Today’s Reflection
Gospel: Jn 11: 19-27
July 30, 2023 | Sunday

Today’s Gospel

The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure, hidden in a field. The one who finds it, buries it again; and so happy is he, that he goes and sells everything he has, in  order to buy that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a trader, who is looking for fine pearls. Once he has found a pearl of exceptional quality, he goes away, sells everything he has and buys it. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a big fishing net, let down into the sea, in which every kind of fish has been caught. When the net is full, it is dragged ashore. Then they sit down and gather the good fish into buckets, but throw the bad away. That is how it will be at the end of time; the angels will go out to separate the wicked from the just, and to throw the wicked into the blazing furnace, where they will weep and gnash their teeth.” Jesus asked, “Have you understood all these things?” “Yes,” they answered. So he said to them, “Therefore, every teacher of the law, who becomes a disciple of the kingdom of heaven, is like a householder, who can produce from his store things both new and old.”

Today’s Reflection:

The parables in the gospel operate in the present-future tense. The kingdom is essentially the future, something we cannot possess right now. But people who have already caught a glimpse of it from the preaching of Jesus know how to treasure it. At present, Jesus cannot deliver the kingdom to them, but a mere glimpse of said kingdom resulted in the people selling everything they have in order one day to gain it. These stories capture the essence of Christian spirituality. The Christian life involves detachment: freedom from absorption in the attractions, pleasures, and concerns of this world – not because these are bad in themselves but because believers have been caught by a vision of God’s love and God’s future. What are some opportunities in your life that you sell or you give up?.  /Vulnerasti, 2023