In the selections
from the Gospel of Matthew that we are reading at Eucharist, Jesus proposes
parables about the Kingdom of God for the crowds from the local experiences
that they understand. “To what shall we compare the Kingdom of God? He says,
“The Kingdom of God may be likened to a man who sowed seed."
"The Kingdom
of God is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed…”
“The Kingdom
of God is like yeast that a woman took and mixed…”
Jesus’
examples of how to understand the Kingdom of God stirred my imagination to
look around me to see what local experiences could be compared to the Kingdom
of God present in our midst. I came up
with two:
The Kingdom of God is like the
cucumber vines in
our monastery garden which are daily producing such an abundance of
cucumbers. They are multiplying so fast that we can hardly keep up with gathering them, cooking them, slicing them,
pickling them, canning them, and storing them for consumption throughout the rest of
the year. We love our bread and
butter pickles.The cucumber vines have become
a community building event.
While sitting
at the front desk doing my portress' duty the last few weeks, I have been
watching many young people biking up to our front walk, or driving up and
parking for a short time, getting out and working on their smart phones and iPads till they get a Pokémon-Go signal and capture a character, give a smile of success, and then off they
go to the next site.
The Kingdom of God is like the Pokémon-Go
game that is
energizing our young people to go out to designated sites, capture a character, and
move on to search for more. Our front gate, the Monastery front entrance, and the lake by the infirmary are three of
these designated spots. I believe more folks have located and
identified St. Walburg Monastery building through this game than anything
else. Let us hope that this game will
continue to stimulate good sharing among friends and families locally and all
over the world, and keep them searching for all the wonderful gifts and
surprises God has in store for them.
In the Give
Us This Day July issue, Fr. Ronald Witherup, reflects on the Parables
of Matthew: “As you hear each parable,
you might ask yourself: what does it
tell me about God and God’s priorities?
Not every parable has a moral about our
life.Sometimes they tell us that God’s
Kingdom grows secretly and mysteriously (like the mustard seed or the yeast),
or that it contains every kind of person (the net) whom only God will judge
when the kingdom finally comes.Jesus’
main advice: If you have ears, then
listen.”
To what can you compare
the Kingdom of God around you?
Sr. Mary
Tewes, OSB,
Thank-you Sr Mary for the inspirational reminder...the Good News of the world. Yes we need to seek the Kingdom of God in this world too. Make this world a better place...
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy to hear that young people are finding the monastery. Thank you Sr. Mary.
ReplyDeletewonderful post and worth reading a few times - I realized that I do not understand the phrase "Kingdom of God" why does He say that? It is a strange way to tell a parable. How can a kingdom be a mustard seed? the cucumber vines parable needs some more detail -- you didn't mention the caterpillars or the blights, or the life-saving properties of the pickles after they have matured for a few weeks. I am not sure whose instrument this Pokemon-go game is, it sounds like the creation of you-know-who (I omit the name) but by God's grace even he will build for goodness (tho it was not what he thought he was doing). For sure, good publicity is the lifeblood of survival, and this is vital for sisters and brothers and the good churches of the world. We must be spoken about and be visible in the media. In so many respects we live in an age which requires us to take up new energies to preserve the old -- if I was over there, I would beg a jar of your pickles for my health, God bless and thank you!
ReplyDeleteThank You Sr. for the thoughtful post - I really like the reference to the Pokemon-Go game too. Who would have guessed? Looking forward to the next post.
ReplyDeleteThe Kingdom's like the doe and three fawns that browse at the edge of the woods here, and me. They are aware of each other and of me. I stand entirely still to longer enjoy sharing this place with them. When they go back into the woods we are all included in the realm of neighboring lives.
ReplyDelete