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Exodus 34:29-35; Psalm 99 HOly is the Lord our God; Matthew 13:44-46

"When Moses enetered the presence of the Lord to converse with him, he removed the veil until he came out again. On coming out, he would tell the children of Israel all that had been commanded..."


"Jesus said, the Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in the field, which a person finds an dhides again, and out of Joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field..."


Just a couple of things to think about this morning and through the day...

In the readings we have a man who stumbles upon a treaure, another who deliberatley searches for a treasure, and a Moses who is summoned by God.

All three have something in common.

The two men in the gospel are willing to give up everything for the one thing. They are ready to make changes to their lives and create space for the this new found reality, this which has moved them to joy and whose joy moved them to make changes for the better.

Moses who is summoned by God also is changed by his experience with God. His conversation with God has left him marked for all to see for "the skin of his face had become radiant while he conversed with the Lord."



Chnage is inevitable they say. But for us who follow God change is welcomed. Change is a sign of our transformation brought on by this encounter with the living God.
This Change should be written all over our face: the encounter with God is like getting a facial.

As John Cardinal Newman was said, "to change is to be perfected."

Here are a few words form the Pope:
"But each of us, in accordance with his or her state of life, is called to work for the advancement of God's kingdom by imbuing temporal life with values of the gospel. Each of us has a mission, each of us is called to change the world, to work for a culture of life, a culture forged by love and respect for the dignity of each human person...light must shine in the sight of all."

How do we change the world, by allowing ourselves to be changed.

But it is joy that changes us. The joy of discovery is what gives us the the strength to open ourseleves up to God and let him do with us as he desires. We must let God have his way with us.

Only Joy can make the process of change so captivating and enthralling.

think about all the thing we do to make our complexion better or to help our face glow. How many face creams and treatments are out their promising an "organic glow."
God also promise this "glow."

But it a radiance that comes from opening our hearts andminds ot him and living in the willingness to be changed.

thus is Joy.
It is both a prerequisite and a product of that enocunter with the living God.