Seventeenth Sunday
in Ordinary Time
1 Kings 3:5, 7-12
Romans 8:28-30
Matthew 13:44-52 or 13:44-46
It sometimes amazes me that siblings often have very different faith journeys. It has been that way in my own family. Throughout her life, Delphine went to Mass on Sundays “in case there is a God.” She did not struggle with the notion; she simply decided that this would be her solution. Chuck, on the other hand, believes deeply and struggles with the implications. The treasure is in sight, but he is unsure whether he is willing to pay the price.
It has been easier for me. If there was a “flash of faith” that changed my life, I don’t remember it. It has simply been there—a grace that I did not earn and certainly do not deserve. At times, the cost of that faith has seemed very steep; but, I have never thought my faith was not worth the price.
Today’s Gospel reading compares the kingdom to a pearl. In the ancient world, pearls were treasured not only because of their material value but because of their beauty. In a world of simulated and freshwater pearls, it is easy for us to diminish the worth of a pearl that could be the focus of a lifetime search. It is equally simple for us to disregard the efforts of those who search for faith throughout their lives.
The parable of the treasure is a direct contrast. The man digging in the field was not searching for treasure. He chanced upon it—how like the grace that none of us truly deserves. Still, at the heart of each of these parables there is a simple truth: no matter how we discover the kingdom, it is worth everything to gain it and to keep it. This is the kingdom that God himself purchased with his Son.
But, we ask, when will the kingdom finally arrive? The answer is in the parable of the net…when we have reached the fullness of time. The kingdom will come when the kingdom will come.
“Thy kingdom come,” we pray and sometimes the words do not elicit any enthusiasm, any fervor or any real commitment because we have forgotten our place in the coming of the kingdom. We have lost sight of the meaning of the parables that we have been hearing in these last weeks. We have forgotten that the kingdom is life in Christ and the Spirit. The Church is where the kingdom grows and we are those who have been chosen to bring it to fullness. Once we have discovered the priceless kingdom, our role is to announce that the kingdom has come in Jesus Christ. One of the ways in which we do this is by looking at our lives through the eyes of faith, by finding the message of Jesus in the events of every day. Jesus showed us how to do that by speaking in parables—by showing us that we can learn lessons from lost coins, seeds, nets, pearls, and treasures.
We praise and thank God for the place he has in our lives and for our place in the kingdom.
