole being, with the wonder of your sacred presence.  Help me to become more aware of your presence in my life, and more receptive to that presence. I desire to love you as you love me. May nothing ever separate me from you. (1-2 minutes of silence)

Freedom: Jesus, Grant me the grace to have freedom of spirit. Keep me from being bound by desires and actions that are not good for me or others.  Cleanse my heart and soul that I may live joyously in your love. (1-2 minutes of silence)

Consciousness: Where am I with God? With others in my life? What am I grateful for? Is there something I am sorry for, words or actions that have hurt others, and which I now regret? I take a moment to ask forgiveness of God and of those whom I have hurt. God, I give you thanks for your constant love and care for me. Keep me always aware of your presence in my life. (2-3 minutes of silence)

Opening Prayer

Dear Lord, open the eyes of my heart so that I both see and know how to find your wisdom and your hope in my everyday life. Help me to make space in my heart for the word of God. May I always seek your advice, even when my life is crowded with distractions and worries. Teach me the secrets of your Kingdom. Teach me how to be your disciple. Amen.

Companions for the Journey

In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus is portrayed as the New Moses, who has come to fulfill the law and the promise of the Jewish scriptures. There are five distinct teaching segments in the gospel, designed to make a direct reference to the five books of the Jewish Torah. The term Five Discourses of Matthew refers to five specific teaching occasions by Jesus within this gospel, and these discourses are used by Matthew to retell the entirety of the Old Testament, demonstrating that Christ is the fulfillment of all that was promised therein. The five discourses are listed as the following: the Sermon on the Mount (5-7), the Missionary Discourse, (10) the Parables of the Kingdom Discourse (13), the Discourse on the Church (18), and the Discourse on End Times (23-25). The parabolic discourse demonstrates how Jesus uses parables to get his message out to those who will hear. The following commentary for preachers on today’s section of chapter 13 is from Elizabeth Johnson, Professor at Lutheran Seminary: It is not difficult to find contemporary examples of the various responses to the word depicted in Jesus' parable. Having the word choked out by "the cares of the world and the lure of wealth" seems to be a particular problem in North America. One should be careful, however, to avoid equating the various types of soil with a particular person or group, and especially to avoid equating oneself or one's community with the good soil. If we are honest with ourselves, we can probably find evidence of several kinds of soil in our lives and in our congregations on any given day. It is noteworthy that Jesus does not use the parable to exhort hearers to "be good soil," as though we could make that happen. If there is any hope for the unproductive soil, it is that the sower keeps sowing generously, extravagantly, even in the least promising places. Jesus' investment in his disciples shows that he simply will not give up on them, in spite of their many failings. We trust that he will not give up on us either, but will keep working on whatever is hardened, rocky, or thorny within and among us. We trust in his promise to be with us to the end of the age. As those entrusted with Jesus' mission today, we might consider the implications of this parable for how we engage in mission. Too often we play it safe, sowing the word only where we are confident it will be well received, and only where those who receive it are likely to become contributing members of our congregations. In the name of stewardship, we hold tightly to our resources, wanting to make sure that nothing is wasted. We stifle creativity and energy for mission, resisting new ideas for fear they might not work—as though mistakes or failure were to be avoided at all costs. Jesus' approach to mission is quite at odds with our play-it-safe instincts. He gives us freedom to take risks for the sake of the gospel. He endorses extravagant generosity in sowing the word, even in perilous places. Though we may wonder about the wisdom or efficiency of his methods, Jesus promises that the end result will be a bumper crop.

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today's reading and discussion? Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions which follow.

Reflection Questions:

What kind of heart/mind does it take to understand the parables?

Are there parts of my heart that are open/welcome to God’s word?
Are there parts of my heart that find certain parts of the word of God more difficult?

Are there some teachings that I just cannot get on board with?

Has there ever been a teaching/command of Jesus that took a long time to grow in my heart?

Have there ever been projects about which I was enthusiastic initially, but languished after I got bored or distracted?

Do we sometimes get so tired of hearing the same old things from friends, family, God that we eventually stop listening?

Do I feel fortunate to have been exposed in a deeper way to the teachings of Jesus, either through prayer, or through a reading or discussion group?

Who have been the moral advisors in my life?
Have I ever dismissed them out of hand?
Have I responded by taking their words to heart?  
Have I outgrown their teaching/world view?

What does it mean to me to have “ears to hear”?

How receptive is my heart at this moment to learn, to grow, to change?
Which is the hardest to do?

Has there ever been a time when I heard the message of Christ, but let it lie on the edge of my consciousness where it withered?
Did I say that I had “outgrown” it?

Do I share Jesus’ optimism about the Kingdom?

