July 27, 2008: 17th Sunday Ordinary Time (A)
Many of us when we were young played Hide-&-Seek. It was really fun. There was a thrill in finding your brother or sister who thought they could outsmart you. It didn’t require batteries and definitely it wasn’t a couch-potato activity. Now, some of you may have heard of Geocaching. It’s a technologically advanced version of Hide-&-Seek. You log on to a website, and they list a number of things hidden in various spots in town. They give you a GPS coordinate, and so with a handheld GPS in your hand, you drive to find out where it is. There is no money or valuable hidden in there. Yet when we are on a hunt for something, we are restless until we find it.
Sometimes we don’t know exactly what we want or need. Yet we are compelled to find it. When I was sophomore at UT Austin, I felt some sort of emptiness, as if something is missing and I need to go find it. I tried New Age books and that did not help me find it. There was no GPS coordinate, and I didn’t know what I was looking for. Then my girl friend at that time invited me to a prayer meeting. A group of guys at the meeting asked me, “Are you saved?” I said, “No.” They asked, “Do you want to be saved?” “Yes.” I hoped may be this Jesus thing may be the answer. I prayed the prayer to invite Jesus into my life, and from that point on, I was on a search?search for Jesus. Have you heard of the term ‘church hopping?’ I did three years of church hopping trying to find the perfect church that had Jesus. I went to a Methodist church, a Church of Christ, a Pentecostal church, and an Episcopal church. Then with the prayers and urging of my mother, I went back to Catholic Church. It was in the Catholic Church that I truly felt that Jesus was there. Yet even when we are in the Catholic Church our search for Jesus hasn’t ended, has it? Outside of a Catholic church, I saw a sign that read, “Find Jesus in the Catholic Church.” Some of the Catholic folks want more vibrant music, charismatic preacher, and better fellowship so they leave the Catholic Church. Certainly what they are seeking is good; but all of that pales in comparison with the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist?his real body, soul, humanity, and divinity are all right here.
Today Jesus gives us three parables of people in search of something valuable. He begins, “The King of heaven is like…treasure buried in a field...like a pearl of great price…like fish caught in the net.” What does Jesus mean by the Kingdom of heaven? Pope Benedict XVI in his book Jesus of Nazareth says that the Kingdom of heaven is Jesus himself. Jesus is the one whom, when we find him, is worth selling everything else for. I found a good example this week at the funeral of Mr. Bert Turner, the founder and CEO of the Turner Industries. When I approached the casket to pay my respect, I noticed that the casket was a simple pine box. Here was a man who understood that apart from Jesus we cannot take to heaven anything else that we think are more precious than Jesus.
We have found Jesus here at St. Aloysius Church. Are we still looking for something else?
Sometimes we don’t know exactly what we want or need. Yet we are compelled to find it. When I was sophomore at UT Austin, I felt some sort of emptiness, as if something is missing and I need to go find it. I tried New Age books and that did not help me find it. There was no GPS coordinate, and I didn’t know what I was looking for. Then my girl friend at that time invited me to a prayer meeting. A group of guys at the meeting asked me, “Are you saved?” I said, “No.” They asked, “Do you want to be saved?” “Yes.” I hoped may be this Jesus thing may be the answer. I prayed the prayer to invite Jesus into my life, and from that point on, I was on a search?search for Jesus. Have you heard of the term ‘church hopping?’ I did three years of church hopping trying to find the perfect church that had Jesus. I went to a Methodist church, a Church of Christ, a Pentecostal church, and an Episcopal church. Then with the prayers and urging of my mother, I went back to Catholic Church. It was in the Catholic Church that I truly felt that Jesus was there. Yet even when we are in the Catholic Church our search for Jesus hasn’t ended, has it? Outside of a Catholic church, I saw a sign that read, “Find Jesus in the Catholic Church.” Some of the Catholic folks want more vibrant music, charismatic preacher, and better fellowship so they leave the Catholic Church. Certainly what they are seeking is good; but all of that pales in comparison with the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist?his real body, soul, humanity, and divinity are all right here.
Today Jesus gives us three parables of people in search of something valuable. He begins, “The King of heaven is like…treasure buried in a field...like a pearl of great price…like fish caught in the net.” What does Jesus mean by the Kingdom of heaven? Pope Benedict XVI in his book Jesus of Nazareth says that the Kingdom of heaven is Jesus himself. Jesus is the one whom, when we find him, is worth selling everything else for. I found a good example this week at the funeral of Mr. Bert Turner, the founder and CEO of the Turner Industries. When I approached the casket to pay my respect, I noticed that the casket was a simple pine box. Here was a man who understood that apart from Jesus we cannot take to heaven anything else that we think are more precious than Jesus.
We have found Jesus here at St. Aloysius Church. Are we still looking for something else?
