GOD’S WORD FOR THE DAY (based on Catholic Liturgical Readings)
DATE: 30TH JULY 2017
SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
FIRST READING: 1 Kings 3:5, 7-12
PSALM: Psalm 119:57, 72, 76-77, 127-130
SECOND READING: Romans 8:28-30
GOSPEL: Matthew 13: 44-52
THEME: CHOOSE RIGHT
Life is full of choices and every choice we make comes with its own repercussions. Some choices lead to joy and others lead to sorrow. Some bring immediate but fleeting gratification, while others bring eternal happiness. There are some choices that are self-centered and others are other-centered.
Solomon had a choice to make at Gibeon where he had gone to worship and the Lord had appeared to him in a dream and told him to make a request. He could have chosen to ask for long life for himself, riches or the destruction of his enemies but he did not. Rather, he made that one important choice in that given moment that would have a massive impact on his kingship. He said, “Give your servant an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil…”(1 Ki. 3:9). It was a wise decision he made. In response, the Lord said to him, “Because you have asked this…behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you” (1 Ki. 3:11-12). That single choice of Solomon brought him many other blessings.
To be part of the Kingdom of God is a choice one has to make. In our Gospel text Jesus speaks of the Kingdom using three parables. The first two parables – “the hidden treasure” and “the pearl of great price” — place a very high value on the Kingdom of God such that to possess it, one would necessarily have to let go of many earthly attachments. The third – “the parable of the dragnet” – lays emphasis on the different men and women who would be brought into the Kingdom, separated from evil-minded people.
From the flow of the readings for today, one can discern that a single right choice can change one’s life forever. That right choice is to choose the Kingdom of God that the Father offers us in and through the person of Jesus Christ. To seek Jesus is to seek the Kingdom. He is the “pearl of great price” and the “treasure in the field”. He is wisdom personified and a choice of him brings innumerable blessings.
Yes, as we seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, all the blessings and breakthroughs that we are desirous of shall be our portion (cf. Matt. 6:33). Indeed, all things work together for good with those who love the Lord and who are called according to his purpose (cf. Rom 8:28).
PRAYER: Eternal Father, as I yield to the grace of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, may I be filled with the righteousness, joy and peace that the Holy Spirit bestows on all the citizens of your Kingdom. Amen
Andrews Obeng, svd
DIVINE WORD MISSIONARIES
BIBLICAL PASTORAL MINISTRY
(Ghana Province)
“May the darkness of sin and the night of unbelief vanish before the light of the Word and the Spirit of grace. And may the heart of Jesus live in the hearts of all people” (St. Arnold Janssen).