Sunday is the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The Gospel continues to speak to us about the Kingdom of God. The Gospel text is Matthew 13:44-52. As we have been hearing for the last three weeks, we are presented with parables that Jesus used to illustrate the Kingdom of God.
A parable is a story Jesus uses to explain a theological point. In this case, Jesus is using parables to explain the Kingdom of God.
What the Kingdom Means
What is meant by the term Kingdom of God? The Kingdom of God is what God wishes for the world. We pray for the coming of this Kingdom every time we pray the Lord’s Prayer, when we say, “Your Kingdom come.”
The Kingdom of God is what God wants for the world. God wants peace, love, kindness, justice, compassion, mercy, empathy, joy, faithfulness, patience, chastity, generosity, gentleness, and self-control. The Kingdom of God is when God’s reign becomes our way of life.
The Kingdom of God comes when we realize that small acts of kindness have the power to change. We must have faith that the will of God for the world is for our good.
Hidden Treasure and Precious Pearls
This week the Gospel presents us with the Parable of the Hidden Treasure and the Parable of the Fine Pearls. In both parables, we have a similar lesson: when you find a treasure that calls you forth to give of yourself in love and mercy, forgetting yourself and losing yourself for the good of others, then you will begin to understand the Kingdom of God, as well as the surprising wisdom of God, which says that it is in losing yourself that you find yourself.
Msgr. Guy A. Massie
July 26, 2026
