20- Jul-2014 Dear Friend,
Some people are forever waiting for a lucky break. If only they win the bumper lottery; if only they hit the jackpot; if only they inherit a fortune; if only they meet the right person life would be so good, they believe. Our values determine our choices and so we would need to find out what we are looking for in life. Today's readings make us question whether faith is a prime value that influences our choices. Have a discerning weekend! Fr. Jude Sunday Ref: Seventeenth Sunday - 'Have we found in God a priceless treasure?' 27-Jul-14 Readings:Kings 3: 5, 7-12; Rom. 8: 28-30; Mt. 13: 44-52; In today's first reading from the Book of Kings we are told that Solomon, when he was to be made King of Israel, was asked to make a choice by God. Instead of asking for wealth and material possessions Solomon prayed for the gift of wisdom, not so that he could sit comfortably in his palace and ponder about the truths of the universe, but he asked God for wisdom and an understanding heart, so that he could govern his people wisely. God was so pleased with his choice that he blessed him not only with the gift of wisdom but granted him wealth and treasures as well. In our understanding, a wise person is often equated with one who utters wise sayings. In the Bible wisdom is not theoretical or abstract, it is practical. It has to do with the right, and the wise way to live. Making wise choices In 1849 many people thought they knew what they wanted in life. Gold had been discovered in California. Ranchers and farmers made a frenzied dash on horses and in wagons across the continent in an effort to be among the first to harvest a crop of yellow metal. A wheat farmer in Kansas, not content with the golden grain he harvested year after year, could think of almost nothing other than leaving farm and family in search of fortune. His wife with four small children doubted that the venture could be successful. Reluctantly the farmer stayed home. One night in a dream he saw himself in a room filled with gold. After gleefully running the nuggets through his fingers, he realized he was hungry. When he looked for something to eat, he found only gold. He called for his wife, hoping to be comforted by the warmth of her love, but there was only the coldness of the yellow metal. He longed to look into the sparkling eyes of his children, but the only sparkle he saw was that of the lifeless riches. He woke with a start. In a moment's reflection he realized what his true values were. Through a dream he became a wise man, who knew and accepted his responsibilities. Charles Miller in 'Sunday Preaching' In the Gospel, Jesus describes the Kingdom of God through parables. In the first parable the kingdom of God is compared to a man who finds a treasure hidden in a field and sells everything he has in order to own it. Likewise, the kingdom is compared to a man who is searching for rare pearls and when he finds one he is ready to give up everything he owns to acquire the pearl of rare value. The two parables differ in one circumstance. The treasure is something uncovered quite by accident, whereas the pearl is found after deliberate pursuit and searching. Whichever way it comes to light, one must be ready to sacrifice everything in order to call it one's own. In other words, the kingdom of God is worth everything we have. Those who find it are truly fortunate, even if in the eyes of the world they appear foolish, in the eyes of God they are rich. The kingdom of God means to know that one is a child of God, with a divine dignity and an eternal destiny. It means to know the meaning of life, and how to live it. The chief task of life is not to be successful or even fulfilled. It is knowing how best to live in this world. Those who find the answer to this question have found the pearl of great price. The pearl of great price is not something we find outside ourselves but something within ourselves, which we discover with faith. Our priceless treasure Dale Carnegie came from a poor, but God fearing family. His father was a farmer and his mother was a village school teacher. They never had enough food to eat or clothes to wear. They were always in debt. Once, his father borrowed money from the bank for cultivation. Unfortunately, that year there was a flood and their crops were washed away. They neither had food to eat nor money to repay the bank. The bankers began to harass them. His father began to worry. He worked sixteen hours a day in the field, yet he felt no hunger; he began to lose weight. The doctor told his wife that he had barely six months to live. His mother was concerned. Whenever he went to the farm to feed the horses and milk the cows, and did not come home early, she would go in search of him, fearing him hanging on some tree. One day, when his father was returning from the farm, the bankers met him on the road and threatened him with dire consequences if he failed to repay the loan. On his way back, he stood on the bridge, looked down at the water, contemplating suicide. Later, he told his son that the only reason he did not commit suicide was because of his wife's staunch, deep, abiding and joyous belief that if we loved God and kept His commandments, everything would come out all right in the end. His father