Seeking Wisdom, Surrendering to God, Finding the Treasure by Fr Nelson Lobo OFM Cap

 

WONDERING GURU

👉17th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Psalter Week -1, 30th July 2023

Fr Nelson Lobo OFM Cap

 1^st Reading: (1Kings 3:5, 7-12)- Solomon could have asked for riches, but rather he asked for the ability to fulfil his God given calling - to be a fair and just ruler in Israel. Solomon wanted the things of God ahead of any riches and honour for himself. What was most important for him at that time was to be able to walk God’s ways.  So, he chose a discerning heart to be able to be a good governor of God’s people.

WHY Solomon made such a good and wise choice in response to God’s question? I can think of two reasons:

1. His Father’s influence-The first reason was the good influence of David his father. We read in 1 Kings 2:1-3 of David giving Solomon a solemn charge “I am about to go the way of all earth…So be strong, show yourself a man and observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in his ways and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and his requirements …” (2 Kings 2: 2-3) Parents can have a real influence on their children – for good and for evil.

2. Solomon was committed to God’s will for him. He actually decided for himself that he would follow the ways of God. We cannot make a commitment to God for anyone else except ourselves. Parents can pray for their children and advise them but it is still THEIR decision whether or not they commit themselves to following God.  As they say: “You can take a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.” David wanted his son to follow God’s ways, but Solomon still had to decide to do so for himself.

2nd Reading: (Romans 8:28-30)- A young boy traveling by airplane to visit his grandparents sat beside a man who happened to be a seminary professor. The boy was reading a Sunday school take-home paper when the professor thought he would have some fun with the lad. "Young man," said the professor, "If you can tell me something God can do, I"ll give you a big, shiny apple." The boy thought for a moment and then replied, "Mister, if you can tell me something God can’t do, I"ll give you a whole barrel of apples!"

Even though many Christians can quote Romans 8:28, few of them fully realize the GREATER GOOD spoken about in the text. Only when we are able to completely surrender our rights, problems and perspectives to the Lord can we fully appropriate the greater working of God through our disappointments, hurt and difficulties. So be willing to roll all of your cares, fears and feelings of anger on to the Lord. (I Pet. 5:7). Learn to lovingly accept whatever God allows to come into your life since He is able to deliver you from any and all problems.

Gospel: (Mt 13: 44-52) The pearl is the oyster’s answer to that which wounded it. The pearl owes its existence to the oyster’s willingness to cover that which had cut it. Our part was the cutting, and God’s part was the covering.

A new convert to Christ says: "I found Christ." Yes, it may seem like we did find Christ. But it is Christ who offers the Treasurer and the Pearl to the people traveling along life's highway. The Truth is the sinner cannot "find Christ" for he is blind and stubborn. "There is no one who is righteous, not even one; there is no one who has understanding, there is no one who seeks God." (Rom 3:10)

Common interpretation: The Pearl and the treasure represents Jesus Christ, and the man is a seeker who gives all he has to obtain salvation. He turned his back on all he had to achieve heaven.  This involves single minded purpose and total commitment and dedication on the part of the seeker to find the pearl or the treasure that is Jesus Christ. True discipleship asks us to give up things and put on Christ, but that is sanctification, not salvation.

New Interpretation:  People aren’t seeking Jesus, but rather, Jesus is seeking them. This is the work of the Holy Spirit to call, to convict, to convince. The merchant man is Christ, and we, the church is that pearl which He purchases at great cost. He gave His all on calvary. He seeks and saves that which was lost. The pearl is a perfect picture of the church. It is formed miraculously, and for the purpose of being presented back to its maker. Its creator is the owner, just as the church was founded by Christ and is His bride! You are His pearl of great price, buried in a sea of sinfulness, lost, just a grain of sand, and He has poured out Himself upon you until you have become His godly pearl.

WHY PARABLES? by Fr Nelson Lobo OFM Cap

 

WONDERING GURU

WHY DARNEL? WHY MUSTARD SEED? WHY LEAVEN?

