DAILY- HOMILY

July 27, 2015 MONDAY, 17th week in Ordinary Time 

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Ex 32:15 - 24, 30 – 34 / Mt 13: 31 – 35

Reading: Ex 32:15 - 24, 30 – 34

     Moses then returned and came down from the mountain carrying in his hand the two slabs of the Statement, slabs written on both sides, back and front. These slabs were the work of God and the writing graven on the slabs was the writing of God.

     When Joshua heard the noise of the people who were shouting he said to Moses, "There is a sound of war in the camp." But Moses answered, "It is not a victory song, nor the cry of defeat that I hear, but the sound of singing."

     When he drew near to the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burst forth and he threw the slabs from his hands and shattered them against the base of the mountain. Then he seized the calf they had made and burned it in the fire, grinding it into a powder that he scattered over the surface of the water, and this he made the Israelites drink.

     Moses said to Aaron, "What did these people do to you that you brought such a great sin on them?"

     And Aaron said, "Don't let your anger be roused. You know this people and how evil they are. They said to me: 'Make us gods to go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us out of Egypt, we don't know what has happened to him.' I then said to them that whoever had gold was to give it over to me. I threw it in the fire and out came this calf!"

     The next day Moses said to the people, "You have committed a very grave sin, but now I am going up to Yahweh; perhaps I will obtain pardon for your sin."

     So Moses went towards Yahweh and said, "Ah! This people has committed a very great sin; they made a god out of gold. And now please forgive their sin… if not, blot me out of the book you have written."

     Yahweh said to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot him out from my book. Go now! Lead the people where I told you. My Angel will walk before you and on the day of punishment I will punish them for their sin." 

Gospel: Mt 13: 31 - 35 

     Jesus put another parable before them, "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, that a man took and sowed in his field. It is smaller than all other seeds, but once it is fully grown, it is bigger than any garden plant; like a tree, the birds come and rest in its branches."

     He told them another parable, "The kingdom of heaven is like the yeast that a woman took, and hid in three measures of flour, until the whole mass of dough began to rise." 

     Jesus taught all this to the crowds by means of parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. So what the Prophet had said was fulfilled: I will speak in parables. I will proclaim things kept secret since the beginning of the world.

Reflection:

     In today's Gospel reading, we see Jesus teaching his disciples again in parables. He said, "The kingdom of heaven is like…" Instead of using abstract ideas in his teachings, our Lord used parables with examples that we see or experience daily. This has the advantage of timeless and universal application.  

     Also, the parables could be more easily understood by those not highly educated or sophisticated people. What did he mean by the "kingdom of God"?  We know that it is not a place. 

     But if we translate it as the "reign of God," we can better understand and apply it across time and space. God reigns in any place or action which proclaims his values and everything He stands for. Since he is love, wherever or whenever love is present in any activity, he is also there as Lord and King. Like a little mustard seed, in any little good thing we do or witness, the kingdom of God is in our midst. 

     Like the yeast in the dough, the Lord also reigns in the loving but unseen actions and activities of his faithful. These little acts of loving all inspired by the Spirit of Love will be the catalyst for the transformation of society and the world. That is why our Lord taught us to pray for the "coming of God's kingdom."  

     Every time we pray the Lord's Prayer, let us reflect and ask ourselves if our actions are helping or hindering the reign of God in our lives and in the world around us. Is he the Lord of our hearts and the Lord of our lives?  Since most of us repeatedly fail, we then also ask the Lord to "forgive us our trespasses. "

WE PRAY FOR MTQ DAILY PRAYER DIARY INTENTIONS:

BIRTHDAY

     FLORENCIA A. SALAMAT

     MARY ANNE O'GORMAN

Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers and for those who need our prayers the most. 

Have a good day!

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