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Homily (Reflection) for Thursday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time (I) (27th July, 2017) on the Gospel
 
Ex 19:1-2.9-11.16-20;
Dan 3:52-56. (R. v. 52);
Matt 13:10-17.
Topic: Still often in parables.
Today’s gospel is a continuation of yesterday’s gospel. In this gospel, the disciples asked Jesus, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” Jesus’ reply reads in part,
To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.... The reason I speak to them in parables is that ‘seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand.’
According to the New Jerusalem Bible,
A deliberate and culpable insensibility which is both the cause and the explanation of the withdrawal of grace.... By the use of symbols and images, therefore, Jesus challenges them to reflect and themselves seek to penetrate more deeply into the understanding of the kingdom.[1]
Life Application Study Bible also reads, “When speaking in parables, Jesus is not hiding truth from sincere seekers, because those who were receptive to spiritual truth understood the illustrations. To others they were only stories without meaning.”[2]
God’s word is the word of life, cf. Phil 2:16. However, it still sounds like parables to many. There is need to listen attentively, ask questions where necessary, and humbly pray to God for wisdom, cf. Mk 4:10; Jas 1:5. Interpretation of God’s word requires divine intervention, cf. 2Pt 1:20-21.
Bible Reading: Matt 25:14-30.
Thought for today: No one can achieve this on his/her own.
Let us pray: May God help us always to understand His word – Amen.
You are free to share this reflection with others if you consider it worthy.

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[1] The New Jerusalem Bible: Standard edition (1985). London: Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd.
[2] Life Application Study Bible: New living translation (2007). Illinois: Tandale House Publishers, Inc.

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