[00:00:05] Hello, my name is Sally Moriarty-Flask. Welcome to: From His Word to Our Hearts, my weekly Bible Study podcast. Together we will explore the readings to be proclaimed at the Catholic Mass on Sunday, July 26, 2026, the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time.
[00:00:24] This week's episode is entitled: Treasure Hunt, and our readings this week challenge us to better understand exactly what treasure we consider to be worth obtaining and protecting.
[00:00:40] As we journey through the readings this week, consider the following:
Jesus teaches his disciples three short parables this week - each one telling of some type of treasure, although Jesus isn't talking about worldly treasure, Solomon's request for wisdom shows that not every treasure is visible, and Paul reminds us that God always cares for those who love him… that God wants us to be with him in his kingdom. We should see the kingdom as a great treasure, but all-too-often we become distracted by the fleeting treasures of this world and forget the importance of the kingdom. So, how do we gain the wisdom necessary to focus on the kingdom rather than the world?
[00:01:34] Let's begin in prayer:
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Heavenly Father, your Son teaches us the true value of the kingdom, but we allow ourselves to be distracted by the world. We ask that you impart upon us some small measure of the wisdom you gave to Solomon, so that we will recognize and long for the great treasure of your heavenly kingdom. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Now that we've opened our hearts in prayer, let's listen to what God is telling us in the Scriptures.
[00:02:12] Our Gospel this week is from Matthew 13: 44-52.
[00:02:19] “[Jesus said to his disciples:] ‘The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net which was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind; when it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into vessels but threw away the bad. So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous, and throw them into the furnace of fire; where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Have you understood all this?’ They said to him, ‘Yes.’ And he said to them, ‘Therefore, every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.’”
[00:03:42] This week our Gospel narrative again picks up where the previous week left off. Jesus is in Capernaum, he is in a house - likely one belonging to Simon Peter - and he is again speaking to his disciples.
[00:03:59] Like last week, there are three parables in this week's passage that are all thematically linked - but this week Jesus doesn't explain any of them. Instead, he simply asks his disciples a question.
[00:04:18] This passage ends Jesus’ current spate of teaching in parables… he won't resume those teachings until chapter 18, and we won't hear any of those until September. And again this week, there is a shorter and a longer version of this Gospel, which is kind of surprising since this passage isn't really all that long. The shorter version, however, ends after the second parable. But as always, I really hope your home parish chooses to proclaim the entire Gospel, because - like the original disciples - we too need to hear and understand all of Jesus' words. And by the way, all three of these parables are only found in Matthew.
[00:05:09] So let's listen to what Jesus has to say this week…
“[Jesus said to his disciples:] ‘The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up;’”
[00:05:24] In our modern world, where people store valuables in bank vaults and safety deposit boxes, finding a treasure in a field seems far-fetched and nonsensical… but it was actually not uncommon. Before banks and other secure storage facilities became commonplace, people would bury their valuables somewhere on their property in times of war, civil unrest, or persecution. In fact, that practice continued right into the 19th century when people buried precious items so they wouldn't be looted or confiscated to during the Civil War here in the United States. And notice that when the man finds this hidden treasure, he immediately buries it again to keep it safe so that no one else can claim it.
“then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”
[00:06:26] The man sacrifices everything else he possesses because he realizes the value of the hidden treasure he discovered. But Jesus is not talking about gold or china or fine jewels - he says right at the beginning of this parable that he is talking about the kingdom of heaven! So, he is telling all of his disciples - including us - that nothing is more valuable than the kingdom.
[00:06:58] “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls,”
[00:07:04] This starts out a bit differently, doesn't it? The man in the first parable simply stumbles across the treasure. In this parable, we are told that the man is actively searching for something better… that he routinely deals in pearls - meaning that he has a pretty good life to begin with - but he is in search of something more. And that this man…
[00:07:32] “on finding one pearl of great value,”
In other words, something completely life changing!
“went and sold all that he had and bought it.”
[00:07:48] So the second parable has the same outcome… the man obtains the treasure, but this time with intent.
[00:07:58] This merchant knows that he is searching for something greater than his current life provides, and he is able to recognize it when he finds it. This second parable ends the shorter version of this week's Gospel, which does make a certain amount of sense since both parables are so similar.
Both present surprising and life-changing events and both result in people being willing to leave everything behind to possess such great treasure. The greater message Jesus is teaching, however, is not about worldly treasure, remember, but about the kingdom.
