A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew 13:10-17
(Glory to you O Lord!)
The disciples approached Jesus and said,
“Why do you speak to the crowd in parables?”
He said to them in reply,
“Because knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven
has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted.
To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich;
from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
This is why I speak to them in parables, because
they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.
Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says:
You shall indeed hear but not understand,
you shall indeed look but never see.
Gross is the heart of this people,
they will hardly hear with their ears,
they have closed their eyes,
lest they see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their hearts and be converted
and I heal them.
“But blessed are your eyes, because they see,
and your ears, because they hear.
Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people
longed to see what you see but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”
The Gospel of the Lord (Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ!).
Reflection: Open our minds and hearts
In today’s Gospel reading, we hear how the disciples were asking Jesus why He spoke to the crowds in parables.
Jesus then shared that he was fulfilling the prophecy of the prophet Isaiah and said. “because
they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.
Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them”.
And how true that this prophecy was indeed fulfilled. The people were in the very presence of our Lord Jesus, but some of them could not or refused to understand what He was teaching.
Why we may ask? Because their hearts and their minds were hardened. Their minds and hearts may have been full of the worries of the world, or some of them may have been prideful and full of themselves, and some may have thought only of their own superiority, and status in society.
Some of the people in the crowd may have been saying, who is this, isn’t this the son of the carpenter, where does he get all this, what is he talking about?
Isn’t it sad to realize that we humans have the tendency to be selfish, to reject the ideas or wisdom from others, even though we hear something that could be helpful or true, or a great idea, to even be condescending in our thoughts, our hearts, our minds and speech, to judge the ideas or comments of others because of our own pride or jealousy?
If only the naysayers knew what we know now, that they were in the very presence of the creator of the universe, Jesus is the Messiah, the son of God, the savior of the world, the king of Kings and Lord of Lords. The source of all knowledge and wisdom. The king of the universe! Our Almighty God!
Brothers and sisters, our Lord Jesus shares with us His wisdom, the good news of his kingdom that leads to living lives of holiness, by sowing seeds of hope and love into our hearts and minds that leads to eternal life in Paradise. Open up our hearts and minds and listen to his words of wisdom.
Action for the Day:
Make time for God in silent prayer. Ask God for forgiveness for all of our shortcomings. Share our thoughts, our joys, our frustrations, our petitions, and our gratitude for all the blessings that we have received. Lift up the things that we need to change in ourselves that we can’t change on our own. Lord Jesus, you knew us even before we were formed in our mother’s womb. Guide us through your spirit to overcome our jealous pride and our selfish tendencies. Guide us on how we can truly love one another and to live lives of holiness.
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Thank you, Deacon Gregg. God bless.