Message: Be Attentive / Mt 13:31-33, 44-52

        In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus tells five parables about the kingdom of heaven: the mustard seed, the yeast, the treasure hidden in a field, the pearl of great value, and the fishing net.

        Jesus uses parables because the kingdom of heaven cannot be fully captured in words or ideas. No language can completely explain the mystery of God. A parable does not give us a perfect definition. Instead, it points us toward the truth through familiar images drawn from everyday life.

In this regard, Christian faith is not about having a perfect theory or complete knowledge. It is about bearing witness. It is about sharing how we have experienced God’s presence and how God’s love has touched our lives.

The five parables in today’s Gospel reading are all different, but they share one important truth. The kingdom of heaven is not far away. It is among us. It is the reality of God’s love, justice, and life at work here and now. It is not only something we hope for after death. As we open our hearts and pay attention, we begin to recognize the kingdom in our midst and experience the joy of discovering it.

The kingdom of heaven may seem as small as a mustard seed or as hidden as yeast in flour. Yet the mustard seed grows and makes a place where birds can rest. The yeast works within the dough until the whole mixture is changed. God’s kingdom may begin quietly, but it changes hearts and relationships. It creates more room for life to grow and flourish.

The kingdom is also like treasure hidden in an ordinary field or a precious pearl discovered among many others. The field looked no different from any other field, and the pearl may have seemed like just one among many. But someone recognized the value hidden there. Something precious was discovered, and that discovery brought joy and changed the direction of a person’s life.

The kingdom of heaven can also be compared to a fishing net. The net gathers many kinds of fish together. This shows that God’s kingdom is wider than the narrow boundaries we create. But the parable does not end there. There is also a separation. We are reminded that our choices matter and that the way we live has meaning before God. Therefore, we are called to examine whether our lives are moving toward love and life.

These parables show that people can live in the same place and at the same time, yet experience very different realities. One person may see only repetition and emptiness in an ordinary day. Another may see in the mustard seed and the yeast the promise of abundant life hidden within a small beginning. Someone may see only a field or a marketplace, while another discovers hidden treasure and a pearl of great value. And in an ordinary fishing net, someone may recognize the wide reach of God’s kingdom and the call to live faithfully.

In this sense, experiencing God’s kingdom begins with paying attention. It means opening our eyes to see what God is doing around us. It means opening our hearts to what God is revealing through ordinary people and places. It means opening our lives to the grace and truth that are already present among us.

The Canadian theologian and philosopher Bernard Lonergan said that the journey toward truth begins with the call to “Be attentive.” For Lonergan, we must first pay attention to our experience. From there, we seek to understand what we have experienced, discern what is true, and act responsibly. In short, the path toward insight can be described in four steps: Be attentive. Be intelligent. Be reasonable. Be responsible.

The problem is that we do not always see reality clearly. We often see only what we want to see or accept only what fits with what we already believe. We may avoid difficult truths and overlook the stories of people who are different from us. Lonergan called these tendencies “bias.” They can affect the way we experience life, understand things, and make decisions. Bias can lead us in the wrong direction. It can also keep us from seeing the beauty, value, and hidden treasures that are right in front of us.

In John’s Gospel, when Nathanael hears about Jesus of Nazareth from Philip, he responds, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Because of his assumptions about this small town, he finds it difficult to believe that anything important could come from there. Philip did not try to win an argument with Nathanael. He just said, “Come and see.” As Nathanael encountered Jesus for himself, his assumptions began to change. Likewise, we are invited to come closer, to look, to listen, and to learn.

In his book The Art of Travel, Alain de Botton introduces Xavier de Maistre. After taking part in a duel, de Maistre was placed under house arrest for forty-two days. Unable to travel, he began to explore his own room as if it were a new place. He looked carefully at his bed, chair, pictures, and other familiar things. He wrote about this experience in A Journey Around My Room, published in 1794.

De Maistre did not change his room. He changed the way he looked at it and discovered a new world in the same place. In this way, his house arrest became a different kind of journey. God’s kingdom can be experienced in a similar way. We do not always need to go somewhere else to find it. It may be discovered in our homes, our church, our neighbourhood, and the people already around us.

This kind of attentiveness does not ignore suffering. It sees reality more deeply and honestly. It recognizes pain, but does not believe that pain is the whole story. It also sees the possibility of life continuing to grow even in the darkness.

Life-giving attentiveness begins by inviting us to see life more deeply. When we pay attention, we may discover beauty and meaning around us. That discovery can awaken joy and gratitude within us, and from that joy, love and responsibility can grow.

God’s kingdom is already at work among us in small and hidden ways. So, as you leave the church today, look at your surroundings with new eyes. Notice the colours and shapes of the trees you usually pass, the houses you may never have looked at closely, and the people walking along the street. Feel the wind on your face and the warmth of the sunlight on your skin. When you arrive home, pause for a moment at your front door and notice this familiar part of your daily life with gratitude.

Be attentive. The kingdom of heaven is already among us. It may appear as small as a mustard seed, yet it can create a place where someone finds rest. It may be hidden like yeast, yet it can transform lives and communities. Like treasure hidden in an ordinary field or a precious pearl among many others, it can be discovered wherever we live and work.

Pay attention. Discover it. Rejoice.

Thanks be to God. Amen.

x

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