[00:08:44] He is telling his disciples that they have to be willing to leave behind everything that is valuable to them in this world in order to follow him. Now, that may seem like he's preaching to the choir (so to speak) because - after all - the disciples have already done that… but he is also preparing them to become teachers.
[00:09:14] They will eventually be responsible for continuing his mission, so they need to be ready… they need to understand how best to present Jesus' message… and so do we!
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net which was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind;”
[00:09:40] This parable is more like the parables Jesus has been teaching for the past couple of weeks… it reminds the disciples that there is both good and evil in the world, and that it isn't up to them (or to us) to judge what is good or what isn't. The net Jesus mentions represents the angels who are gathering souls for judgment… and this time it's a maritime example rather than an agricultural one - but an example that all of his disciples would have instantly recognized. And because salvation is offered to everyone, fish of every kind are gathered in the net, just as the weeds grew up alongside the wheat in the parable we heard last week.
“when it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into vessels but threw away the bad.”
That also would have been instantly recognizable to the disciples. Many of them were fishermen, and after a night of fishing, they would return to the shore themselves and they would sort the catch of fish they brought in… some fish were good, some were not.
[00:11:08] “So it will be at the close of the age.”
The Second Coming when all of us will be judged.
“The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous,”
There is that common thread again - that good and evil co-exist in the world… and that all are given as many opportunities as possible to repent… even up to Judgment Day itself. But once we are judged, the evil will be separated and the angels will…
“throw them into the furnace of fire; where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
We don't know - we can't know - in this life what hell will be like… we do know that it will be eternal separation from God and eternal exile from God's kingdom. Jesus often uses images of fire to represent God's punishment because it was a commonly understood metaphor in his time. In fact, there was a specific place outside the city of Jerusalem called Gehenna, which was already associated with divine punishment! It was a place where ritual sacrifices had been offered, where certain kings of Judah, in the past, had burned their own children as sacrifices to false gods, and for that reason it was cursed by the prophet Jeremiah. So, when Jesus says that evildoers will be thrown into the furnace of fire, that is the image Jesus’ disciples would have pictured. Then Jesus asks a question…
“Have you understood all this?”
[00:13:09] Jesus provides no explanation… he simply asks that question.
[00:13:16] “They said to him, ‘Yes.’”
Okay… they said: Yes. but - we know from hearing the Gospels every year, we know from reading the Gospels ourselves - that they really didn't fully understand everything just yet. They will… but they don't at this point… just as we don't understand everything at this point. That's why we keep reading and listening and studying - there's always more to learn.
“And he said to them, ‘Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.’”
Remember, Scribes were scholars of the Law, certainly, but they were also trained to interpret and teach the Law. In fact, according to the book of Sirach, a true scribe will “penetrate the subtleties of parables” and “seek out the hidden meanings of proverbs.”
[00:14:22] So when Jesus says: scribes who are trained for the kingdom - he means his disciples. He is teaching them about the kingdom of heaven; therefore, they are the new scribes trained for the kingdom. And when Jesus compares his disciples to a householder that brings out what is new and what is old… he means that they might must understand his teachings - for they are what “is new” while also understanding the Jewish Scriptures, what Christians call the Old Testament, for they are precisely what “is old.”
But Jesus is also very clear that both the new and the old teachings are part of one unified treasure - one great deposit of knowledge. We should see the kingdom of heaven as a great treasure, one that is worth sacrificing everything we have to obtain… but we are easily distracted by the world, and we forget the importance of the kingdom. So, how do we gain the wisdom we need to remain focused on heaven rather than the world around us?
[00:15:53] Well, let's see how Solomon did that in our First Reading, which is from
1 Kings 3: 5, 7-12.
“The LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, ‘Ask what I shall give you.’ And Solomon answered: ‘O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered or counted for multitude. Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil; for who is able to govern this great people of yours?’ It pleased the LORD that Solomon had asked this. And God said to him, ‘Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you.’”
You may remember that the Old Testament is divided into four broad categories: the Pentateuch (which is the first five books of the Bible), the Historical Books, Wisdom Literature, and the Prophets (which are further subdivided into Major and Minor Prophets). 1 Kings is one of the Historical Books, but it is not a dry, dusty historical tome… it is really a work of theological history, rather than purely chronological history.