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

 Why Jesus used parables in his teaching & preaching?

Parables were stories that Jesus told to describe spiritual truths & realities people would have never seen or would never see. No one had ever seen the “Kingdom of God” Jesus was describing, So, He told parables to help people visualize what it was going to be like.

Why the Darnel?

Darnel is a weed that looks like the real thing, it has some of the characteristic of the real thing, but it is not the real thing. This tare like the wheat has been planted by the enemy. It grows in the same field, it receives the same water, the same sunshine, but it never produces any fruit. The tare being sown by Satan many times will be the cause of much of the trouble in the church. We live in a day and time when everyone around us looks like Christians. People have more religion today than ever before, yet they have never met Jesus Christ. This tare speaks of the people who go to church all the time. They do all the things a Christian is supposed to do, but they have never established a relationship with Jesus. The tare is among the wheat, but not of the wheat. Judas was among them but not of them. He went along through time, looking like a disciple, but he was never a true disciple. You may look like a Christian, you may act like a Christian, but unless Jesus resides on the inside of you, you can never be a true Christian, you have been deceived by satan and you are a counterfeit Christian.

Why a mustard seed?

Why choose the mustard seed to represent the Kingdom? Why choose something so common and so ordinary to paint a picture of the powerful and majestic Kingdom? Jesus chose the mustard seed for His parable because of its size. He used it because even something as small as a mustard seed had great power within it. Likewise, the Kingdom of God - the church – has the power to grow & to do things that no human institution can emulate (1 Cor 3:11). 

Why did Jesus choose the mustard seed to represent His Kingdom?

Because God is always consistent: He "chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things and the despised things— of this world and the things that are not— to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him." (1 Cor 1:27-29). Jesus chose the mustard seed, because of the humility it represented, and because of the Life giving power it had within it.

Why compare the Kingdom of God to a Tree?

The believer is often compared to a tree in the scriptures. Ps 1:1-6 Blessed is the man that does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly…he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season.  Jer 17:7-8 Blessed is the man that trusts in the Lord…For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreads out her roots by the river…. Is 61:1-3 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me…that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD. Just like we tell kids if they swallow water melon seeds, a tree will grow inside them so also a tree should grow within us. A spiritual “Tree of Life” should grow in us which represents the kingdom of God in our life.

What is the purpose of a tree in our life?  

Prov 11:30 says “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that wins souls is wise”. A tree bears fruit - God expects spiritual fruit in the life of a believer.  Gal 5:22-23; Eph 5:9-10; Mt 7:20 ...by their fruits you shall know them. This tree restores to man the eternal life that was lost in the Garden of Eden.

Why Leaven?

Jesus took his parable from something that he had often seen his mother do. In Jewish language leaven is almost always connected with an evil influence. (Mt 16:6; 1Cor 5:6-8; Gal 5:9). So, Jesus anticipated a certain shock in hearing the kingdom of God compared to leaven.  The shock would arouse interest in what Jesus said.  The whole point of the parable lies in one thing-the transforming power of the leaven. 

What do we learn from these parables?

·       There is always a hostile power in the world seeking and waiting to destroy the good seed.

·       It’s very difficult to distinguish between those who are in the kingdom and those who are not. Some appear to be good but they are bad. Some appear to be bad but they are good.

·       We learn not to be quick with our judgements. Judgement had to wait until the harvest time.

·       Size doesn’t matter to God-We will never be too small for God. God is concerned with what we are becoming.

·       The Christian life is like a tree that bears life giving fruit (Mt 7:17-20)

·       God promises we will partake of the Tree of Life.  (Rev 2:7)

·       Finally, Christianity is a religion of hope. It has the power to transform lives and societies.

