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Introduction: What Do I Value?
Today’s Gospel concludes three weeks of readings from the 13th chapter of Matthew’s Gospel. Throughout these three weeks, we have heard Jesus teaching crowds about the Kingdom of Heaven through the use of parables. In this week’s Gospel, Jesus offers three more short parables.
The first two parables describe the great value of the Kingdom of Heaven. In the first parable, Jesus says that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a buried treasure that is worth possessing even if it means giving up everything else. In the second parable, Jesus proposes that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a pearl of great worth for which one will sell everything to possess. These parables teach us that we are to place everything we value in the service of the pursuit of God’s Kingdom and Community. Do we? What prevents us?
The third parable that Jesus proposes is different from the other two, but it is reminiscent of the parable of the sower heard in last week’s Gospel. The Kingdom of Heaven is compared to fishing with a wide net. After the fish have been collected, the good fish are kept, and the bad fish are tossed. So too, in the final judgment, will the wicked and the righteous be separated. Do we rashly judge?
The first two parables seem so harsh. Sell everything? A total commitment of self? Yet, you and I can envision this as a process, a journey. What is most important is the movement and the direction of our lives. Perhaps this is a life-time task? Only the person who searches can find, those who are happy with where they are will never find anything worth giving their life for. Am I in a stagnant phase or am I still searching, digging deeper in the field of my heart? What chords has the experience of recent tough challenges touched in my heart and in that of my family?
These parables also reflect a contradiction. Selling everything to obtain what they really desired so deeply filled both men with great joy. Great joy? As the prayer of St. Francis puts it, it is in giving that we receive. Perhaps you and I need to ask for a heart full of freedom, freedom to give all and to receive all. Isn’t that precisely what married couples and parents experience in their daily tasks and commitments? Where do I find joy in my giving?
I would invite you to take time to read and ponder the words from the Gospel of Matthew 13:44-52.
What word or words caught your attention?
What in this passage comforted you?
What in this passage challenged you?
Other probing questions:
What do I treasure about my faith?
When have I buried my faith?
What have I had to sacrifice for my faith?
Further Reflections, Questions, Exercises:
Have I found the pearl of great price? Am I still looking for it, or am I resigned to a life of mediocrity in my relationships with others, with God in my prayer life, in my work life?
Think about this hidden treasure; it inspires, enlivens, and opens horizons of new plans and dreams. The excitement that it brings cannot be always hidden. Perhaps God looks at me and sees a hidden treasure – wondering when I might discover it. Do I see a treasure within me?
Exercises: Today’s Gospel talks about what we value. Take time to think about what you value in your life. List them. And then rank them in order of importance. What do these values say about you?
You can also gather as a family and talk about your family values. Make a list together of those things that your family considers most important – such as family, friends, faith, trust, and love. What does this list of values say about your family?
Deacon David
Deacon David Suley
St. Andrew Apostle Catholic Church
Silver Spring, Maryland
Published with Permission
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A Morning Prayer for Peace of Mind
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