17th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A – Homily
17th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
1 Kings 3:5, 7-12
Romans 8:28-30
Matthew 13:44-52
July 27, 2014
How valuable is the Kingdom of Heaven to us?
Does the word “treasure” fit?
How much a treasure is it?
Jesus talks about a treasure so valuable that when found, a person would give up anything for it. What are you willing to give up for Heaven?
Or perhaps the better question might be, ‘what won’t you give up for Heaven?’ If there is something you won’t give up … well that’s a problem. Remember Jesus gave up his life so we could go to Heaven.
Let’s look at it another way. God said to Solomon, “Ask something of me and I will give it to you.” If God made the same offer, no strings attached, what would you ask for? What’s running through your mind right now?
Would you ask for money? Prestige? Power? Less materialistic would you ask for the ability to be able to understand how your spouse thinks?
Solomon could have asked for anything. He could have asked for everything to be done for him but he doesn’t. Instead he asks for what he needs to be able to do what God asks of him.
Solomon recognizes the important task he has been given as king. He also recognizes that he is a “mere youth” and doesn’t know “how to act.”
He asks for an “understanding heart” and the ability to “distinguish right from wrong,” two things that we all need.
So maybe we need to ask ourselves what do we feel lacking in, not in terms of money but in what we need to accomplish the task before us.
Actually, maybe we even need to take a further step back and ask ourselves what we are supposed to be doing. Are we not able to do what we attempt because we are lacking something or is it because it isn’t God’s will?
So the first question should be to ask what does God want us to do. Here lies our need for an “understanding heart” and the ability to “distinguish right from wrong.”
The second question is what do we need to do it. This means we must be willing to admit our failings and weaknesses.
And then I think that could be one more thing we might need to ask for, the courage to actually do what God asks of us.