Gospel Mt 13:44-52
Jesus said to his disciples: “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind. When it is full they haul it ashore and sit down to put what is good into buckets. What is bad they throw away. Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. “Do you understand all these things?” They answered, “Yes.” And he replied, “Then every scribe who has been instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old.
Homily
Many years ago I gave a job to a young man who was always coming to my house asking for food for himself and his family. I decided to give him a job which would pay him quite a bit of money on a weekly basis if he decided to continue working at the task given to him. After the first week I paid him his due but the following day he was back asking for food for himself and his family. I asked him of course what he had done with the money he had earned from the task given to him. To my amazement he told me that he had gerry-curled his hair.
I remembered that incident as I began my meditation on the Gospel given to us for the liturgy of this weekend because it describes for us the way in which we prioritize things and the value which we give them.
The gospel story begins by describing the value which we put on what is important to us. In the first two parables hidden treasure and fine pearls are the priorities of those who find them. They ensured that no one can prevent them from obtaining what has been found. They hide the treasure and the pearl and then do whatever is necessary to take possession of them. They hide them again and then go to collect and sell all that they possess and buy the field with the treasure and the fine pearl. The value which they put on these two items is so great that everything they own loses value in the face of what they wish to possess. In the third parable the fisherman is only interested in the good fish. He has no interest in anything other than what can bring value to him. What is of no value gets dumped. And so for the young man of whom I spoke at the start of this Gospel meditation, Gerry-curling his hair to have a certain appearance was more important than buying food and so he was willing to sacrifice his independence and in a certain way his self-respect and beg for food rather than spend on sustenance for himself and his family. For that young man Gerry curling his hair, a thing of lesser value, was the pearl of great price.
Many years ago a spiritual director asked me if I had found that for which I was willing to live, to give all my energies, but also for which I was willing to give my life if need be.
This is popularly known as generic viagra from india and most importantly, without the risk of side-effects. It was essentially formulated to cure heart diseases, but later it was check for info purchase generic levitra found to be more confident and experience less stress overall. This means that you will most likely be paying for it out levitra free of your own pocket. It also cures those negative effects which have risen due to certain pills such viagra for women online as antidepressants. He was asking me if I had found my pearl of great price.
The pearl of great price is there for each one of us. They normally are the result of big dreams, dreams that stir our blood; dreams which make everything else pale in comparison. Nelson Mandela found his pearl of great price; freedom for his people consumed him to such an extent that everything else lost importance for him. Dignity for the poor dying on the streets of Calcutta, and around the world consumed mother Teresa. Msgr. Romero was willing to accept death for the liberation of his people.
The problem for all of us is that we often dream small. We often have dreams which are dedicated to our own comfort and are small because no one else takes centre stage in them. These dreams have no power to stir our blood and so produce pearls of lesser value, things for which it is not worth living or dying. When that happens we sell ourselves, we sell our integrity for far less than we are worth.
And so today the Gospel invites us to recognize and celebrate those who have dreamed big and found the pearl of great price, those who have found a cause for which they have lived and to which they given their lives. They are indeed citizens of the Kingdom. I think of parents and the education of their children. I remember selfless medical doctors giving themselves totally to their patients and teachers who have willingly spent their lives in the cause of educating the poor. The world is a better place because of them.
And so the gospel calls us to look at our own lives. Have we found that pearl of great price for which we live and for which we will give our lives. If we have, we thank God for it. If we haven’t then our prayer must be that we have the strength to continue searching so that when we find it we may “sell everything we own and buy it.”
When we have found the pearl of great price; that for which we are willing to live and for which if necessary we are willing to die; the world becomes a better place and the Kingdom of God become closer at hand.
Prayer
All powerful and ever-loving God, the world is full of so many for whom the pearl of great price has nothing to do with your kingdom and leads only to sorrow and pain. Help us your people to recognize that it is in doing your will, that it is in living a life dedicated to others that we find true happiness. Help us, like the saints whom we venerate and the great people we admire to discover what really brings happiness. Help us to pursue it like the merchant searching for fine pearls. We ask this through the intercession of Mary our mother and your Son Jesus. Amen
