19th Sunday in Ordinary Time: August 9/10 2025

I found Jesus’ words in the Gospel today very comforting; did you catch them right at the beginning of the reading? “Do not be afraid any longer, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.” You and I are bound for the kingdom, a kingdom God is delighted and pleased to give us, not earned, but given to us as pure gift, but it does come with a price.

Where your treasure is, there your heart shall be, the price is setting our hearts, directing our lives toward God’s kingdom.  You see, we are always in pursuit of, and in service to some kind of kingdom.

We are either living in allegiance to the king of kings, celebrating our welcome into God’s

kingdom of glory and grace, OR we are anointing ourselves as kings and working to set

up our own little kingdoms, of one.  But here is what is important for us to understand. God did not give us his grace in order to make our little claustrophobic kingdoms of one work, but to invite us to a much, much better, bigger, bold, and brilliant, kingdom.

We think we know what is best for us, but we don’t. We think we are able to rule our own lives, but we aren’t. We set our hearts on things we think will make us happy, but they don’t.  We think we can defend ourselves against temptation, but by ourselves, we can’t.

Every human being is in need of a king, someone (or something) to serve. All human beings need the rescue, forgiveness, justice, mercy, refuge, and protection which they are unable to give themselves. . .

The amazing thing about the work of Christ is not only that in his life, death, and resurrection we are offered forgiveness forever, but that with it, we are welcomed into the kingdom of the universe’s most powerful and only perfect king.

God blesses us with what no human kingdom can ever give. God showers us with forgiveness, reconciliation, peace, and hope. God protects us when we don’t have the

sense to protect ourselves. God rules over all the moments that seem to us to be out of control. He sets up his kingdom in our hearts, rescuing us from all the other things that can and will rule over us if we let them.

And God patiently teaches us that we weren’t created to live as kings, anxiously working to set up our own little kingdoms.

God teaches us what it means to rest in his kingship and to live for his glory.  And God

encourages us with the truth that his kingdom will never end.

So are we loading up kingly burdens on our own shoulders today, trying to build what we

cannot build for ourselves, and forgetting what God has already built for us, just waiting to give to us in his good pleasure?? Or are we turning those burdens over to God, and resting in peace, remembering Jesus once told us, ”come to me all you who labor and are burden and I will give you rest.”

No small wonder that Jesus taught us to pray: thy kingdom come, thy will be done. . .

For where your treasure is, there your heart shall be. . .