By Father Alonzo Q. Cox
A FEW YEARS ago, I celebrated the funeral Mass for a 92-year-old longtime parishioner. She was very much involved in the life of the parish. She also had a large family with many children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
As you can imagine both the visitation at the funeral home and the funeral Mass at church were crowded with parishioners, family and friends. At the funeral home, I remember trying to make my way into the parlor to say the prayers, but I could not get through the crowd of people paying their respects. I decided just to wait outside until the crowds diminished.
Contemplating Heaven
The grandson of the deceased had come outside to get some fresh air, and he saw me waiting. He had his 7-year-old son with him. He thanked me for coming and apologized for the crowd and not being able to start the vigil prayers right away. Then his son asked me a question that I think many of us have asked at one time or another in our lives. He looked up at me and asked, “Father, what is heaven like?”
It’s a question that theologians have researched and about which they have written volumes. It’s a question that Christians have asked, most especially in times of grief over the loss of a loved one. In movies and television shows, heaven is portrayed as the place up in the sky, where God makes His dwelling with the angels and saints. But the question still arises, what is heaven like?
In today’s Gospel, Jesus Himself gives an answer to the question at hand. Our Lord presents to the people not just one, but three parables (Matthew 13: 24-43) that focus on the kingdom of heaven.
In the first, he says that the kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sows good seed in his field, which grew and bore fruit. But the man’s enemy comes while everyone is asleep and sows weeds, that choke the produce. We see the image of how the good fruit produced from the sower can be intermingled with the enemies’ weeds that choke the good fruit.
Jesus gives another parable, saying that the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed. It is the smallest of seeds, but when fully grown can become the largest of trees. We see the image of when the mustard seed is watered and taken care of, it can grow into a large dwelling place, where the birds of the sky make their homes.
Finally, in the third parable, Jesus tells us that the kingdom of heaven is like yeast, mixed with three measures of flour until the whole batch was leavened. We see the image of growth and prosperity, like yeast that is leavened.
Building Our World
My sisters and brothers, the kingdom of heaven is here! These three parables that Jesus places before us show that we must build up the kingdom of heaven in our own world.
Jesus is the one who sows the seed, but we as His followers must never get caught up with the weeds that the evil one may place on our path. The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that Christ continues to nourish and strengthen. It is here that we make our dwelling, living in harmony with all of our brothers and sisters. The kingdom of heaven is like yeast, mixed with flour until the whole batch is leavened. The kingdom of heaven must rise and flourish, so that we, as followers of the Lord, may continue to spread the Good News of His love and mercy.
All of us are called to build up the kingdom of heaven right here and now. Jesus wants us to live in this kingdom, guided by the Spirit, who comes to the aid of our faults and weaknesses. May we continue to keep Christ the Lord at the center of our lives as we strive every day to make our world like heaven.
Readings for the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Wisdom 12: 13, 16-19
Psalm 86: 5-6, 9-10, 15-16
Romans 8: 26-27
Matthew 13: 24-43 or
Matthew 13: 24-30
Father Cox is the pastor of St. Martin de Porres parish, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and the diocesan coordinator of ministry to African-American immigrants.