Do I get discouraged when my words do not bear fruit?
How does “herd mentality” affect my decisions?
Have I ever planted a seed of wisdom in someone else’s heart and help him/her with discernment?
How did it make me feel?

Have the four stalking horses of defeat (skeptical observations, cynical comments, despairing attitudes or unkind words) ever caused my faith or my optimism to wither and die? Have I ever spoken in such ways and thus discouraged another’s optimism or faith?

Closing Prayer

Don’t forget to provide some prayer time at the beginning and at the end of the session (or both), allowing time to offer prayers for anyone you wish to pray for.  

Dear Lord, this is a message of hope for us all. Our hearts contain all  four sorts of ground, being more or less open to what your told us so long ago and what you are telling me now. We need to focus on all of the places in our hearts and the hearts of others where your word has taken root. Keep me from discouragement when I see that your words have not borne fruit, either in my own soul or in the world at large. Give me the eyes to see where good things are happening and  help me to be optimistic about the future of my own life and the life of this planet.

For the Week Ahead

Weekly Memorization (taken from the gospel for today's session): Whoever has ears ought to hear.

Meditations:

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions: This parable contain the four outcomes of the breaking of God’s word in our lives. Sometimes,  God’s message gets destroyed by our culture or our own selfishness so that it never had a chance to thrive. When in my life have is simply brushed off the teaching of Jesus  before really listening because it did not fit my world view or my lifestyle? Other times, God’s message  falls on rocky ground, where the roots are not strong enough to sustain it. How many times have I embarked on a promise or obligation, but did not follow through because my heart was not really into it? Again, God’s message could also fall among thorns which choke out God’s words. How often have my own  good intentions gotten lost in the din of the conflicting messages the world has to offer? And finally, God’s word fall on deep rich soil, where they take root and grow into something truly wonderful. When in my life have I experienced the satisfaction and joy of seeing my life or that of another completely turn around because the message of Jesus got through and actually blossomed? Think of a time in which God was speaking to you in the events of your life. Were you aware of it at the time? How did you respond? What words of Jesus have actually taken root in your life, and which are struggling to survive?

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship: (From Sacred Space: A Service of the Irish Jesuits) I read this passage slowly as if I am looking at the mirror of my heart. I probably discover that I have at different moments all the four reactions Jesus describes in the parable. I ask myself how I can grow in my freedom to accept God’s word to me, precisely where the challenge is greatest. Yet I also notice how fruitful the word has been in my life, surprising even myself with its power to bear such abundant fruit – a hundredfold, sixty, thirty times. I look at my life in gratitude for the abundant fruit that the word sown in my heart has produced, in my relationships, in my freedom and openness to God and others, in my sensibility to suffering around me. Especially to the place Jesus has in my life. I also look at the margins of my heart, those areas where the word finds it difficult to bear lasting fruit, and I ask for light and freedom to remove these obstacles and distractions.

A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/Imagination: (From Sacred Space: A Service of the Irish Jesuits) I allow my imagination to dwell with the scene that Jesus presents, picturing the growth, identifying threats to it. I take care not to allow the weeds and barrenness to dominate but accept that God pictures a flourishing harvest and never gives up that hope for me. As I think of myself as the field in which the word of God is scattered, I may recognize the barren places, the dry patches and the fertile parts. To which do I pay attention? I take some time to appreciate where God’s word has found a root in me and I ask God’s help to remain open to such seed as may be scattered again today. I read this passage slowly as if I am looking at the mirror of my heart. I probably discover that I have at different moments all the four reactions Jesus describes in the parable. I ask myself how I can grow in my freedom to accept God’s word to me, precisely where the challenge is greatest.

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship: Psalm 65 is a great hymn of praise, marveling that God hears our prayers, that God answers our prayers, and that God's grace is visited upon the earth resulting in abundance. Think of things you have prayed for. Have your prayers been answered?  In the way you expected or in some greater way?  Then look at the world around you. What examples do you find of God's enrichment of the earth? Take a walk, just concentrating on the beauty of God's ongoing care for the natural world.  Write your own psalm of thanksgiving, using the insights you have gathered from your meditations.

Poetic Reflection:

Here, in a poem by Father Ed Ingebretzen, S.J., is a commentary/meditation on the parables of Jesus:

Jesus Prayers II
Jesus taught in parables
and made geography
our greatest—
the precise placing of God
astride the master boat
disarming the wind
riding the road into tock
shaping the one word
needed to free death.

In parables
of ropes, nets and fish,
in the tangle of catching
and feeding, in sowing,
in graces of going
to hear stones sing lakeside—here
Jesus took our name
and wore it
like a fine love.
This, his
major parable.