Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle A St Austin, Austin,TX July 30, 2023

 Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time    Cycle A      St Austin, Austin,TX   July 30,2023

 

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field,
which a person finds and hides again,
and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.’ 

 

          After extensive investigation and exhaustive research – mostly in my imagination – I discovered that the person mentioned in today’s Gospel was not the first person to discover the treasure buried in that field.  

          It seems the first person to find this buried treasure was a guy named Zigon.  Zigon hid it again, realizing the treasure could be his if he bought the field.  But Zigon was rather timid.  To buy the field he would have to sell everything he had: his iphone, all his investments, his fancy coffee maker to which he was very attached, and so on.  Everything would have to go and that was taking a huge risk.  What if the treasure turned out to be fake?  What about the tax implications?  What if someone stronger stole it from him?  In addition to being timid, Zigon was also kind of lazy.  And to fill in all the paperwork to cash in his life insurance , and then to hold a garage sale, and then complete the purchase of the field all seemed, not only daunting but overwhelming to Zigon.  And so instead of doing anything about it, he thought and fretted about it.  //  ¿You know the type?

          Meanwhile, Hyacinth found the treasure in the field.  She too realized that if she bought the field she would be fabulously wealthy and set for life.  She hid the treasure again and began planning her approach.  But the field was expensive.  She would have to sell everything in order to get it.  She did not have any problem selling her bowling ball which she had not used for years.  But she hesitated when she came to her prized collection of troll dolls.  And she completely waffled when it came to selling her favorite little black dress, with all its memories.  And because she could not bring herself  to sell all that stuff, Hyacinth never was able to raise enough money to buy the field and get the treasure.  She was too attached to the less valuable stuff she already had.  //  ¿Know the type?

          Finally, Priscilla found that treasure in the Gospel.  Priscilla was not timid nor lazy, nor was she owned by the stuff she owned.  Quickly Priscilla cashed in her investments, life insurance and her retirement plan.  She sold her car, her condominium, the Barry Manalow tapes her mother had left her, the souvenirs she picked up on a trip to Mexico, her furniture, most of her wardrobe, everything. 

It was not easy but she kept her eyes on the prize and with joy sold all that stuff.  It gave her a joyful sense of freedom.   Finally, she had enough to buy that field.  She got the treasure and was very wealthy. 

          But that is not all.  It turns out that field was in West Texas, and six weeks after she purchased it, oil was discovered on Priscilla’s field, and of course she had the mineral rights, and she became fabulously wealthy.   

          She was also, I might add, very generous to her parish.

          In any case, now you know the full story. 

          The point of the Gospel parable is not that the Kingdom of Heaven is a treasure.  That is pretty obvious.  We know that the Kingdom is the ultimate goal of our life. The point of the parable is that the Kingdom of Heaven requires an absolute commitment. 

          I believe that the field spoken of in the parable is not in West Texas, nor in Palestine, but rather inside us.  That field is your own heart.  That is where the treasure of the Kingdom of God is buried.  And you have to go search for it, to find out Who is your King, Who you belong to, Who loves you into being, Who loves you completely. 

          But a lot of stuff gets in the way of truly possessing that treasure: stuff like fear and greed and laziness and hate and lust and pride.  We have to stop clinging to all that stuff, let it all go, to open ourselves to gaining the true treasure, which is the Kingdom of God.  Or to put it another way, to make God King of my life. 

          This requires work, and persistence, and dedication.  But it also brings freedom and joy.  In my experience, the truly holy people I have known have also been people of great joy.  If you meet someone who is supposed to be holy, but is always dour, and upset, kind of crabby, judgmental, rather harsh and severe, then you can pretty well be sure that they are not really holy, but just acting. 

In any case, each of us have to find that treasure of God’s love for me and for you, and then we must get rid of everything that stands in the way, that distracts, that prevents us from having that treasure fully. 

          The treasure is not hard to find.  Jesus has shown us the way.  God the Father was truly King in Jesus’ life.  Jesus’ Spirit strengthens and leads us in the correct way to the treasure.  We have to do our part of allowing the Holy Spirit to work in us, and to be ruthless in getting rid of all that keeps us from gaining that treasure.

          Happy treasure hunting! 

Homily for 16th Sunday of Ordinary Time Cycle A July 22/23 2023

 Homily for 16th Sunday of Ordinary Time Cycle A    July 22/23   2023

     Our second reading today comes from St Paul’s letter to the Romans.  Now St Paul was a prolific letter writer and we have several of his letters in the New Testament.  All of these were written to people he knew, and knew their specific needs and issues, and Paul’s letters are all written to specific situations, except one.  That is the Letter to the Romans, from which our second reading is taken today.  Paul’s letter to the Romans is really an introductory letter, in which Paul lays out, in a more systematic and comprehensive fashion, his preaching. 

He writes this as a sort of introduction of himself and his teaching so that the Romans - whom Paul had yet never visited - will recognize both the depth and the accuracy of Paul’s preaching about Jesus Christ and the Resurrection, SO THAT the Roman Christians will be open to Paul and supportive of his stay in Rome.  Hence, the Letter to the Romans is often called the Gospel according to St Paul.

          And that is where our second reading, short as it is, comes from today.  

          St Paul states:  “The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness;

for we do not know how to pray as we ought.”  Well, is it true that we do not know how to pray as we ought?   Don’t we know the Our Father and the Hail Mary?  Don’t some of us pray with Scripture, do “lectio divina”, or pray the rosary?    Perhaps some even pray the psalms or the Office of Readings?  Anyone here do Morning prayer, evening prayer, etc???

          Well, that is all well and good, but I think St Paul meant something else, not about how to pray, but about what to pray for and more importantly, the attitude to open ourselves to pray, not for what we want, but to pray for what God wants. 

          You see, because of our limited spirits, and our own selfish desires, and our desire for what is pleasant and easy and painless, we sometimes, maybe most of the time, pray for what we want, and not for what God wants for us. 

          To pray “as we ought” as St. Paul says, we need the Holy Spirit to guide us.    The great example of praying as we ought is of course Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane before His arrest, when Jesus prayed “not my will, but Thine, be done.” 

          That is a tough prayer.  It goes against our natural human instincts and our sinful inclinations.  But, St. Paul says, “The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought..”

          So for example, we want to pray for this horrible heat wave to end.  But maybe the Holy Spirit really wants to lead us to pray for practical compassion for those suffering from the heat, and for greater wisdom and courage to fight for the environment and against climate change. 

          Maybe we want to pray that the annoying person at work will quit or get transferred, or even fired, and so end the problem, when the Holy Sprit really wants to empower us to forgive and to reach out in support. 

          Praying in the Holy Spirit is not for the feint of heart or for sissies.  Paul states: “but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings.”   Why “groaning”???   Because this is hard.  This is tough.  This is serious.  And “we do not know how to pray as we ought..” 

          So the Holy Spirit comes to our aid.  But we need to be open and receptive to the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is strong, very strong, but doesn’t force Himself on us. 

    The Holy Spirit, as St Paul assures us “intercedes for the holy ones according to God's will.”    And we can be empowered to pray according, not to our will, but to God’s will.  And that makes all the difference.   AMEN.