Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Texts:
Wis. 12:13, 16-19
Rom. 8:26-27
Mt. 13:24-43

Today is the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Welcome my dear sisters and brothers to the celebration of the Holy Eucharist.

The Readings:

In the first reading, the author presented the sovereignty of God in Israel. God forgave the people of their wrongdoings and inspired them to learn from the lessons of the past. Wisdom enabled the Israelites to know that God was doing things justly and with mercy. The reading challenges us to emulate the wisdom and justice of God. It also reminds us to surrender to the authority of God in our lives.

In the second reading, Paul stressed the role of the Holy Spirit in Christian sufferings. Paul emphasized that the Holy Spirit assists the believers to know and to understand the will of God. In the circumstances when the believers could hardly pray, the Holy Spirit works actively in the believers. The reading challenges us to allow the Holy Spirit to work in us, especially in times of prayers and sufferings.

In the gospel, Matthew presented the parables of the weeds and the wheat, the mustard seed, and the yeast. These parables reflect the vision of Jesus about the kingdom of God on earth. The weeds are symbols of the evils and their evil deeds. The wheat is a symbol of a good Christian and his deeds. The weeds and the wheat reflect the kind of people that will be judged. This parable is a vision of what will happen at the judgment time. The Son of Man will be the presider and all people are subject to judgment. On the other hand, the parables of the mustard seed and the yeast reflect the insignificant beginning of the kingdom. The kingdom has to undergo all kinds of sufferings before it will finally grow. Matthew emphasized that the twelve apostles were the leaven for the growth of the kingdom on earth. He inspired the community to be patient with each other and to work hard in the proclamation of the kingdom of God.

The Reflection:

The church is a manifestation of the presence of the kingdom of God on earth. The members of the church are composed of good or bad, perfect or imperfect, sinners or saints. Wisdom teaches us that we cannot underestimate the presence of the imperfect members of the community for they could also be of help for the purification of the good ones. We cannot also exalt the holiness of the good ones for it might bring them to self-righteousness. The lesson is that we must be patient for the growth of everyone in the community and even in the movement of the world as God is patient with us and with the world. Likewise, we cannot underestimate the good works of other ordinary Christians. Their unassuming lifestyle of service could also contaminate a life of commitment for the kingdom. All of us are called to become wheat, yeast and good seed for the kingdom today. How would you help those people who hardly understand the mystery of God in human realities? What are your contributions to the growth of the kingdom today?

The Testimony:

When I handled the youth ministry in the parish where I was assigned, I hardly understood why the youth in the present generation was becoming more uncommitted and uncooperative in the integral process of Christian formation. The youth seemed to be restless, anxious and misdirected towards the needs and the desires of this world. I was tempted to judge them because of their indifference and lack of participation. There were many times that I became impatient and irritated. There were occasions that I asked myself whether there was a problem in my leadership or in the people or in the implementation of the program. I just tried to console myself by understanding them and by being aware of the social problems or personal issues that they underwent. However, there were also many times that the youth became more cooperative, participative, creative and full of life for Christian integration, spiritual formation, liturgical celebration, parish apostolate and other activities. I saw in them the human condition of imperfections and fullness or weaknesses and potentialities. After many years had passed, I discovered that there were many youths that I wrestled and misunderstood or I accompanied and befriended with were already successful in their endeavors, productive in their works and relationships and life-giving in the circumstances of their human lives. I cannot really underestimate the little development, the small growth and the humble beginning of the human life of our people, most particularly the youth of today. I believed that like the small beginning of the early church, the youth could also become mustard seed or the yeast that would become the leaven of faith, bearers of hope, catalysts of integral human development, agents of social change, creative stewards of the creation of God and genuine witnesses of the kingdom. I could relate myself being “wheat” or “weed” and being “mustard seed” or “small yeast” during my struggles and development as a human being. I realized that in order to integrate the kingdom of God in my priestly life, I must be open to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and to make it as my interior disposition. And so, I am resolved to be possessed by the Word of God and by the Eucharist so that I may become a leaven of hope and growth for the kingdom of God on earth.

The Eucharist:

The Eucharist is a celebration of the coming of the kingdom of God. It is a foretaste of the kingdom of God in the life to come. The Eucharist reveals our Christian identity and manifests our mission on earth. Thus, to celebrate the Eucharist is to live our Christian life and mission on earth. To receive Jesus in the Eucharist is to become implementers of the plan of God for His kingdom. To eat the body of Christ is to become leaven for the growth of the church and the transformation of the society. Therefore, in this Eucharist, we pray that the Father in heaven may fill us with His life-giving word so that we may become instruments for the development of His kingdom in this world. Yes, we pray that our Eucharistic celebration may become a prophetic declaration of the presence of the kingdom of God on earth.

May God bless us.