Fr Kevin Kilgore

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Gospel: Matthew 13: 46-53

Jesus dismissed the crowds and went into the house.
His disciples approached him and said,
“Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”
He said in reply, “He who sows good seed is the Son of Man,
the field is the world, the good seed the children of the Kingdom.
The weeds are the children of the Evil One,
and the enemy who sows them is the Devil.
The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire,
so will it be at the end of the age.
The Son of Man will send his angels,
and they will collect out of his Kingdom
all who cause others to sin and all evildoers.
They will throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.
Then the righteous will shine like the sun
in the Kingdom of their Father.
Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Perhaps three of the most profound questions posed by humanity are: Why does love exist? Why does evil exist? And why do they intermingle so intimately in this world?

While Jesus does not answer any of these questions thoroughly, he does address the co-existence of good and evil in today’s parable of the weeds and wheat.

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He begins by saying, “A sower went out to sow,” which implies there was One with good intentions who existed first. This sower proceeded to scatter seed along fertile ground, implying it’s good ground.

So, whether we apply this parable to the world, to the Church, or to ourselves individually, the foundation is good. Only after seeds have been scattered and the wheat begins cropping up does the Evil One enter and begin sowing weeds. 

Mysteriously, the weeds and wheat intermingle for a time, creating this tension we all experience in the world – even within ourselves.

As Saint Paul wrote in his Letter to the Romans, “What I do, I do not understand. For I do not do what I want, but what I hate” (Romans 7:15). Paul admitted that his own soul was a combination of weeds and wheat, sin and grace.

He awaited the redemption of his body in the resurrection, when God would put a definitive end to evil, even that which Paul was responsible for sowing himself.

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This might lead us to a better understanding of God’s attitude towards the intermingling of love and evil in this world. As Pope John XXIII once said regarding his governance of the Church, “I am aware of everything. I tolerate much. I change a few things.”

Similarly, God is aware of everything, mysteriously tolerating it all for a time. But there will be a definitive judgment, an eternal separation between good and evil.

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So, what does this mean for us?

We could learn from what seems to be God’s approach, doing everything we can to rid this world of unnecessary suffering, poverty, and evil while respecting human freedom, the swift passage of time, and keeping the final judgment in mind.

For whatever we do to the least of our brothers and sisters, we do to Jesus. 

It does not go unnoticed; rather, it will make all the difference in the end.

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Image credits: (1) Life, Hope, and Truth (2) My Pastoral Ponderings (3) Bloomerang Fundraising

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Gospel: Matthew 13:31-35

Jesus proposed a parable to the crowds.
“The Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed
that a person took and sowed in a field.
It is the smallest of all the seeds,
yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants.
It becomes a large bush,
and the ‘birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.’”

He  spoke to them another parable.
“The Kingdom of heaven is like yeast
that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour
until the whole batch was leavened.”

All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables.
He spoke to them only in parables, 
to fulfill what had been said through the prophet:

I will open my mouth in parables,
I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation 
of the world.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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One of the most difficult things about having faith in God is talking about it. When someone without faith asks us, “Why do you believe?” Often we are left tongue-tied, as if no answer is sufficient.

Faith is deeply personal, residing in the most secretive part of ourselves, where we ponder, hope, question, and dream. It can feel like a place beyond reason – to the point that, often our most honest answer boils down to something like:

“You just have to experience it.”

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I wonder if Jesus felt the same thing when trying to talk about God. How could he distill the great mysteries of the universe into language that people could understand? 

Ultimately, he turned to parables. The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed; a pinch of yeast; a treasure buried in a field; a lost coin.

Each parable points to an eternal truth, bridging the gap between the mind of God and the mind of man.

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In the case of today’s Gospel, neither the mustard seed nor the pinch of yeast is worth much on its own.

But when the seed works in tandem with the soil, it becomes the largest of bushes. Or when the yeast is mixed with flour, it turns to a large loaf of bread – enough to feed a family, perhaps even a village.

So, what is it that Jesus is saying to us?

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God desires to transform our world from a dark and gloomy waste into an extension of his kingdom. But, like a seed in soil, or yeast mixed with wheat, we must work in tandem with grace. 

