One of my favorite children’s movies is Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. It’s about a candy maker who issues five gold tickets in various chocolate bars he sells so a child can become a partner in his business and help them to grow their business. What makes it interesting is how the five children who found golden tickets react to all the choices with which they are presented at the plant and how they make their decisions.
Our readings and Gospel today focus on the Kingdom of God and how it offers everyone, Christians or non-Christians, an opportunity to be in relationship with God during our life on earth and afterwards in heaven. Like Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, those who enter into an unfamiliar place, are skeptical and often make strange choices to reach the fullness of the offer. Others, however, see the benefit of all God offers; especially eternal life.
Our first reading from the Book of Wisdom talks about the importance of understanding how God looks upon those who seek oneness with God. The Lord indicates His expectation when He tells them that success is based on practicing kindness toward others versus passing judgment according to the ways of humans.
St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans addresses seeking the Holy Spirit to aid us when in our weakness we tend to sin. Since God the Father and Jesus the Son are part of the Holy Trinity, they speak the same language and are able to help us turn away from those areas in our life that leads to sin.
St. Matthew’s Gospel delights us with parables of Jesus from which we can learn a lesson through comparison of happenings in one’s own life. Jesus presents three: Weeds and Wheat (also known as Feuding Farmers), Mustard Seed and Yeast. All relate to the Kingdom of God.
Jesus’ first parable supports the first reading about practicing leniency through kindness by letting the weeds (sinners) grow along with the wheat (righteous people). By doing so, it gives the sinner an opportunity to repent. God looks to salvation as a solution rather than condemnation which offers no choice.
The Mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds, but produces a large bush that stretches to a length of about six feet in all directions. Like the Letter to the Romans, it highlights spiritual growth through genuine faith. The Kingdom of God will start small, but over time it will grow and encompass all with acceptance of God and His ways.
Yeast for the third parable is the only time St. Matthew references a woman being involved in helping people understand how the Kingdom of Heaven can grow if care is taken in practicing one’s faith. In essence, it illustrates how God views us as humans, an adopted race of the Holy Trinity, not as bad versus good.
Though a fictional movie, the events at Willy Wonka’s factory point out how people, though shown many gifts that appeal to one’s desires, also offers patience to those who can wait to complete the tour. By doing so, they can select what is best for them and others.
The Kingdom of God provides those who believe in the ways of the Lord the greatest gift any human can ever have; everlasting life in the Kingdom of Heaven. Let us take this week to search our hearts, minds, souls and strength as to what choices God gives us that can turn us away from a life of sin and lead us to an eternal relationship with the Lord that provides all the wonderful spiritual gifts God offers to His faithful.
Reading 1: Wisdom 12: 13, 16-19
Reading 2: Romans 8: 26-27
Gospel: Matthew 13: 24-43
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