The Jesus Trailer

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 17:1-9.
Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother, John,
and led them up a high mountain by themselves.
And he was transfigured before them;
his face shone like the sun
and his clothes became white as light.
And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them,
conversing with him.
Then Peter said to Jesus in reply,
"Lord, it is good that we are here.
If you wish, I will make three tents here,
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."
While he was still speaking, behold,
a bright cloud cast a shadow over them,
then from the cloud came a voice that said,
"This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased;
listen to him."
When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate
and were very much afraid.
But Jesus came and touched them, saying,
"Rise, and do not be afraid."
And when the disciples raised their eyes,
they saw no one else but Jesus alone.

As they were coming down from the mountain,
Jesus charged them,
"Do not tell the vision to anyone
until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."

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Reflection
Trailers have become a business of their own. Every new Hollywood flick out there must always have a trailer on YouTube. It's part of the film promotion. Potential viewers get a glimpse of what the movie is about. This Sunday's Transfiguration is what I call Jesus' own trailer of what is to come.

First, Jesus brought a limited audience (think of limited previews for some films). The inner circle of Peter, James and John were the privileged ones among the twelve to scale up the mountain to witness the epiphany. These three were the first disciples to follow Christ and seems to be closest to Him. Jesus  has his best friends too. He brought them with Him not to show off His celestial powers. "Hey, guys, see what I can do!" No. They were chosen as witnesses because their faith had to be strengthened.

It was only in the previous chapter of Matthew that Peter expressed his faith in Jesus: "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." (Mat 16:16 NRS) They were still beginning to fathom the significance of this statement and the shadow of the cross is getting nearer and nearer. When faced with the absurdity of the cross, these disciples have nothing to hold on to unless they truly know who Jesus is.

So they scaled up the mountain. Like Moses and his three companions: Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Jesus and the three went up to meet God. In the Bible, the phrase 'to go up' usually hints of praying and worship because God's epiphanies or manifestations are often associated with high places. But Peter, James and John would be dumbfounded to experience in a vision that God was them all long. "This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!" (Mat 17:5 NRS)

While trailers and previews are all about the spectacle, the Transfiguration did not limit itself to wonder and awe. The three certainly were. Even Peter could not make sense out of it much more the words that he spoke. Jesus had to reveal to them His glorious form and the Father had to make His voice heard again for them to realize the hope of a future glory which is in the Person of Jesus Christ. Yet this hope does not come from visions or spectacle. It comes the most important part of the passage as the Father commands, "listen to him!"

The hope of the Resurrection which we find in Jesus only becomes ours if we listen to Him. It is a hope that we too will share in the glorious form revealed in the Transfiguration, that there is a reality that goes beyond the beauty and limits of this world. It is a hope accessed by faith in listening. Jesus knows too well that we need to be strengthened as we go through life, as we face our daily crosses. So He plants that hope in us to spur us on. Just like trailers, the Transfiguration previews the main attraction. More than that, it also allows us to already enter, and not just watch passively, the main feature: the life of Jesus Christ in us.

The Joy of the Kingdom

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 13:44-52.
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.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea,
which collects fish of every kind.
When it is full they haul it ashore
and sit down to put what is good into buckets.
What is bad they throw away.
Thus it will be at the end of the age.
The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous
and throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.

"Do you understand all these things?"
They answered, "Yes."
And he replied,
"Then every scribe who has been instructed in the kingdom of heaven
is like the head of a household
who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old."

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Reflection
The past Sundays' Gospel readings are part of the 'Day of Parables' with Jesus in Matthew. We have been tackling several parables of the Kingdom of God. These short stories are Jesus' way of explaining the mystery of the Kingdom and to think that there are many of them, the Kingdom must be inexhaustible. Jesus made it clear that to establish the Kingdom here on earth is his primary mission.

What makes Jesus so passionate about it? Today's readings speak of two men: one stumbled upon something valuable, while another found it in his search. The first was unintentional, the second intentional. These perhaps are the two ways we discover the Kingdom in our lives. Either we just stumble upon it or that we search for it throughout our lives. In both instances, the two men were filled with joy and excitement they were able to leave everything else for what they found.

