Matthew 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.”
In Matthews’s gospel regarding the parables of Jesus for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary time we are left with a great image of God’s nature and person. We may ask ourselves how can we be like these two individuals who find a great treasure in a field or a great pearl? Do we search out such a treasure or pearl in our spiritual life by communing with the Lord God in prayer in all that we do both in our leisure time and when we are working? Sometimes finding a treasure or pearl is akin to a gift of grace that God bestows on us to lead us in the right direction. Do we thank God daily for each day as a blessing to come follow Him more closely so we may find that hidden treasure or pearl in our relationships with not only God, but our brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus? We are reminded of God’s saving grace to us with these parables in His sacrifice for us on Calvary in which our loving God wants to gather up all the fish (we are the fish in which he proclaimed to the first apostles that they would be fishers of mankind) with the imagery of the net. It is God leading us to this great treasure and these accidental finds by the man who buys the field and merchant are part of the complex parable narratives in which Jesus wishes to explain the kingdom to his disciples.
Jesus is the Net. Jesus is the Great Pearl. Jesus is the Great Treasure leading us to the Father’s field in the Kingdom of heaven. God the Father gathers up all mankind and offers His mercy & His love to those willing to accept such a gift and treasure through the sacrificial gift of His only begotten son as a gift of selfless agape love (Jn. 3:16). Such a love continues to be made manifest in our life with the workings of the Holy Spirit until the end of the age in which the Son of Man (Jesus) will come again. We too must make a similar sacrifice so as to give up everything to follow Him by casting aside those obstacles in our life that prevent us from giving ourselves over to God. We don’t necessarily have to give up and sell our earthly possessions as was done in these parables, but do have to acknowledge that our loving God wishes to have a personal relationship with us. Once we acknowledge our relationship with God as being within the center of our life will the grace filled treasures of the kingdom be revealed to us as we seek to do God’s will on our earthly pilgrimage. Just as Solomon asked for wisdom in the Old Testament reading, what would you ask God to gift you with at this point in your life?
1 Kings 3:11-12 “The LORD was pleased that Solomon made this request. So God said to him: “Because you have asked for this— not for a long life for yourself, nor for riches, nor for the life of your enemies, but for understanding so that you may know what is right— I do as you requested. I give you a heart so wise and understanding that there has never been anyone like you up to now, and after you there will come no one to equal you.”
The imagery from the stained glass art from Scots Church in Melbourne depict a gaze from the two men of being awestruck with seeing the treasure and the pearl when such a discovery is made. We too should keep our eyes on the prize and not lose focus by chasing those earthly desires that don’t lead back to God. The other image with the Parable of Hidden Treasure depict a gaze from a man directed in a different direction. Perhaps he is seeing the great field of a Heavenly paradise for which we too must continuously seek out.
Today, let us ask for the grace to rid ourselves of sin and those inferior earthly desires in our life. Let us be open to seeking and receiving the greatest treasure in a relationship with Christ Jesus. Amen.
StreetEvangelist 
