| For your convenience you can now listen to Fr. Bob’s reflection, click here. |
17th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Pearl of Great Price
7-26-20 |
| Matthew 13:44-53 |
| Some
time ago, a magazine ran a story about a teenager who belongs to the
Santa Clara swimming club. Every morning she gets up at 5:30am to hurry
to an outdoor pool for two solid hours of swimming, after which, she
goes to school. After school, she returns to the pool to swim for two
more hours. At 5:00pm, she hurries home to do homework. She goes to bed
exhausted and waits for the alarm to ring at 5am to start it all over
again. When asked why she follows such a disciplined schedule, she said,
“My goal is to make the Olympic team.” I will give up going to parties;
I will give up staying up late, anything for a gold Olympic medal.” |
| Had
Jesus lived now rather than in A.D.30, today’s gospel might have been
very different. Rather than talk about a pearl merchant who sacrificed
all to buy a dream pearl or a farmer who sold all to buy a field with
treasure in it Jesus might have talked about a Santa Clara swimmer. Who
sacrificed all to make the Olympic team. |
| Why
do I say this? What connection is there between a pearl merchant, a
treasure seeker and a Santa Clara swimmer? What do these three people
have in common? The one thing they have in common is their total
commitment to a dream. All three are willing to sacrifice everything for
a goal they have set for themselves. This leads us to the point Jesus
wishes to make for us in today’s gospel, the point is this: Citizenship
in God’s kingdom involves total commitment on our part. We cannot pursue
it as we do a part-time job. |
| We
cannot work at it as we do a hobby. Being a Christian is like being a
pearl merchant, being a Christian is like being a treasure seeker. Being
a Christian is like being a Santa Clara swimmer. It involves total
dedication and commitment. But, there is one big difference between a
Christian and the other three. Paul refers to it in a letter to the
Corinthians. Every athlete in training submits to strict discipline in
order to be crowned with a wreath that will not last. |
| But,
we do it for one that will last forever. That is the difference, the
Pearl Merchant’s prize. The farmer’s treasure and the swimmer’s medal
are all perishable. At the moment of death there is only one thing that
counts. |
| It
is not whether in life we acquired a prize pearl, a rare treasure, or a
gold medal. The only thing that will matter is what we have become in
the process of trying to seek the pearl. Acquire the treasure or win the
medal. What has the pursuit of these things done to us? How have they
affected our daily life? Ultimately, whatever is yours, save for sin is
God’s gift to you, even if it stems from your own fantastic talent, that
talent itself owes its origin to God. But, a gift of God is not given
to be clutched, it is given to be given. |
| Each
of you is a gifted woman, man or child. Gifted in more ways, perhaps,
than your modesty will admit. It matters not what your specific
possessions are….millions or the widow’s mite. Intelligence or power,
beauty or wisdom, faith, hope, love, gentleness and compassion. What
Jesus tells us time and time again is use your gifts as He invites or
commands you to use them. To some, He may say, “Give all you have to the
poor and come follow me.” To others, He invites, “Share what you
possess, use it for those around you, employ your power for peace.” |
| “Your
wisdom to reconcile, your knowledge to open horizons, your compassion
to heal, your hope to destroy despair, your very weakness to give
strength. Remember your most precious possession is yourself, give it
away lavishly.” Today’s gospel makes an important point. Nothing in the
world may take priority over God’s kingdom and our pursuit of it.
Today’s gospel tells us that what counts when we die is not what we have
acquired in life. But, what we have become. |
| Did
we learn to love one another? Did we learn to forgive one another? Did
we learn to help the needy? Did we learn to encourage the fainthearted?
Did we learn to become more committed and loyal to God and to one
another? One thing I can promise you that rarely in your life will you
experience such profound joy as when, because of you, a smile is born on
a crucified face. And you realize that all people, no matter what they
have done or who they are in God’s eyes, they are all pearls of great
price. Remember your most precious possession is yourself, give it away
lavishly. |
|
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