A good deal of Jesus’ teaching in the Gospels is about the kingdom of heaven – the great promise of a future in which the Father draws all creation into harmony. The images that Jesus uses to describe this kingdom draw on familiar, domestic life: the woman who loses a coin; the seed that grows to a great tree; the family and friends gathered to celebrate a marriage. To be people of the kingdom, Jesus’ parable suggests, is to be a people aware that we carry great gifts that belong not to us, but to our Lord. It is the constant concern for what is put into our hands that is so vividly set before us in the image of the “perfect wife” in the first reading. The woman’s hard work in the ordinary fabric of daily living, far from being “just” domestic, or “mere housework,” is recognized as the virtue that it is: a kind of practical wisdom that enables life to flourish, and generous charity to find a place in our homes. It is ordinary doing of love and faithfulness.
Today we are all being called to a new kind of mission – a fresh witness to the world about the love of God in Jesus, and the joy that life in His Spirit brings. I will pray, instead, for God to raise up others to great tasks. Those prayers are important; but today’s readings remind us that, first and foremost, it is in the daily routines of life that the power of the kingdom can find a home in our world. Next time we are cleaning, picking up the phone to a colleague or friend, cooking for our children, or waiting for a bus, let’s call to mind our great vocation to serve God’s kingdom in ordinary things. In such small steps, the world will be consecrated more and more to Christ.