Reflection by Deacon Benjamin Lai

The parables in the last two Sundays’ Gospel readings illustrate the challenges of becoming rich soil for the seed that produces abundant fruit in the midst of a field of weeds intertwined with the good wheat.

As children of God, even as we try very hard to do what is right and to follow God’s commands, at times we can feel choked up by the weeds in our lives and temptations of the world.  The parable in today’s Gospel reading gives us hope with a glimpse of what heaven is like.   Heaven is compared as a precious treasure or a “pearl of great price.”   It is something so special and important that we should be willing to give up everything we have to be a part of it.

The saints often refer to their encounter with heaven here on earth, the encounter with the presence of God as “beatific vision.”  The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines heaven as “(the) perfect life with the Most Holy Trinity, a communion of life and love with the trinity, with the Virgin Mary, the angels and all the blessed.  Heaven is the ultimate end and fulfillment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme, definitive happiness.”

Jesus wants us to understand that the kingdom of heaven is worth more than any material possessions we may have.  To that end, let us examine our lives and renew our commitment to God and prioritize the kingdom of heaven above everything else in our life.  We must embrace a deep love for God, His Word, and His will, trusting that “all things work together for the good of those who love Him.”  Fix our eyes on Jesus knowing that what we go through in this life is short-lived, where the reward in heaven is eternal.