“Seek and you will find (Mt 7:7)” is the most fitting verse we associate with tonight’s worship assembly.
Brothers and sisters, during our BCLP No. 5, we focused our attention to “store up treasures in heaven and make safe investments with God”. The topic of our teaching night last October 7 was about “tithing”. In our action group meeting (Oct 13), we dealt with “tithes” (Dt 14:22-29). In those passages, the last statement made us realize that when we regularly give our tithes, no matter how small it maybe (only God knows when is “more” actually “less”), God will bless all our works and undertakings.
During our Family Day (Oct 16), the officiating priest of the Missionary of Our Lady of Africa (MOLA), stressed the need “to give back to God what belongs to God”. The following day, the Gospel of St. Luke (Lk 12:13-21) portrays the rich fool. From the Reflections for Today’s Catholics, we are reminded that one of the reasons God allows us to have money is that we can invest it in His Kingdom so that more people hear the Good News. That the salary, allowances or income we receive be treated as “seed to sow” instead of just mere provisions. In the process, money continuously flow through us making us channels of blessings. As Christian businessmen and professionals, we must not simply advocate honesty but also adopt the motto, “A million bucks for a million souls”.
Let us pray that the Lord will grant us the grace to cultivate the virtue of charity and generosity that eventually result to selfless love to be able to give and receive in order to build our Community, the BCBP and our Church.
Allow me to share with you one of Nil Guillemete’s God Tales for Young and Old from his book, “Clothed with Joy”. I am inviting you to be inside someone’s life and be open to receive the other. The story is entitled, “Treasure Hunt”
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Aunt Sibyl was an old, extraordinary and religious spinster who had a special love for her 3 nieces: Janet, Susan and Goldie. They were teenage sisters who looked on their aunt as their second mother. When Sibyl died, she left a strange “will and testament”. It was a unique and short document containing 2 clauses: a) all her possessions were to be sold in favor of the poor except for Bethel, her house; b) a mysterious message that read, “Dear nieces, I invite you to a treasure hunt. In my house of Bethel, a great treasure is hidden. Whoever of you discovers it, keep it and inherit Bethel as well… Take care not to damage the house or the furniture in the course of your search for this will disqualify you…The treasure is not concealed in a way that you have to disturb the present state of the house to find it. You only need to use your imagination, intelligence and above all your heart. Good hunting!” P.S. Here is a useful clue, “It is as near as the ear, as far as the star”.
Then, the treasure hunting began. The 3 sisters adapted a system that only one of them had access to the house and its premises. They agreed that Janet, the eldest had Mondays and Tuesdays only; Susan had Wednesdays and Thursdays while Goldie, the youngest had her explorations on Fridays and Saturdays but Sunday was a rest day.
Janet began her search. She was sure to find the treasure because she had a razor-sharp mind but she was erratic and impatient. After a year of Mondays and Tuesdays spent in fruitless efforts, she gave up.
Susan was confident she would unearth the treasure having the brain as systematic as a computer and a vast reservoir of patience but unimaginative. She went over every inch of the house with a fine tooth comb but after 3 years of endeavor, she also surrendered.
Goldie was an average girl who possessed something of her Aunt Sibyl’s deep spirituality. Like her aunt, she was in love with God. She regularly meditated on the daily Gospel and engaged herself in social work. Aware that like her sisters she may not uncover the hidden treasure, she did no serious efforts but made an affectionate tribute to her aunt and gave up the idea of searching for the famous treasure. Instead, she chose to use the few hours of Fridays and Saturdays she could spend at Bethel in trying to commune with God. She kept the habit of seeking and finding God at Bethel.
One day, as she was reading the Bible in her aunt’s house, she came upon the episode of Jacob’s dream at Bethel (check Gen 28;10-22). She took the trouble of looking upon the explanatory footnote accompanying the name Bethel and found that in Hebrew, Bethel means “house of God”. As if a blindfold was removed at that moment. Goldie understood that God was the treasure hidden in the house of her aunt. God is the treasure “as near as the ear and as far as the star”. Certainly, Goldie was declared the rightful heiress of Bethel by her aunt’s attorneys. Because God was the hidden treasure discovered, she spontaneously sought to share the ownership of the house with her 2 sisters confident that in time, Janet and Susan would also share their possession of Bethel’s treasure.
How many Janets, Susans and Goldies do we have here? Let us now stand to worship the Lord, the real and great treasure that we are searching. nmg
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