 👉16th Sunday in ordinary Time, 23rd July 2023

The Parable of The Sower, The Seed and The Soils by Fr Nelson Lobo OFM Cap

 WONDERING GURU

Isaiah 55:10-11; Romans 8: 18-23; Mt. 13:1-9

Introduction: The first recorded parable of Jesus most probably was “The Parable of the Sower and the seed”. It is a foundation parable of the Kingdom of God. Interpretations of most of Jesus’ parables are not recorded, but in this case, we have it spelt out clearly so we don’t need to speculate. The aim of the parables was to draw out from the crowds the few who would grasp what Jesus was driving at. These fascinating parables would be the window of understanding, the filter, to separate those who believed in Jesus and those who rejected Him. The classic definition of a parable is “an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.” It tells us in familiar human terms something about God’s reign in human life and His terms for the salvation of humankind. Let’s consider the constituents of the parable.

WHO IS THE SOWER?

There can be no doubt that it’s Jesus! He was sowing seed as He travelled the country preaching the good news of the Kingdom. He was fulfilling what had been prophesied by Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor …”. He was clearing up the misunderstandings of God’s message over the centuries. His Kingdom was coming in with seeds, not swords; with God’s revelation of His mysteries, not human wisdom; with changed lives through redemption, not Satan’s domination. The Sower symbolizes not only Jesus Christ, but also all who are engaged in preaching the Gospel. In every age God has called men and women to be His messengers.  Paul tells the believers in Corinth: “For we are God’s fellow workers” (1 Cor 3:9).

WHAT IS THE SEED?

Jesus Himself gives the key to understanding how the Kingdom of God is to be found: The seed is the word of God” (Lk 8:11). The Word of God is a life-giving seed waiting to be implanted in the receiving hearts. It has the power to transform human hearts. Paul said, “It is the power of God for salvation” (Rom 1:16).

WHAT ARE THE SOILS?

It’s obvious that the soil is the human heart. Jesus describes one sowing but four different soils which explains why people respond as they do. Neither the Sower nor the seed can change the soil. The same Sower and seed produced no crop, some crop, or much crop, depending on the soil. Jesus began His explanation of the Parable by describing three categories of “bad-soil” hearers. There’s:

Seed along the Path: Fields in Palestine were small and separated from one another by paths where the soil was beaten flat under human feet and the summer sun. As the sower walked down the field, some landed on this impenetrable soil and “birds came and ate it up” – in other words “the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown.” These are people who clearly say “NO” to the Gospel. Sadly, the Word of God enters in their one ear and passes through the other ear. This can happen to any professing Christians.

Seed on the Rock: There was a thin layer of soil on the rock, allowing seeds to germinate but the plants could never get good roots. When the sun beat down, they withered and died. Jesus said it portrayed “the man who hears the word … with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time.” It’s possible to make an enthusiastic initial response but it doesn’t last. It’s all emotion. The cost of being a Christian hasn’t been counted. These are people who respond uncertainly to the seed of the Word – it’s “YES AND NO” – they want to keep a foot in both camps, but it does not work that way.

Seed among Thorns: Jesus refers to the soil of the heart where a person “hears the word but worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.” This person answers to the call of God by saying “YES BUT”. Their life becomes clogged with materialism and worldliness.

Good-Soil: The good-soil person, “is the man/woman who hears the word and understands it”. The reply to the call of the Word is an unequivocal “YES”. Jesus said that the qualification for good-soil is that it “produces a crop”. “Fruit” says Jesus, is “showing yourself to be my disciples” (Jn 15:8). It is “all goodness, righteousness and truth … what pleases the Lord” (Eph 5:9,10). It’s the “fruit of the Spirit … love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Gal 5:22). Perseverance is the hallmark of the truly converted person and will “produce a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” It results in the further production of seed - the Word of God being made available to another generation who need to hear the Gospel.

Jesus, as ever, ends the Parable on a note of challenge, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” The Master Sower Himself is asking us: “What kind of hearer are you?” Is our hearing impaired by the secular noise level of our busy lives? One day, God is going to hold us accountable for our spiritual productivity.

