17 June
2018
11th Sunday
Ordinary Time, Year B
•• Ezekiel 17:22-24 •• Psalm 92
•• 2 Corinthians 5:6-10 •• + Mark
4:26-34 ••
Title:
Price. Value. Parable of the Seed.
[__01__] I
read this on the website, the blog, of a real estate agent….
When you start thinking about buying your first house [or
any house], it’s easy to let your emotions run the show. Before you know it,
you’re stalking the owners of homes – you’re stalking homes for sale – maybe in
person or on your home-browsing app, you’re rearranging your schedule to drive
by your dream house to check it out, and you’re researching creative financing
options on your calculator or computer do the whole thing with no money down.
Price
is what we pay … value is
what we get. Price is also what we pay right now… value is what we get or hope
to have forever in our home.
[__02__] It seems as if the man of the parable
got a pretty good price and has a lot of value in his property. He has land,
seed, agriculture, a good climate of rain and sun and a field that is a sure
thing, and small structure of the seed grows into a great crop of grain. It’s a
sure thing for him. And, he does not even know how it happens. “He knows not
how.” (cf. Mark 4:27)
What is the PRICE + VALUE of the
Gospel, of the Kingdom?
I suggest that the Gospel has PRICE for us and a VALUE. A PRICE right now and VALUE for the future.
[__03__] E.g.,
the Commandments exact a price. And, they are PERCEPTIBLE. We can read the
Commandments, touch the Commandments, pay attention to the Commandments,
The 10 Commandments cost us
something to follow. According to these, we practice honesty: “thou shalt not
bear false witness” we are told.
Being truthful is a tangible way for
us to love and be loved – and avoid trouble.
It - this honesty - might cost us
something, but we believe: honesty is the best policy.
We want to be known by others that
our word is good, that we are trustworthy.
And, the contrary is true. If
someone has reason to be believe that I cannot be trusted, then it is like a
mathematical proof. If someone were to
have reason not to believe me – my “worth”
or market price goes down -- it could really cost me.
Following the Commandments is a way
to pay the price – TANGIBLY – to follow God’s ways.
[__04__] But the Gospel is not just about the
PAYING the price right now in everything that I can see and touch. It’s about
believing in what we cannot see – at least not right away.
For example, to believe that there
is value in you and me, to recognize that I am a sinner and in need of God’s
grace.
This is Good News. Knowing I am a sinner – or knowing
another person is a sinner – does not make me – or you – less valuable. This is the paradox of mercy and
POTENTIAL.
The paradox is that recognizing this
sinfulness – in myself and others – helps to build community and communion and
to avoid fear and find true friendship.
Mercy – forgiveness – is our POTENTIAL, our FUTURE VALUE.
Sometimes, it happens in hidden
ways, like the SEED that grows and the man “knows not how”. (Mark 4:27)
[__05__] This is also Father’s Day and last
month, May, was Mother’s Day, have given us things both by what they PAID (they
pay for a lot of stuff!) and by the VALUES they taught us.
[__06__] Recently a family member shared this
episode with me, this experience with her young daughter – who had just started
elementary school, kindergarten.
The child was anxious about the new
habitat: classroom, teacher, classmates, et
cetera et cetera.
[__07__] And, does not every person experience
this at some critical juncture, some critical point? It might not be the first
day of school in kindergarten or first grade, but might be the first day in a
new school, or high school, or college, at any age. It could be the first day –
for any of us – the first day or first few days of a new job, or the first few
days or years of being retired.
After several months of this, this
young child began to feel more comfortable, happier, more peaceful about the
PRESENT MOMENT, and could see that going to school was worth it. I will pay the
price of going to school, it has VALUE. I’m on board with this.
And, she announces to her mother,
very independently, a can-do attitude - “Mommy, I’m OK at school now. I’m OK,
you don’t have to worry about me anymore.”[**pause**]
That’s independence. She is 6. But,
true stability and value is not something we turn ON or OFF independently at 6
or 66 or 96.
Because God does worry about us,
Jesus is concerned about us, and we benefit by God’s love and concern. Heeding this concern, we learn things. And,
we learn things by people being concerned about us. Their concern helps in our
conversion.
This stability is a value that we
gain because God loves us, and we receive this love through our family and
friendships so that we can know that we are precious and valued in God’s eyes. [__fin__]
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