It continues the historical narrative initially begun in earlier books like Joshua and Judges, but the author's primary concern is not purely secular affairs and matters of state. Instead, the primary concern of 1 Kings is to document the failure of Israel and its leaders to remain faithful to the Covenant. The author is unknown, and while some rabbinic scholars have attributed its authorship to Jeremiah, most modern scholars discount that attribution.
[00:18:46] 1 Kings can be divided into two sections… the first part (chapters one to 11) tells of the rise and fall of Solomon, the second part (chapters 12 to 22) talks about the Divided Kingdom. This passage occurs very early in 1 Kings… Solomon is still quite young (only about 20 years old), and still relatively inexperienced as a king. And since he had not yet undertaken the construction of the temple, Solomon traveled to Gibeon (a city about 6 miles northwest of Jerusalem) to offer burnt sacrifices to God.
According to 1 Chronicles 21, the tabernacle that Moses had created in the wilderness was, at that time, located at Gibeon making it a holy place - which is why Solomon went there to offer his sacrifice. And remember, the tabernacle is NOT the Ark of the Covenant… that was in Jerusalem. The tabernacle was the portable tent built by Moses to house the Ark of the Covenant, which traveled with the Hebrews during the Exodus - it is what we commonly call the Tent of Meeting.
[00:20:14] So, 1 Kings tells us that Solomon is at Gibeon when he has this dream…
“The LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, ‘Ask what I shall give you.’”
NAB translates that a bit differently… it says: “Ask something of me and I will give it to you.” The answer to a question like that speaks volumes about the person providing the answer. And we have to understand that - at the time - blessings from God were typically things like long life, health, children, and prosperity, but Solomon asks for none of that! Instead…
[00:21:06] “Solomon answered: ‘O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child;’”
[00:21:17] The RSV says “a little child” - but that's a figurative use of that phrase, not an actual one. Solomon was not a child in physical age, but he certainly was immature in wisdom and life experience.
[00:21:37] Again, the NAB translates that a bit differently - it says: “a mere youth.”
“I do not know how to go out or come in.”
Those words are actually used over and over in the Old Testament - we encounter them in Deuteronomy, Numbers, Joshua, and 1 Samuel, and they mean - essentially - the daily activities and responsibilities of leadership.
“And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered or counted for multitude.”
[00:22:15] What the RSV translates as “for multitude” the NAB translates as “so vast” - whichever phrase is used, it just serves as another way of reiterating the immensity of the nation of Israel.
[00:22:33] “Give your servant therefore, an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil; for who is able to govern this great people of yours?”
I find the use of the word “mind” in that sentence very curious. In biblical times, the heart was seen as the center of one's being, not the mind. The heart was the seat of knowledge, intent, will, emotion, and faith - everything that defined a person and made a person unique came from the heart. In fact, the NAB translates that as “heart.”
[00:23:17] And Solomon's request actually demonstrates great maturity… maturity that far outstrips his physical age. Wisdom, remember, is one of the attributes of God, and when human beings are given the gift of true wisdom, it aligns all of our aspirations, thoughts, and actions to God's divine will. So, by asking for wisdom, Solomon is essentially asking to be conformed to God's will… because only God is great enough to govern his people.
[00:23:59] “It pleased the LORD that Solomon had asked this.”
Scripture often tells us that God is “pleased” when his creatures grow in faith and understanding, which Solomon certainly had done at that moment.
“And God said to him, ‘Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind.’”
[00:24:41] Again, the use of the word “mind” there is curious… and the NAB does translate that as “heart.”
“so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you.”
What we don't hear in this passage is that - in addition to wisdom, God bestows upon Solomon the other blessings that he could have asked for but didn't: riches, honor, and long life… BUT only if he keeps God's statutes and commandments.
[00:25:19] Solomon's wisdom became legendary and he is sometimes called the wisest man who ever lived. In the second half of chapter three, we hear that famous story of the two women who each claim to be the mother of one living child. Solomon, you may remember, threatens to cut the child in two with a sword and give half to each woman. The true mother's identity is revealed when she offers to give up her son rather than see him hurt.
[00:25:53] Solomon's request for wisdom reminds us that not every treasure is something we can see, touch, collect, or spend… but even Solomon became distracted by the world, and his famous wisdom eventually failed him.
[00:26:15] The Scriptures recount the many mistakes that Solomon made which eventually led to his downfall. That should serve as an abject lesson for us… just as Solomon was not always faithful to God and to the Covenant, we are not always faithful to Jesus; we do not always follow his example or live according to his teachings.
