It is 03rd August 2017. The readings are from Exod.40:16-21, 34-38 and the Gospel from Mt.13:47-53. In the first reading, God instructed Moses to set up a tabernacle as the assurance for the people of God to believe and move forward in their journey towards the promised land. The tabernacle symbolizes the presence of God filled with God’s glory. When people ignore God, and have no time for God, the presence of God departed from the temple. (2 Kings 25). It is the same with us too. We are the temples and tabernacles of the Holy Spirit. We feel very much assured and confident when we obey and listen to God and feel the intimate presence of God in our lives no matter how gruesome our situations we are in. We need to watch and feel the presence of God in our tiny tabernacles to proceed the journey towards eternal happiness. When we feel and are aware of the presence is not felt, we must wait on God until God’s presence makes us feel again. It is our duty to work for the Lord and to execute God’s plan in our lives. We cannot just gather to worship and disperse. We need to actively participate in the plan of God. How much involved are we in our own parishes we belong? Do we only come numbers to collect money to dine and dance only? Do we listen to the voice of the Lord and do we cooperate with God? How about our personal tabernacle? Is the glorious presence of God still there or departed for good? What and who made the presence of God to depart in our lives? Are we willing to take responsibility for the shambling and rambling we have created in our tabernacle of our lives? The responsorial Psalm praises, “How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, God of hosts.” (Ps.83:2). The Gospel reminds us that how cautious and prudent we need to be for the sake of gathering people for the Kingdom of God. We should not try to separate the useless when the net is still in the water. There is so much similarity between the parable of weeds with this parable. We want our church and parishes to be holy. Yet, God has not given any permission to clean up and gather the best to anyone. When we are human, we notice all that is below human. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we notice all that belongs to God. Let us not take the role of God in separating and dividing God’s people. May our tabernacles recognize the goodness and weakness in others and lead them to God. May you have a good.