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Treasures of the Kingdom







Treasures of the Kingdom
17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mt 13: 44 - 52
July 26, 2020


Introduction

In today’s Gospel, Jesus speaks again about the kingdom of God in parables. He presents the kingdom to us in an attractive way, comparing it to a treasure and a pearl of great price.

Gospel

44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; 46 on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; 48 when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
51 “Have you understood all this?” They answered, “Yes.” 52 And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” 

Reflection

In today’s reading, Jesus once more speaks to us about the kingdom of God using parables. Here are some insights on the three parables in this reading:

The first parable is about the hidden treasure in a field. For us, modern readers, stories about hidden treasures are the stuff of legends and fiction. At the time of Jesus, however, they were real. In those days, there were no banks.  When people had money, they usually kept them at home. When they had too much of it, they hid most of this beneath their houses, digging underground spaces to hide their wealth. When for instance, war suddenly breaks out or for some reasons, the home is suddenly abandoned, the treasure underground remains hidden and untouched sometimes for years or even centuries. So it is not surprising that some people are able to unearth hidden treasures just as Jesus describes it in the parable.

We can interpret the parable this way: First, the kingdom of God is compared to a treasure. When we discover God’s kingdom, it is like discovering a treasure; it overwhelms and simply mesmerizes us when finding it. Secondly, the discovery of this treasure brings “joy” as Jesus describes it. One is overjoyed when one discovers the kingdom. Lastly, one is ready to give up everything in order to posses the kingdom. There are no half measures in the kingdom. Giving up everything seems to be the natural reaction of one who discovers the incomparable worth of this kingdom.

The second parable is similar to the first parable. We know that Israel is a coastal country. Merchants who traded pearls along its coastal cities were a familiar sight to many. In the second parable, Jesus talks about a merchant who was in search for pearls. This merchant knew what he was looking for. Like an expert, or a connoisseur, he knew the difference between an ordinary pearl and one which was of great value. In the first parable, the man who finds the treasure may have found the treasure by accident or by mere chance. Here in the second parable, however, the merchant who was searching was not playing a game of chance or probability. He was intentional. He already knew what he wanted; he just hasn’t seen what he was searching for. The interpretation of this second parable is similar to the first parable. Both men sell everything they had in order to take possession of their great find. Unlike, however, the man in the first parable, the merchant who was searching for great pearls was looking for something perfect or ideal which he hasn’t found yet. Whether the man was searching for meaning, perfection or something else, is something we don’t know. But he definitely stopped his search, when finally, he found the ideal and the perfection he was looking for there in God’s kingdom.

The third parable which is the parable of the dragnet, is similar to the parable of the wheat and the weeds. The kingdom of God is like the sea which holds both good and bad fish. In the end, however, and only in the end, does God sort out the good from the bad. God’s patience and tolerance is clear in this parable. His justice, however, triumphs in the end.  

In these parables, we realize that the kingdom of God is something valuable, priceless and beautiful. It is simply incomparable. When we find or discover the kingdom, it brings us much joy and much contentment. It also puts an end to our longing, our quest and search for anything else because we have finally found what our heart has been looking for. Anyone who finds the kingdom willingly gambles and puts everything at stake for the sake of possessing and acquiring the kingdom because nothing really compares to it.

But while Jesus has presented to us a kingdom so attractive and so beautiful, it makes us wonder why we do not have the same joy and passion in pursuing the kingdom like the characters of this parable.

So today, let us ask the Lord to surprise us with his hidden treasure and lure us to the pearl of great price so that we too may long and search for him and his kingdom and find what has been totally missing in our life.

Prayer

Most precious and most beautiful one. Draw us ever closer to your beauty and grace so that we may always seek you until we finally find and rest in you. Amen.


“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
    nor the human heart conceived,
what God has prepared for those who love him”— 1 Cor 2: 9


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