SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
26 JULY 2020
When
Solomon succeeded his father David as king, he was aware of his own weakness
before God. He was a young adult and
lacked experience for the task he was undertaking. When God offered him anything he wanted,
Solomon was humble enough to ask for wisdom.
With the gift of wisdom, he could govern the kingdom which he had
inherited from his father. God affirmed
his choice, pointing out that wisdom was much more important than a long life
for himself, or riches, or the life of his enemies.
A thousand
years later, Jesus invites his disciples to have the wisdom to embrace the
kingdom of heaven that he has introduced.
We have been hearing about that kingdom from the Gospel of Saint Matthew
for the past two Sundays. Instead of
speaking in precise and difficult theological language, Jesus has been telling
parables that connect people with their everyday experience. The Lord has sown the seeds of the kingdom
and invited his listeners to make sure their soil is open enough to receive
it. Mixed in with the good of the
kingdom of heaven are the weeds that continue to be sown by the devil. Even though the kingdom may be as
insignificant as a mustard seed, it will continue to grow. Even when the dynamics of the kingdom may not
be visible, the leaven of the kingdom continues to have an effect on the dough
of this world.
Today,
Jesus continues to use simple parables to impart wisdom in choosing the values
of the kingdom of heaven. The Promised
Land had always been a battle ground, as empires from the east and west fought
to gain control. People would bury their
treasure in fields when they had to flee violence. Often, they did not return to retrieve
it. In the parable, the person who finds
a buried treasure realizes its value and is wise enough to sell everything to
buy the field. Merchants are trained to
know the price of a very valuable pearl.
When the merchant in the parable finds a pearl of great price, he has
the wisdom to sell everything else to buy it. Those who fish for a living catch all kinds of
sea creatures in the nets they drag through the sea. Once on shore, they have the wisdom to
separate the good from the bad.
Jesus
invites us to embrace that same wisdom.
Remembering what Saint Paul says to the Romans, we too trust that “…all
things work for good for those who love God.”
We who love God have been given many good things. Like the person who discovers the treasure hidden
in the field, we discover treasures right under our feet. Despite all the difficulties imposed on us in
these last few months, we have discovered the treasure of spending more time
with family. We have learned new ways to
pray in the domestic churches of our homes.
Like the merchant who finds the pearl of great price, we discover that
the good things of life are best enjoyed when we are generous and share a
portion of our blessings with others.
The kingdom
of heaven is in our midst. As sons and
daughters of Solomon, we pray for the wisdom to adjust our priorities to embrace
fully the values of the kingdom in our midst.
We have been caught in God’s great dragnet. The Lord challenges us today to continue to
turn more completely toward him and his kingdom of unconditional love, justice,
peace, and compassion. That involves
separating the bad from the good within each one of us. It also involves leaving the ultimate
judgment of what is bad and good to God, who will make the final separation at
the end of time. We are called to be
scribes, disciplined in the workings of the kingdom of heaven, who have
received both the Torah and the knowledge and teachings of the life of Jesus
Christ. We are guided by the authentic
teachings of the Church to be witnesses of the kingdom of heaven in our midst,
trusting its power to transform us and the world.
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