16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

The Kingdom of God is like .....

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Don’t you love a good story?
Jesus was a wonderful teacher who captivated his hearers with great storytelling. His most frequently used method was to speak in parables—very short stories taken from everyday life, but which had a double meaning. His vivid word pictures could stimulate the crowds listening to him to reflect or ask a question or two and perhaps make some decisions about their life.

In today’s gospel we have three parables about the Kingdom of God and they challenge us as we think about God’s presence in our world today. With the ministry of Jesus, the Kingdom of God, or the reign of God, has become a present reality—the deaf hear, the blind see– the goodness of a compassionate, forgiving and healing God is truly experienced through Jesus.

In the first parable Jesus says that the Kingdom of God contains wheat and weeds, good and bad seed, that grow together until they are separated at harvest. “Let them grow together until harvest”. Yes, we may see good and bad members, the respectable and the not so upright, but who are we to judge? The book of Wisdom reminds us that we have a God who cares for us all, who judges with clemency and allows for repentance.

A mustard seed, though so tiny, grows to become “the largest of plants”, and provides a home for numerous birds who dwell in its branches. This reminds us that there is room for all in God’s Kingdom and it is not our place to engender discrimination and prejudice. When a community is truly welcoming and encourages all to share life, love and worship, it is indeed a sign of God’s kingdom coming into being.

Sometimes growth is imperceptible, but, with the power of the Holy Spirit, it continues like the yeast leavening the batch and a community becomes transformed. Yes, the Kingdom of God is here and now - the Kingdom of God is within you- but it awaits complete fulfilment at the end of time. It is already but not yet. Wherever people treat each other with justice, love and compassion we have signs of God’s Kingdom, for the ministry of Jesus is being continued.

We live in a period of waiting, between the time of Jesus’ coming on earth and his Second Coming, and we are always invited and challenged to listen to the Holy Spirit who will “aid us in our weakness”. It is the Spirit who will give us the strength to continue Jesus’ work of developing the reign of God on earth. The Kingdom of God is like a parish that ...

Denise Sullivan OP

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Liturgical Reflection

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time