lived happily for 42 years after the incident. John Rose in 'John's Sunday Homilies' The Kingdom of God is a treasure found in daily life Ron DelBene was searching for answers in his life. Someone told him about a man in Los Angeles who has a reputation for being a very wise spiritual guide. On a business trip to the west coast Ron made an appointment to see this wise man. All he could think about was the upcoming meeting with the one who surely had the answer. He drove up the coast only to discover on arrival that the man was not there. The longer he waited the angrier he became. Finally the man arrived: "I don't know which was greater, my anger or my disappointment," Ron remembers. "This short, slightly built person didn't look at all the wise man I had pictured. He didn't even have a beard!" Ron thought perhaps the teacher would place his hands on my head or heart and I will explode in ecstasy. But Ron didn't. The wise teacher simply rattled off three things Ron should do. Before Ron had a chance to respond or ask any questions the Wise One left the room. Ron felt disappointed and disillusioned. He had travelled all that way and for what? After Ron returned home, his wife, Eleanor, asked him about his meeting with the guru. She listened intensely to her husband's every word. "He told me that there are three things I must do," Ron said. "One, pray unceasingly. Two, go home and love my wife and children. Three, do what needs to be done." Eleanor looked straight at Ron and said, "Thank God, someone finally told you that!" What the teacher told was true. "In retrospect," Ron writes, the teacher "was a far wiser man than I appreciated at the time." Application: Our greatest treasure is at home: our family. Do our daily acts reflect this? Gerard Fuller in 'Stories for All Seasons' The Treasure Within There was this poor tailor who lived in Krakow. One night he had a dream in which a voice said to him, "If you go to Prague and dig beneath a certain tree behind the emperor's castle, you will find a great treasure." He set out the very next day for Prague. However, when he got there, unable to get across the bridge, he lived under it for a while. While there he became friends with the captain of the guard. One day he shared his dream with him. "You're a very foolish man," said the captain. "You shouldn't believe that sort of thing. I have dreams myself. Once I had a dream that over in Krakow there lived a poor but wise tailor, not unlike yourself. I dreamt that if I went to his house and dug behind his stove, I would find a treasure that somebody had buried there a long time ago. Of course, I dismissed it as foolishness." The tailor thanked him, went back home, dug beneath his own hearth, and found the treasure. Flor McCarthy in 'New Sunday and Holy Day Homilies' The Final Question In his book 'Life After Death' Raymond Moody says that when 'the Being of Light' (God) interviews you after your death, He will ask you two questions. The first, what wisdom have you learned from this life? The second, how have you expanded your capacity to love? Hey! There is a final exam! There are only two questions, and it is a take home test! In the education field there is no body teaching for this real test! There are very few classes in any school or university called extracting wisdom from your experience or learning how to love unconditionally. Remember, we inflict pain on ourselves and each other when we withhold our love and acceptance. Strive to let people be who they are, believe what they believe, and pursue happiness in their own unique ways. This will remove a lot of stress for yourself, your family and your friends. Keep going back to those questions very often: "How can I be more loving in this situation? And what wisdom can I learn from this experience?" Your answer to those questions will change your life more than you ever imagined. John Pichappilly in 'The Table of the Word' Have we found the pearl? "It is suggestive to find that there are other pearls, but there is only one pearl of great price. That is to say, there are many fine things in the world in which a man can find loveliness. He can find loveliness in knowledge and in art and in music and literature and all the triumphs of the human spirit; he can find loveliness in serving his fellow-men, even if that service springs from humanitarian rather than purely Christian motives; he can find loveliness in human relationships. These are all lovely, but they are lesser lovelinesses. The supreme beauty lies in the acceptance of the will of God. This is not to belittle the other things, they too are pearls; but the supreme pearl is the willing obedience which makes us friends of God." William Barclay May we discover the hidden treasure within our reach! Fr. Jude Botelho botelhoj...@gmail.com PS. The stories, incidents and anecdotes used in the reflections have been collected over the years from books as well as from sources over the net and from e-mails received. Every effort is made to acknowledge authors whenever possible. If you send in stories or illustrations I would be grateful if you could quote the source as well so that they can be acknowledged if used in these reflections. These reflections are also available on my Web site www.NetForLife.net Thank you.