The Kingdom of God is something that possesses us with joy and excitement. It captivates us and challenges us to leave everything else for its sake. It gives us meaning and reason. Whether we found it or it found us what matters is the encounter of love and joy. We can say that the Kingdom is a state where God's love is reigning over you. You suddenly find that your life has meaning and direction in the service of God or that a series of difficulties forced you to look at your life with the eyes of God and you find peace. A deeper look into the Kingdom would reveal that it is about Jesus. Jesus is the Kingdom of God made man. When you found him or that he found you, he gives meaning to your life and you can put down everything else to follow him.

Time and Growth in the Kingdom of Heaven

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 13:24-43.
Jesus proposed another parable to the crowds, saying:
"The kingdom of heaven may be likened
to a man who sowed good seed in his field.
While everyone was asleep his enemy came
and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off.
When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well.
The slaves of the householder came to him and said,
'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field?
Where have the weeds come from?'
He answered, 'An enemy has done this.'
His slaves said to him,
'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'
He replied, 'No, if you pull up the weeds
you might uproot the wheat along with them.
Let them grow together until harvest;
then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters,
"First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning;
but gather the wheat into my barn."'"

He proposed another parable to them.
"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.

Then, dismissing the crowds, he 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."

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Reflection
The Gospel this Sunday is exceptionally long. This is understandable since it tries to explain an ineffable reality in the Kingdom of Heaven. Ask any priest today what the Kingdom of Heaven is and you will get diverse answers. Today, Matthew gives us three parables to explain it: the wheat and weeds, the mustard seed, and the yeast and flour. Let us focus our reflection on two themes: time and growth.

In all three parables, a theme is evident - that of silent growth. The Kingdom of Heaven according to Matthew is not an instant Kingdom that appears out of nowhere. No, unlike our culture of speed and instant gratification, the Kingdom of Heaven grows in each of us in silence. Different species of wheat grow at different rates before being harvested, some in four months, the others up to eight months. Before the advent of microbiology with Louis Pasteur in 1879 and the proliferation of commercial yeasts, early bakers had to capture wild yeast from their environment, culture it, and add it to the dough. The process of fermentation or the 'rising' of the bread takes hours. Slower rises means tastier bread for them. All in all baking bread in the ancient world takes time. Contrast that today when how easily one could purchase bread from the bakeshop.

The point of the parables is clear. The Kingdom of Heaven works silently within us. St. Paul in his Letter to the Romans as this Sunday's second reading, points out the real reason for this silent growth. The Spirit who teaches us how to pray as we ought is the God that moves within each of us inspiring us to grow. The period of 'instant' creation belongs to Genesis. Our era is the period of rising 'doughs'. God is giving humanity the space and time to grow.

For those who allow God to work through them, a great promise is given. Jesus points out the seemingly impossible results that come out of Christian growth. Like the mustard seed, the 'smallest of all seeds', that grows into a majestic tree, a Christian in the process of conversion is meant to dominate the spiritual landscape so that the birds of heaven can rest in his branches. Remember our late bloomer in St. Augustine who once lived a life of decadence, has through the years of conversion and growth in the Spirit become a spiritual giant in the Church. Look at the life of St. Therese of the Child Jesus who was, like the seed planted in the ground, hidden from the world has become the patron of missions! The Kingdom of Heaven is marked by phenomenal growth, remarkable as the power that inspires its growth in every man.

If to provide a partial answer to the perennial problem of evil, "if there is a God why is there evil in the world?", we look to the parable of the wheat and weeds. The patience of God is given to both wheat and weed. God tolerates evil and evil men. Here we see a glimpse of God's Wisdom. Through centuries of reflection in the Church we have come to realize that humanity is inherently good and is capable of doing good and is meant to be so. God has made everything good. All of us are wheat planted in the world by God. Because of human freedom and human frailty we have the tendency to turn sour, to turn evil, to turn weed. There is a real enemy behind every resistance to the urging of the Spirit and he sows the weed within each of us if we allow him to. Yet in the presence of all these evil, God tolerates our failures. Why? Maybe because He still believes in the goodness that He has planted within each of us, if only we allow it to grow.

The main hero of this section on the Kingdom of Heaven in Matthew is the God who according to the Book of Wisdom in the first reading 'cares for all' and the psalms proclaim as 'good and forgiving.' He is the ground of the Kingdom of Heaven in which we are to grow. If God has been provident, caring, and patient with us, shouldn't we be to others but most especially to ourselves?