GROWING AMONG THE WEEDS ~ CookingFood.Org

“HONEY FROM THE ROCK”

Daily Reflections

Tuesday, 1^st August 2017,

Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time

Memorial of St. Alphonsus Mary Ligouri, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Ex 33: 7-11; 34: 5-9, 28;

Ps 103: 6-13 (K) 8;

Mt 13: 36-43.

GROWING AMONG THE WEEDS

The Gospel of today invites us to reflect on the Kingdom of God. Jesus came to announce and to establish the Kingdom. The first reading introduces this theme by proclaiming the power and majesty of God, who is also kind and merciful. Though he is sovereign over all, he speaks to Moses face to face as if a friend would. He gives us the freedom to choose to belong to his kingdom.

In the parable of the wheat and the darnel (weeds) that grow together, both receive the same nourishment during their lifetime, but at the time of harvesting they are separated and treated accordingly. Most of us are blessed to be born in Christian families. God offered us the gift of salvation through Baptism even before we knew about it. He continues to offer us graces through the Church. However, the blessing of being a Christian doesn’t assure our entry into the heavenly kingdom by default. One of the greatest gifts God has given us is a free will to choose and our individual choice for or against God will determine whether we are among the wheat or the weeds.

Imagine, Jesus was returning tomorrow and executing all justice upon the world, would you worry about any injustice today? Probably not. Instead, there would be an ability to sit back and be at peace knowing that justice was coming. The end of the world is as real for God today as it is when it actually happens. God truly is in control. He knows what He is doing and He will have the final glorious victory over all things.

Christians are called to be the leaven in society to make this world a better place. If we are true witnesses of Christ, the gospel values would inevitably spread all over. Our entry into the Kingdom is centered on our choice of the good and the rejection of all that is not of God. Our call as Christians is to be “the light of the world”, “the salt of the earth”; “the wheat among the weeds”; “the witness of God’s love to the world.” Let this be our constant prayer to the Lord, that we may be transformed in order to bring about transformation, so that more souls may come to know the love of God and become citizens of his Kingdom.

Prayer: Lord, help me to keep my eyes on You and Your final victory. Help me to patiently await Your final victory and to endure the evil of this world with the grace and strength You give me. May I never forget the final promise that You have spoken to me. Jesus, I trust in You. Amen.