Our Hearts in the Kingdom

For the third week in a row, we are hearing a Gospel Reading from Matthew’s very long Chapter 13.  Parable after parable. When I was younger, I must confess that I tuned out much of these “stories”. I didn’t get the point of them. I lacked imagination, but otherwise, I was not the root of the problem. Why didn’t our Lord just TELL us what he was trying to teach us rather than giving us these unwieldy puzzles?! The riddles? Drawn perhaps from the ancient Hebrew life as a teaching tool, but now they were baffling me. We heard even some of the disciplines were perhaps frustrated or at least questioned Christ as to why he spoke in parables. They evidently understood his point.

We are led to the parable this weekend by the incredibly wise Solomon. He could have asked God for absolutely anything, but with his wisdom and thoughtfulness, he asked for an understanding heart, a practical heart to lead well. God was so taken with Solomon’s desire; the request was granted.

We inch closer to the Gospel reading. Paul’s letter to the Romans. Quite plainly spoken as Saint Paul usually is.  No riddles or puzzles here. If anything, he emphasizes God’s orderliness and how all who work for those who love God and respond to the call so his purpose will be glorified.

But then what an interesting teaching tool we hear in the Gospel reading: more parables! Far from clear, three parables that in some ways are difficult to place in this modern world into a reasonable context. But we have an A-HA moment! – or at least I have had one a while ago. We see that Christ is conveying to all people, in all times a sense of urgency to respond to His message of the kingdom – that is the great and true buried treasure and the rarest of pearls. And then today’s third parable is similar to last week’s parable of the weeds – those who reject the kingdom are the bad fish and will be excluded from the kingdom and go where there is forever the “wailing and grinding of teeth”.  

Now at a rather ripe old age, I see these beautiful parables with much greater clarity. Perhaps over the years I have lost some of my “hard hearted ways”, and I believe there is an element of personal responsibility to understand our Lord’s teaching through these parables. As we were told in the beginning of Matthew’s Gospel in Chapter 13, the disciples were blessed because their eyes were open, because they did see, and with their ears, they did hear. However, many prophets and righteous people did not and do not see or hear. They suffer from a “hard heart”, and for whatever reason as perhaps I did, prefer to not consider the teachings of the parables and other uncomfortable parts of Christ’s message. 

I heard someone say recently that there are mysteries in our faith, but the essence is to love each other. As Solomon was blessed with a heart so wise and understanding, 

may we all go forward and be kind hearted to all as we fulfill our part of the Gospel message throughout our lives.

Today's Readings