Texts taken from the “On Your Word” daily missal, July-August 2023

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)
1st week of the four-week Psalter

FIRST READING

From the First Book of Kings (1 Kgs 3:5, 7-12)
In those days, at Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream during the night. God said: “Ask what you wish me to give you.” Solomon said: “Lord, my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father. Yet I am only a young boy; I do not know how to conduct myself. Your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a people so numerous that it cannot be numbered or counted. Give your servant an understanding heart, so that he may know how to govern your people and distinguish good from evil; for who is able to govern this vast people of yours?” The Lord was pleased that Solomon had made this request. God said to him: “Because you have asked for this and have not asked for yourself long life, nor riches for yourself, nor the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself discernment to know what is right, behold, I do as you have said. I give you a heart so wise and discerning that there has never been anyone like you before, nor will there ever be anyone like you after.” – The word of the Lord.

Commentary on the first reading

 The literal translation of the expression “understanding heart” is “listening heart.” What a strange request! Perhaps we would have asked for entirely different things, even if they were good for the welfare of the nation. Why do we need a listening heart? Do we not already know how to listen on our own? Evidently not. To understand God’s will properly, we must listen not with our ears, but with our hearts. This means not drawing immediate conclusions every time we hear a word from the Bible or think we have received some inspiration. We must let the words descend into our hearts, meditate on them, and ask the Lord that they enter our intellect and our will. When making important decisions (Solomon ruled a state, and each of us, in a small way, has our own “state”), let us humbly ask that everything happen according to God’s will for his greater glory. So we too need a listening heart. Let us close our ears to false teachers and the suggestions of the devil, and listen reverently to the divine Word. May it become for us each day a word translated into life.

SECOND READING

From the Letter of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Romans (Rom 8:28-30)
Brothers and sisters, we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters; and those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified. – The word of the Lord.

Commentary on the second reading

The expression “all things work together for good for those who love God” is a true cornerstone of Christian spirituality. We should write it in huge letters on the walls of our home and read it continually, especially when we are overwhelmed by the weight of our various trials. It is not easy to believe that the death of a loved one, a sudden misfortune, a financial setback, or a conflict of any kind can work for good. Yet, if the Apostle writes “all things,” we must believe that everything, absolutely everything, works together for good, even if I see only the outward, painful aspect, which seems to me to be evil. The crucifixion itself is, in itself, a horrible thing, but from Christ’s sacrifice came a good for all humanity. In this brief life we suffer, and suffer greatly, but this is precisely what we have been called to: to be conformed to the image of the Son of God. Let us look upward: Jesus crucified is our example of life; when conformed to him, we will first be made righteous and then glorified with him. This sequence is the program of our life, if all things truly work together for good.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 13:44-52)
At that time Jesus said to his disciples: “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field; a man finds it and hides it; then he goes, full of joy, sells all that he has and buys that field. The kingdom of heaven is also like a merchant searching for fine pearls; when he finds one pearl of great value, he goes, sells all that he has and buys it.] Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which gathers fish of every kind. When it is full, the fishermen haul it ashore, sit down, collect the good fish into baskets, and throw away the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth. Do you understand all these things?” They answered: “Yes.” And he said to them: “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure things both new and old.” – The word of the Lord.

Commentary on the Gospel of the day

When Jesus speaks of his kingdom, he expresses ideas that point to a separation, a clear choice: to acquire something precious, you must first sell everything else; the fish that have been caught must be divided, some into the basket and others back into the sea. Then again: “The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous.” This criterion of choice shows that things cannot be kept together when they are different from one another. Darkness cannot coexist with light: where one is present, the other is not. If we are accustomed to always keeping everything together, so as not to hurt anyone, including ourselves, it means that we have not yet made the choice of the kingdom of God. “To strike the barrel and the hoop” is not a Christian proverb. Jesus said that whoever is not with him is against him. In the sayings of the Desert Fathers, it is written that a disciple would often go to his spiritual father, saying that he wanted to separate himself from the world and free himself from worldly things, and he always insisted on these ideas. Finally, the father said to him: “Do not trouble yourself so much: if you live as a true Christian, you will not be the one to separate yourself from the world; it will be the world that separates itself from you.”