God's Word for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

He sells everything he has and buys that field.

17^th Sunday in Ordinary Time A

1Kings 3: 5.7-12, Psalm118:57.72.76-77.127-130.Rv97, Rom 8:28-30,Matthew 13:44-52

I give you a heart wise and shrewd.

Your will is wonderful indeed therefore I obey it.

By turning everything to their good, God cooperates with those who love him.

July 24, 2011 

Gospel 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.”

What an opportunity?

Tell me who isn’t searching for the pearl of great price. Everyone is. We all want a great life. We all want or wanted to get the most out of life. Have any of us found the treasure hidden in a field?

            Tell me again; is what we read in the Gospels true? Is it really true? If it is then it is worth more than any pearl. Some of us just stumbled on the treasure too. We were born into a family where we came to know Jesus. Some of us have the problem that we have the treasure and think it is scrap! We even give it away! Others that they know the pearl is valuable but aren’t willing to sell everything and buy it. It involves a hardship which they don’t want to suffer.

            The pearl and the treasure aren’t things! They are a Person. The Person is Jesus Christ. Jesus is real. He has died but has risen from the dead and is among us. We can’t see him with our eyes but that doesn’t mean it is impossible to come into real and vibrant contact with him. It certainly is possible. The first of the gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom and understanding. Both of these are necessary to know and touch Jesus today. The boys, who found the famous Dead Sea Scrolls in a cave in the wilderness, didn’t realize their value. The scrolls were priceless but they were satisfied to sell them for a few dollars. Without wisdom and understanding we will sell Jesus for even less. We may even throw him away.

            Jesus offers us his friendship and the person with wisdom and understanding will realize that here lies the great life he has been seeking. After all if you can’t find a great life in the friendship of your Creator, then where will you find it? Everything comes from him and the happiness, the fulfilment, joy and peace I long for will necessarily be found in him. It makes solid sense to drop everything else and make this friendship the goal of my life.

            What must you do? Pray earnestly to the Holy Spirit. May he give the supreme gift of wisdom. You will then want to find Jesus in your life. You will make the search your life work. Don’t think you know where he is. He has a habit of springing surprises. You will make the reading of his word and prayer important parts of your daily life. You will take every opportunity to learn more to discover him in the ordinary every day affairs of life. You will experience a great thirst for him and Psalm 63 will become your anthem: “O Lord, you are my God; it is you I seek; for you my body longs and my soul thirsts. Your love is better than life”.

             

Father, may I find in the friendship of Jesus the abundant life I long for.