[00:26:45] But God is always patient with us… he will not judge us until the end of time - the Second Coming. He allows us a lifetime to repent and direct our minds, our hearts, and our lives to focus on the treasure of the kingdom rather than the fleeting treasures of this world.
[00:27:14] That takes us to our Responsorial Psalm, which is Psalm 119, and the refrain is:
“Oh Lord, how I love your law!”
[00:27:24] And here are the verses:
“The LORD is my portion; I promise to keep your words. The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.”
“Let your mercy be ready to comfort me according to your promise to your servant. Let your compassion come to me, that I may live; for your law is my delight.”
“Therefore I love your commandments above fine gold. Therefore I direct my steps by all your precepts; I hate every false way.”
“Your testimonies are wonderful; therefore my soul keeps them. The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.”
This Psalm is a Wisdom Psalm that takes great delight in the Law of the Lord, and it reminds us that God's law has greater value than any earthly riches - firstly, because it makes men wise and - secondly, because observing God's law is both a blessing and a delight.
[00:28:37] Now, it is quite ironic that the blessings bestowed upon Solomon in our reading from 1 Kings were conditional - that they depended upon Solomon's faithfulness to God's Law and to the Covenant. He was not always faithful… just as we are not always faithful.
[00:28:57] Yet God is still merciful toward us, and gently - but firmly - he continues to teach us about the great treasure of his kingdom.
[00:29:10] That takes us to our Second Reading, which is from Romans 8: 28-30.
[00:29:17] “[Brothers and sisters:] We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the first-born among many brethren. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.”
[00:29:55] This is our seventh passage from Romans, and it is one of the most challenging passages that we - as Catholic Christians - encounter. There are a couple of words in this passage that created a deep theological divide between Catholics and some of our Protestant brothers and sisters during the Protestant Reformation… words like predestination and justification.
[00:30:22] So I want to spend a bit of time diving into predestination first, so that we all have the same frame of reference when we explore our passage from Romans. I will deal with the topic of justification when we reach it in the reading because it will make more sense that way.
[00:30:42] But let's start with predestination… because it is a confusing and often misunderstood concept. One way of looking at predestination is that since God is omniscient, or all-knowing, mankind's free will is irrelevant. God already knows the choices every human being will ever make therefore our eternal destiny has already been determined, was - in fact - determined before we were ever born. That is sometimes called determinism rather than predestination, but the end result is the same… our destiny is set and nothing we do, or don't do, will have any impact on it. That's a more Protestant viewpoint.
Catholics see that a bit differently. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says: “To God, all moments in time are present in their immediacy.” Which does mean that God already knows every decision we will ever make. Remember, though, God created time and exists outside of it… which means that he is able to enter into any moment in time and be part of it as it happens - to observe any event he wishes whenever he wishes just because he wishes to do so.
The Catechism doesn't stop there, though, it continues: “When therefore [God] establishes his eternal plan of ‘predestination’” - and I'm going to stop there and point out that the word predestination is in quotes, because the Catholic definition is quite different from the Protestant definition. The Catechism defines predestination as: the mystery of God's eternal plan for everything… a plan that was set in motion when he created everything. Now, that also means that God does have foreknowledge of all creation… all time, space, and causality… it was all created by God, so he knows all of it, and everything unfolds according to his divine plan.
[00:33:11] Okay, that's quite a lot to wrap your head around, but let's start there and let's go back to the Catechism.
So, when God establishes his eternal plan of ‘predestination,’ the Catechism then continues: “he includes each in it each person's free response to his grace.”
Meaning that while God already knows what will happen, he still gives us the free will to act as we choose to act, to live as we choose to live, and to either accept or reject the grace and salvation that he offers. He doesn't decide what our destiny will be… he lets us choose for ourselves. He knows what choice we make - but he doesn't make the choice… we do!
[00:34:09] A number of Protestant denominations, however, define predestination differently and have adopted what is called the Doctrine of Predestination, also known as Unconditional Election. Now, that doctrine arises from an improper reading of Scripture, particularly this passage from Romans, but also parts of Revelation 7 and 14.
[00:34:36] That Doctrine teaches that mankind's eternal destiny was fixed before the world was ever created… so free will is worthless, grace is unnecessary, virtues are pointless, and good and evil are irrelevant. According to that Doctrine, before the world was formed, God decided that only a select number of Christians - and only Christians, by the way - would be saved and enter life in the kingdom of heaven, regardless of how they live their lives.
