Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

 

Today's Mass Readings

 

The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed a pearl of great price, a net thrown into the sea that catches many fish, a treasure hidden in a field.

So what is the Kingdom of Heaven like? Really. Jesus in the Gospel selections for recent days – Sundays and weekdays – has been telling us a lot about the Kingdom of Heaven. A small seed, or a small yet valuable pearl, the net that reveals a huge catch of fish.

Images and parables explain something which is not really so simple. We refer to the proclamation of the Kingdom in the luminous mysteries of the Rosary. Someone asked recently what does that mean? It means everything that Jesus did – his preaching, the miracles of healing, his very presence, and his way of living. All of these speak strongly the Word of the Kingdom.
From what Jesus tells us in the parable, the Kingdom of Heaven is not about something big, and mighty, of high influence. But it is about something of great value and something that transforms, that grows. The seed is a small thing, but it has its own majesty when it grows into a tree. A pearl is usually valuable enough to make us want to find it. Casting the net is a relatively simple action and with a great haul of fish. With all of these, as in all the parables of Jesus, small and simple is often the point. The Kingdom of Heaven is about God’s grace, God’s life, which has entered the world in the Person of Jesus, the Christ. God’s life is about love and fidelity,

All of these parables – the seed, the weeds, the mustard seed, the leaven, the pearl, the treasure – all of them, are meant to speak to us about the kingdom of God, the reign of God. They are meant to point to some truth about God and His way with us. In fact, there’s probably just as much (or more) about God, and His ways, in each of the parables as there is about our response.

We come to realize that God comes to us again and again and in many different ways. And we are challenged to look for the ways God speaks to us. God shows his love for us. We experience that love. We learn of God’s patience. God has great tolerance with His people and with us, as we take our time and sometimes flounder around a bit getting set in the right direc¬tion. God is the one that gives this growth in the fields and in our hearts. This growth comes quietly and mysteriously. God is at work in all of us, always, one way or another, and whether or not we may always see it.

This is the growing season in the world around us. During these weeks and months, we see growth in our gardens, farmers in their fields. Change is happening. Sometimes that change is very visible. Sometimes, it is not so visible. But plants are growing. Invisibly. Even imperceptibly. Jesus invites us to realize that growth is happening in us too – always and in every season. So let’s not lose hope or heart. But we trust that God will bring to fruitful harvest the good he has planted in each of us.

Reflection by Fr. Peter Ullrich, OSB