17^th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

 

Readings: 1Kings 3:5-7, 12

                 Romans 8:28-30

                 Matthew 13:44-52

 

 

“The kingdom of Heaven is like
a treasure hidden in a field..."

 

 

Today’s gospel brings the last three parables of the parabolic discourse of Jesus. The parable of the dragnet has a very similar message to that of the parable of the weeds which we meditated on last Sunday. Let us then try to center our thoughts on the other twin parables: that of the hidden treasure and that of the precious pearl. Once more, they give another picture of God’s kingdom.

 

1. Hidden treasure has always fascinated everyone's imagination. That is why there are people who invest much of their time, skills and whatever possessions they have in diligent study and search for one. We know of a few who had been rewarded in such endeavor. But many indeed have still been searching for it until now. Others have already quitted for one reason or the other. But for sure, they have ended up even poorer than before. Worse, they wasted not only money but family. Thus, to other people, they become a source of pity. To some, they become a laughing stock. But one thing makes us all the same. At least in one idle moment of our life, we also think of a buried treasure and how we wish to stumble on it one day.

 

2. The twin parables also talk about these precious things. They are called twin parables since they are very close and similar. Despite this similarity, however, we notice one difference. While the buried treasure was found accidentally, the precious pearl was found after a long search. Such is the case of the kingdom of God.

 

a. At one time, we hear a habitual drunkard abhor wine overnight because his beloved promised him marriage: At another time, we are told that a notorious bystander leads a rescue operation after his own house was swept by the flood. These and other similar cases are turning points in man's life. They happen so unexpectedly and they do change the normal course of things.

 

Similarly does God's kingdom work in human experience. It is like that farmer who accidentally found the buried treasure. In all of his life, he never expected that such amazing grace would come his way. And surely, such grace was just that amazing to change his life forever. Again, God's ways are not man's ways. His grace works unexpectedly. He uses people, things, events and many others just to touch a dormant heart or even curb a spoiled one. Such was the case of St. Paul on his way to Damascus. He never expected that that day would mark his conversion. But he stumbled on a buried treasure, and that was enough to make his life never the same again: from a persecutor to a disciple, and what a great disciple he would become!

 

b. While the buried treasure was found accidentally, the precious pearl was found after a long search. This is but the normal path towards Christian spirituality and evangelical perfection. Grace, although unmerited, is also something to be worked out. Even the mystic St. Theresa of Avila had to pass through a number of castles before she had to experience an intimate union with God. So too with our spiritual journey and with our efforts to build God's kingdom. The kingdom values of justice, peace and love are to be worked out everyday and in every opportunity. Most often, they are not given freely
with equal price of sacrifice.

 

3. The twin parables have at least two similarities: first, both the farmer and the merchant found their precious thing in their work; second, both the fanner and the merchant became overwhelmed with joy to find it and were willing to dispose everything they had just to have it.

 

a. As the farmer discovers it while plowing, so the merchant finds it in his search. Most often, we want to have our life’s turning point beyond the ordinary. We like to think that God's kingdom is quite at a distance and we strive to attain it through extraordinary means and sometimes miraculously. The parables are a reminder that real treasure is just within our neighborhood, right in our very own midst. Today’s first reading teaches us about the undying example of how to have his treasure applicable to his work and of how God rewards it to him because of it. Solomon did not ask God for material wealth or fame and honor. Instead, he begged for a kind Heart that would enable him to judge his people with justice. That was the treasure he longed for, and he was not denied of it. And besides it, he was given the things he did not even ask. Solomon became the wisest and richest king.

 

We are fascinated too to think about the treasures of Solomon. But what fascinates us more is that treasure which made him rich and not that which made him wise. In the spirit of the gospel, Solomon's real treasure was the kind heart he asked from God. Perhaps, this too is the treasure we need. For truly, that kind heart which always seeks for justice, peace and love is the life-giving energy that pushes us towards God's road may be long and winding, but the heart that seeks for justice will always find God's kingdom even here on earth. Indeed, the kingdom of God is like a treasure; it is like a precious pearl.

 

b. Both the farmer and the merchant became overjoyed to find their precious thing. This is the most normal reaction of anybody who discovers it. But what is more important is the determination that accompanies their joy. This is the point of the gospel. They did not get it as soon as they found it. Rather, they had to dispose everything just to have it.

 

The classic example that immediately goes to mind is St. Francis of Assisi. This only of a wealthy merchant stumbled upon a treasure that literally changed his life. He gave up everything, yes, everything, even the last cloth that covered him. He was disowned by his father. But to him, it was the sweetest price of the kingdom. The once wealthy Francis became a poor mendicant, begging a piece of bread for every meal. But eternity never forgets. Not even time. For all generations, the treasure of Francis has fascinated every pious soul that thirsts for the kingdom to reign in each heart.

 

The same is true with the fate of those modern martyrs who discovered, understood and were convinced that the kingdom values are the real treasure to own and to share. They too left home and family and selflessly offered their lives that there might be home for the homeless, job for the jobless, food for the hungry, cure to the sick, freedom to captives and God’s reign be proclaimed to the poor. To them, these are the real treasure worth dying for. They are not buried in any field or to be found after a long search. They are there right in the midst of those who have eyes and ears to hear. To work for them makes not only the treasures of the kingdom but the kingdom itself. Indeed, they are the real treasures of the heart!