October 27, 2015
Tuesday
30th Week in
Ordinary Time
1st reading: Romans 8.18- 25
Gospel: Luke 13:18-21
Jesus continued speaking, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? Imagine a person who has taken a mustard seed and planted it in the garden. The seed has grown and become like a small tree, so that the birds of the air shelter in its branches.”And Jesus said again, “What is the kingdom of God like? Imagine a woman who has taken yeast and hidden it in three measures of flour until it is all leavened.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
Two poor widows whose reed huts were just adjacent to one another were praying. Felicitas would kneel and pray, “God please give me bread. I am hungry.” She had been praying for seven days with no apparent results. She then spied on her neighbor Adelina to find out whether the latter’s prayers were being answered. She placed an ear against the wall and listened. “God”, Adelina was praying, “thank you for granting my prayers.”
Curiously she asked her after days of spying: “You are thanking God for answering your prayer, yet I do not see a single loaf of bread drop from heaven on your table.” At this, Adelina showed her seven sacks filled with something and said: “I too am hungry but I never ask for bread; I pray for seeds”. (Adapted from Bro. Andrew Maria, Vestiges of Wisdom).
The kingdom of God is not like the bread that Felicitas expected to fall directly from heaven without human intervention. The contrary opinion would be an assertion that God’s kingdom is an intrusion into human affairs. Far from it! The kingdom of God, in fact, will not flourish on earth without human participation. Like the bread of Adelina that came not directly from heaven but from her application of hard work on the seeds God had given, the kingdom of God flourishes on earth through the faith community’s practice of charity.
The kingdom of God is like a single tree resulting from the germination of many seeds. We are the many seeds that need to sprout in order to bring forth God’s kingdom on earth. One unrealized seed can nip that kingdom in the bud even before it has sprouted. So everyone must realize his potentials. This analogy best explains why up to now the kingdom of God has remained wanting on earth. For as long as there are people among us remaining undeveloped, the kingdom of God will never rise.
Reduced to its lowest terms, putting up the kingdom of God on earth is helping everyone live their lives to the full. This requires a lot of selflessness and altruism. In short: a lot of hard work like in Adelina’s case. – Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM., MAPM. Email: dan.delosangeles@gmail.com. Website: www.frdan.org.
May comment ka ba sa column ni Father Dan? May tanong ka ba sa kanya? I-type ang BANDERA REACT <message/ name/age/address> at i-send sa 4467.