Domesticated

... a treasure buried in a field....

Matthew 13:44

Thinking about and meditating on "the field" again. In the parable of the sower and the seed, says Jesus, the field is the world. Today, in this Gospel, Jesus says the kin(g)dom of God is the treasure buried, or hidden, in the field. If the field is the world in both parables, then it is clear how significant, indeed sacred, the world is. Heaven is lurking within this world; it is not far off. For us who follow Jesus the Messiah, heaven is here and only here. Far from being an evil or godless place, the world is saturated with divinity. This place, this earth, our home and God's dwelling place through Jesus, is of paramount importance in the working out of our destiny. It is here and now, within so-called civilization, that we become domesticated for heaven, that is, the justice and peace, mercy and compassion of Jesus Christ, tomorrow's world today.

So, taking this day gently, to be Church at home with my parents. A quiet breakfast at sunrise and poring over the newspaper, making petitions to God. Morning prayer in my bedroom at 8 o'clock, then Mass at Our Lady of Grace at nine. A trip mid-morning to the post office to send off 13 boxes to Boston, then an afternoon with my mom baking cinnamon raisin bread and putting together a jigsaw puzzle her sister gave her last Christmas. Well, it is Christmas in July for one more day....

Dinner early this evening at my parents' favorite Chinese-Japanese restaurant, followed by a breaking of the bread we baked. My sister Jennifer stopped over en route to a birthday barbecue for her best friend's husband. She and I have already made plans for a day together around the Thanksgiving holiday to visit a children's museum with the nephew and niece. Now, to be still before boarding the Greyhound at the Port Authority Bus Terminal late tomorrow morning.

How precious the moments today and over the last two weeks. A pilgrim and stranger, a wanderer, yes, but also and always at home with everyone as a brother and son, even with my own mother and father and sister and brother, in God's name.