[00:35:14] Once that became accepted, then the Doctrine of Double Predestination, sometimes referred to as Reprobation, takes Predestination a step further… saying that not only did God decide - before the world was created - that only a limited number of Christians would be destined for eternal life in heaven… but that everyone else - by virtue of not being one of those few destined for heaven - everyone else was absolutely destined for eternal damnation in hell. In fact, John Calvin (16th century theologian and one of the leaders of the Protestant Reformation) wrote that: “All are not created on equal terms … some are preordained to eternal life, others to eternal damnation; and, accordingly, as each has been created for one or other of these ends, we say that he has been predestinated to life or to death” - meaning to heaven or hell.
[00:36:27] However, that way of thinking - those concepts, those doctrines - simply don't align with what Jesus teaches in the Gospels! Because when we read the Gospels, when we really study them and devote ourselves to understanding what they have to teach us, we encounter Jesus repeatedly saying that ALL are invited to the kingdom; that it IS up to each individual to accept OR reject his teachings, to live as he taught us to live OR to choose our own way, to follow the example he set for us OR to ignore it, to accept the grace he offers us and the salvation he won for us by his Death on the Cross OR turn our backs on those gifts.
[00:37:30] But the choice is always up to us!
[00:37:36] And truthfully, that's not just in the Gospels; that message is hidden in the Old Testament just as it is openly proclaimed in the New.
[00:37:47] Yes, God already knows what we will choose - but he loves us enough to let us make the choice anyway.
[00:37:58] Our choices matter, free will matters, what we do matters, grace matters, good and evil matter, the way we live matters!
[00:38:14] God already knows what will happen in our lives – absolutely - but we don't… and he gives us the free will, the time, and the opportunity to decide for ourselves what we will do.
[00:38:29] After all, that is the point of the Parable of the Sower, the Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds, and the Parable of the Great Catch of Fish… the very parables we've been hearing over the course of three weeks. Good and evil are both present in the world, but God will not judge us prematurely… he will not predestine us for damnation… he will allow us the time, and the grace, to make our own decisions and – hopefully - to choose him.
[00:39:10] So, now that we have a better understanding of predestination (from both the Protestant and the Catholic viewpoint), let's explore what Paul has to say…
“[Brothers and sisters:] We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.”
Those words should put all of our fears and uncertainties to rest! Paul is assuring us that God only wants what is best for each one of us, that he works to bring about what is good for each of us, that all Christians are called to his purpose, that we all have a place in in his plan and in his kingdom.
[00:40:09] Those words are very comforting… everything seems to go off the rails after that, though, because then Paul says…
“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.”
[00:40:26] This is one of those sentences that is all too often misinterpreted. When we look at the word foreknew, we should think of that beautiful quote from Jeremiah: “before I formed you in the womb I knew you” - that is the foreknowledge Paul is talking about… in that sense, God foreknew each and every human being that has ever existed and will ever exist.
[00:40:57] Then Paul says that those whom God foreknew - which is all of us - he also predestined, but not - you may notice - for heaven or hell.
[00:41:10] This is where people take Paul's words out of context… and that is always dangerous! Paul says we were predestined TO BE CONFORMED to the image of God's Son, to the image of Jesus. Meaning that we are all predestined FOR GOD… and the two halves of that phrase should never be separated! Unfortunately, they often are. That always leads to problems.
[00:41:49] God is free to act as he chooses… mankind is free to accept or reject God's blessings, including being conformed to the image of Jesus… but no one is predestined for damnation… that is clearly not what Paul says!
[00:42:13] And why does God predestine us to be conformed to Jesus? We get the answer in the very next phrase…
“in order that he [Jesus] might be the first-born among many brethren.”
And if we look at another of Paul's letters, we get a more complete picture of exactly what he means. In Ephesians 1, Paul says; “[The Father] destined us in love to be his sons [and daughters] through Jesus.”
[00:42:52] Notice, however, that nowhere in this passage does Paul say anything about damnation or hell… nowhere! Paul does say that…
“those whom he predestined he also called;”
Because God knew us before we ever came into being, he then chose us ahead of time to be conformed to the image of his Son, Jesus, so that WE could be Jesus' brothers and sisters… and because of that, God called each one of us to himself by bestowing upon us the gift of faith. That's what Paul means - those whom he predestined he also called… we are called to God.