When working together, we can transform every corner of our world into what it was created to be – a place where God is found – just beneath the surface, hidden in you and me.

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Image credits: (1) First Methodist McKinney (2) Catholic Preaching (3) QuoteFancy

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Gospel: Matthew 13: 44-46

Jesus said to his disciples:
“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. 
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant
searching for fine pearls. 
When he finds a pearl of great price,
he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Arthur Brooks is a Catholic professor who teaches an elective, “Leadership & Happiness,” at Harvard Business School. This is currently the most popular class on campus with a waiting list of over 400 students!

Brooks claims that all of his students are right-brained, intelligent, high-achievers who have a world of possibilities before them, yet many struggle with feeling unhappy or depressed… and they want to better understand why.

While there can be many factors underlying these feelings, Brooks says that one trap any human being can fall into – not just students at Harvard – is what he calls the “arrival fallacy.”

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The “arrival fallacy” is the belief that achieving a long-term, specific goal will make us happy. Yet when we do, the feeling is ultimately short-lived.

Consider my favorite golfer, who’s currently #1 in the world, Scottie Scheffler.

After winning a major golf tournament last year, he admitted that the happiness he felt from all of his worldly success was short lived. In fact, sometimes the euphoria of winning was gone in a matter of minutes!

“You get there,” he said to reporters after raising his trophy and receiving a seven-figure payout, “you get to No. 1 in the world, and you’re like, ‘What’s the point?’ … Does it fill the deepest wants and desires of my heart?”

“Absolutely not.”

Standing on top of the world, Scheffler reminded us that we all need more than worldly success in order to be happy. 

It’s not just him. 

Studies have shown that a majority of Olympic gold medalists suffer from clinical depression in the three months after winning their gold medal. Silver medalists suffer even more. 

I wonder if this will also be true for players who just competed in the World Cup, even the champions.

You get to #1 in the world…and what’s the point?

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Why is winning on the world stage or receiving a seven-figure payout not enough to make us happy?

Too often people succumb to the arrival fallacy, the belief that more money, more power, more pleasure, or more success will satisfy us. But it doesn’t.

According to Arthur Brooks, the path to happiness is a bit more complex. 

He identifies six different behaviors that happy people practice, each being like a tool leading us closer to the one thing that is so precious, so immensely valuable that we’d give everything else away to find it.

Happy people ask deep questions. They fall in love. They look upward. They’re spiritual or philosophical. They find a calling in their work. They seek beauty in nature, art, and music. And they’re not afraid of suffering.

Each of these practices is like a tool leading us closer to discovering that treasure buried in the field or the pearl of great price, God. 

As Saint Augustine, reaching the point of surrender after his own long, storied search for happiness, once said, “You have made us for yourself, O LORD, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”

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This is what Jesus is saying about the person in today’s Gospel who discovers the treasure buried in the field; he is changed forever. “Out of joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”

This is not an act of martyrdom; nor is it a decision driven by reluctance, grief, or despair. It’s a free decision, motivated entirely by joy! 

Such is the case when a soul encounters Christ.

When we are fed by his heart wisdom, when we experience his mercy and peace, when we feel the weight of life’s burdens lifted from our shoulders, when we discover our God-given purpose, we realize that nothing else can satisfy our hungry hearts.

As a result, Christians often begin re-prioritizing their worldly goals and possessions, dropping them to number two, three, or even lower on their list of importance, because we see just how empty worldly pursuits – or the arrival fallacy – can be. 

Think of Scottie Scheffler. “You get to No. 1 in the world, and you’re like, ‘What’s the point?’ … Does it fill the deepest wants and desires of my heart?”

“Absolutely not.”

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What am I searching for in life? What is the treasure buried in the field or the pearl of great price? 

Is it growth in my career? Image? Success? Worldly things?

Or is it Jesus?

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Happiness may seem elusive.

But we know where to find it.

It’s the real treasure buried in the field, the pearl of great price.

As the prophet Jeremiah joyfully proclaimed, “When I found your words I devoured them. They became my joy and the happiness of my heart, because I bore your name, O LORD, God of hosts.”

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Image credits: (1) Ardmore Institute of Health (2) PGA Tour (3) In Touch Ministries