 

 

 

 

Come To Me and Rest by Fr Nelson Lobo OFM Cap

 

WONDERING GURU

STORY: One of the classic films of 1987 was The Mission. In it, a soldier, Captain Mendoza, kills his brother in a feud over a woman they both love. Afterward, desperately depressed and consumed by remorse, he feels that the only way to get rid of his burden of guilt and sin is to perform some sort of penance. So, he ties a huge net to his back, fills it with boulders, and sets himself to climb a high mountain. In the company of a priest and some others, he travels over rocks, swamps and thick brush, across rivers and through forests. You see him, cut, bruised and bleeding, a broken figure, crawling up the mountainside, the huge weight dragging behind him. From time to time, the others in the group urge him to let go of the burden. "You don’t have to carry it anymore," they say. But he cannot leave it. Eventually, reaching the top of the mountain, he collapses, exhausted. And then a little boy comes up to him and cuts the net from him. As the net and rocks cascade down the mountainside, Mendoza is filled with a feeling of total release; his burden is gone and he feels he has been forgiven.

When we look around at the people who attend the church, what do we see? We see people, dressed in fine clothes and wonderful make up. But if you talk to them personally, we see hurting people in need of comfort; troubled people in need of peace; sick people in need of healing. The sad fact is that we all have something that puts us under enormous pressure and stress from time to time. Weariness is simply a problem that we all face in this life. Job said that, “Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble” (Job 14:1).

Marshall Hayden wrote an article entitled, "Would Every Non-Hurter Please Stand Up?" He pointed out that people come to church wearing their best clothes & their best smiles. Everybody looks happy, so we assume everything is okay. But he suggested that we need to look beyond the facade & realize that the pews are full of hurting people.

·       There are hurting families whose income is much less than their expenditures.

·       There are hurting children who never receive appreciation or encouragement from their elders.

·       There are wives who constantly suffer from drunkard or narcissistic husbands.

·       There are men and women suffering from cancer, tumour, kidney problems, skin allergies, headaches and backaches who are waiting for a healing miracle.

·       There are couples who have nasty fights and think of divorce.

·       There are some searching for a job and those who lost their jobs.

·       Then there are those of us with lesser hurts, but they look big to us: a boring job, a poor grade, a friend or parent who is indifferent. The lonely, the discouraged, they're all here.

And it is to such people that Jesus is saying, in Matthew 11:28-30, "Come to me, all you who are weary & burdened, & I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you & learn from me, for I am gentle & humble in heart, & you will find rest for your souls." This is not to say that He will resolve every problem immediately, for Jesus clearly said that we will have trouble in this world. But He can resolve our problems if we trust in Him. In some cases, He may resolve the problem immediately. In other cases, He grants the power to endure the difficulty & triumph over it. 

Bible is full of such stories of hurting people. Why such stories in the Bible? Why did God leave us one tale after another of wounded lives being restored? So, we could be grateful for the past? So, we could look back with amazement at what Jesus did? No! The purpose of these stories is not to tell us what Jesus did. Their purpose is to tell us what Jesus does. "In Romans 15:4 Paul wrote, 'Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance & the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.' These are not children's stories, or romantic fables for entertainment or information. These are historic moments in which a real God met real pain so we could answer the question, ‘Where is God when I hurt?’

·       How does God react to dashed hopes? Read the story of Jairus.

·       How does God feel about those who are ill? Stand with him at the pool of Bethesda.

·       What is God’s word for the shameful? Watch as his finger draws in the dirt.

·       How does God respond when there are obstacles in your path? Read the resurrection stories of Lazarus and Jesus. I know that there are stones in your path. Stones that trip and stones that trap. Stones that are too big. But have faith. Our God is so big and so mighty that there’s nothing our God cannot do.

The God who spoke still speaks. The God who forgave still forgives. The God who came still comes into our world. He comes to move the stones that we cannot move. As the first reading invites us (Zech 9:9-10) let us not worry too much but rejoice like the daughter of Zion because our Messiah comes to bring us comfort and rest.  But we need to have the spirit of Christ in order to rejoice as the second reading tells us (Rom 8:9, 11-13). Jesus meek and humble of heart hear us. Amen!

 

 “You only want what you ain’t got.” What ain’t he got? “Peace!” said Harrison Ford: The actor whose movies have grossed over 2 billion dollars