1 Kgs 3:5, 7-12
Ps 119: 57, 72, 76-77, 127-128, 129-130
Rom 8:28-30
Mt 13:44-52
We make most daily decisions without much effort: do I cross now or wait until that car passes? orange or apple juice at breakfast? take a nap or exercise? Other choices however, require discernment, thought, and effort. We have all made life changing choices and will do so in the future. Among the most important of those choices was the choice for or against Jesus.
The first reading and gospel both involve life-changing choices. God asked Solomon what he desired, with “and I will give it to you” implied rather than stated
Solomon was young, nothing more than a kid. Despite that he did not ask for things most of us would want: a long life, a healthy life, riches, or a great car. Solomon asked for understanding, he asked for the wisdom to discern
between good and evil, and the ability to be a good leader. His request pleased God. It was granted.
One can only pray that our national leaders--BOTH parties--would ask God for the same. Imagine congress praying for the wisdom to be good leaders
rather than offering human sacrifice on the altar of abortion, worshipping the perverse and sexually bizarre. The pathetic assistant surgeon general who supports blocking a child’s puberty, is beneath contempt.
Every choice involves a cost. Sometimes we realize what that cost will be. Other times the cost comes as a surprise. When we make a choice other options are closed off. Sure we can change our minds about orange vs. apple juice, or even have both, but the most important choices close off the other possibilities.
Choosing to marry a particular man or woman, closes off the choices among all others. Choosing to enter religious life closes off the option to marry and have a family.
The three short gospel parables are about choices. They are related but each has a unique message. Unlike their usual response the apostles replied 'yes'
when Jesus asked if they understood. Repetition seems to have had an effect.
They finally got it, just as we get it and begin to understand what Jesus is telling us the more we listen to His word.
The first two parables recall an event in 1990. that blew the art world and the Society of Jesus out of the water. Dublin's Leeson Street Jesuit Community sent a painting that had been hanging in the dining room for more than sixty years to be cleaned. It was thought to have been a copy of a long-missing Carravagio called "The Taking of Christ." But one of the art restorers noticed something.
It WAS the missing painting worth tens of millions of pounds. It was both the treasure discovered accidentally in a field and the pearl of great price noticed by an expert. It is now on permanent loan from the Society of Jesus to the National Gallery of Ireland. Don’t miss seeing it if you’re in Dublin.
What about buried treasures? Most people today would ask why the treasure was buried in a field in the first place.
Matthew wrote his gospel when invasions were a regular threat. One way to keep a treasure safe was to bury it in a field. Of course before selling the field
it was important to remember first, that it was buried and second, where it was buried. Today we hear stories of very valuable objects found at flea markets, a kind of buried treasure equivalent, and estate sales, particularly those of local eccentrics. Indeed, PBS’ Antiques Road Show is premised on this gospel passage.
When the man realized what he had found buried he went away happy,
chose to sell everything he had, and purchased the field so as obtain the treasure. When we realize the value of the Kingdom of Heaven, when we truly understand and commit ourselves to following Jesus, we too can go off happy,
knowing that we have found the most valuable treasure.
The man’s discovery in the field was an accident. Not so for the merchant. He was an expert on a quest. He was looking for fine pearls and found an exceptional one. The merchant realized, on the basis of his experience, knowledge, and sharpened attention to what he was doing, that this was the real thing. He had found the pearl for which he was searching. He too chose to act
and commit to a course of action so as to obtain it.
The merchant’s excitement mirrors that of the one who discovers Christ later in life or the one who, having been baptized into the church, rediscovers what he or she had given up during that spiritual chaos known as young adulthood, and returns to active observance.
Both of these figures made irrevocable choices. Neither could have repurchased what had been sold. Neither could ever go back to the time before he made the decision. They had passed the point of no return.
The final parable is a bit different.
All of us can identify with fishing though few have experienced fishing with a drag net. A drag net picks up everything, fish, plant life, and all kinds of inanimate objects. After the net is hauled ashore the fishermen go through the contents,
keep the good fish discard those that are not good, and dispose of the detritus.
The parable recalls last week's gospel about the weeds and the wheat. When the field was harvested the weeds were thrown into the fire and the wheat stored in barns.
Good and evil, virtue and sin, have coexisted since the beginning of time, some things will never change. Our dilemma is whether or not we choose to trust in the promises of Christ as described by Paul, “We know that by turning everything to their good God cooperates with all those who love him, with all those that he has called . . .”
Accepting or refusing God’s grace is our free choice. We can never be forced
to accept or cooperate with that grace. However, all other important choices in our lives depend on that decision.
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Photos from ten years ago in Ogunquit, Maine. Only had 24 hours there visiting my sister and a friend who were vacationing there.
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| Saw the blue door and geraniums and reached for the shutter. Ogunquit is a very charming place though the traffic getting there in the summer is dreadful. |
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| Kayaks for rent. I did not even consider the possibility. |
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| This photo triggered many memories even though I was never a lifeguard. Mostly movie memories such as 'Summer of '42', 'Where the Boys Are',' and all the Annette "Beach Blanket Bingo" movies. |
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| Black and white adds another character to it. |
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| Processed to exhance the dark-light contrast. |
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| This is a great photo. I was able to erase someone walking into the water and focus only on the kid running barefoot on the beach with his. This will be an indelible memory for both. |
Fr. Jack, SJ, MD
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