“and those whom he called he also justified;”
[00:43:47] Because God knows each of us, because he offers all of us the gift of faith, then Paul says: we are justified. And think back to the concepts he has been developing all along in Romans… those who accept that gift of faith, those who are then Baptized, those who live according to the Spirit rather than the flesh, those who are guided by the Spirit, are - in turn - justified.
[00:44:23] So, what is justification? Remember I said I would get to it when we encountered it in the reading? Well, here we are.
[00:44:31] The Catechism has much to say about justification!
[00:44:36] The Catechism says that justification… “detaches us from sin”… that it “conforms us to the righteousness of God”… that it is “conferred upon us through Baptism”… which means that we are declared innocent before God - that we are put in right relation to God… but not as a result of any work that we ourselves have accomplished. And that lies at the heart of one of the great debates between Catholics and Protestant Christians, right? Faith versus works. Many Protestants, particularly during the Reformation, accused Catholics of believing that we work to earn our own salvation… that is not the case! Although the debate does continue in certain circles.
[00:45:33] But Catholic Christians do emphasize the importance of good works, not because they are a means for us to earn our own salvation, but because that's how we respond to the gift of faith given to us… that's how we respond to God's love showered upon us, by sharing it with others.
[00:46:00] Jesus told us in John's Gospel that he gave us an example to follow, therefore we should do as he did for us.
[00:46:11] And the letter of James reminds us that: “Just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.”
[00:46:22] Now, nothing that I will say here will resolve the faith versus works debate - I mention it just so that you're aware that it still lingers… and so that if anyone does present you with that argument, you're armed with the right thing to say to refute such an idea.
[00:46:44] But to get back to the concept of justification… it's crucial to understand that justification was accomplished by Jesus alone - by the rejection, torture, and suffering he undertook for our sakes… by his Death on the Cross which opened the gates of the kingdom of heaven for us… by his Resurrection through which he leads us to the kingdom, to the place he prepared for us.
[00:47:20] And justification is not the same as sanctification!
[00:47:28] Sanctification is the process whereby we are set apart as Christians to be holy and dedicated to God… and it is a process that continues throughout our lives as Christians as we grow and learn, make mistakes and repent.
[00:47:48] Then Paul says…
“and those whom he justified he also glorified.”
[00:47:56] Meaning that, through our Baptism, through our faith in Jesus, and by the process of sanctification that occurs throughout our lives as Christians, we have been invited to enter the kingdom and inhabit that dwelling place that Jesus prepared for us.
[00:48:19] Glorification is the ultimate heavenly destiny of all who have faith in Jesus and live according to that faith and as he taught us to do.
But we are, all too often, distracted by the good things of this world, despite the fact that they do not last. We get caught up in pursuing those transient treasures and forget that the real treasure isn't part of this world and can't be found in in this life.
[00:48:56] Good things are part of this world… good things can be found in this life - but not the kingdom of heaven. God wants us to be with him… all of us!
[00:49:12] That's why he created us in the first place! He created us out of love, so that we could love him in return and be with him for all eternity. And he reminds us of that every time we read Sacred Scripture and hear his Son's teachings, every time we follow his Son's example and reach out in compassion and love to another person, every time we are kind, righteous, and forgiving and therefore become just a bit more conformed to God's Son Jesus.
[00:50:00] Focusing on the kingdom isn't easy, but it is absolutely necessary.
So, let's take Solomon's example to heart and ask God for the wisdom we need to focus on his kingdom… not to the exclusion of the things of this world, but while nurturing, sustaining, and loving the things of this world… the world he created for us to inhabit - it may not be our eternal home, but he did entrust it to us to care for it. And that, too, will help us grow in wisdom and be prepared for our final home in God's kingdom!
[00:50:59] If you would like to reach out to me with questions or comments, send me an email at
[email protected]
Thank you for spending this time with me and until next we meet, may God shower his blessings upon you like a soft and gentle rain, and may he hold you safe and secure in the palm of his hand.
From His Word to Our Hearts is produced by SFS Audio Solutions.
The content of the show was assembled by me, Sally Moriarty-Flask.
Our music was composed by Jimmy Flask and is used with the permission of the composer. All rights reserved.
Information regarding references used in preparing the exegesis for this podcast is available upon request.
Thank you for listening and God Bless!
