Exodus 40:16-21, 34-38 / Matthew 13:47-53
We may be rather envious of the Israelites in the 1st reading.
They can actually see the presence of God in the holy things around them.
Anyway, they had already seen the wonders the Lord did in the land of Egypt.
And they had also seen how the Lord delivered them from the Egyptian army by parting the sea for them to cross over, and yet drowned the Egyptians.
And now, in the tabernacle that Moses had made, the presence of God rested on it like a cloud during the day, and a fire shone within the cloud by night.
But for us, we don’t see such awesome signs of God’s presence.
We have our doubts but we still walk on by faith.
And as we walk through life, we are like the dragnet that brings in a haul of all kinds.
But with faith, we know what is good and bad, and we keep what is good and throw out what is bad.
We may not see awesome signs of the presence of God.
But with faith, we will see God in all things and give thanks to God for everything.