July 30^th 2017. Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

GOSPEL: Matthew 13, 44-52

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading ...

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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." 

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . In the first reading the Lord tells Solomon that he can have whatever he wants. Instead of asking for riches, or for a long life, or for the defeat of his enemies, Solomon asks for wisdom. What is wisdom? Is it the fruit of a superior intellect? Is it the possession of all the important facts? No! Wisdom involves the capacity to discern between what is worthwhile and what is worthless. It involves the capacity to renounce the things that bind me. It requires detachment from things and the freedom to choose the one thing that matters – Our Lord Jesus Christ. In the Gospel passage, a man sells all he owns in order to have the true treasure, while the merchant gives up everything so that he can possess the pearl of great price. If I am to be a good parent, if I am to have the capacity to love someone truly, if I am to fulfil the mission that the Lord is giving me, then I must renounce earthly things and choose the one thing that matters most – the Lord. The ironic thing is that the person who neglects Christ and goes after the things of this world will end up with nothing at all because the things of this world will one day turn out to be illusory! And the one who renounces everything for the Lord will turn out to have riches beyond compare.

Solomon asks God for wisdom. What is wisdom? Does it come a superior intellect? From possession of all the facts? No, true wisdom requires discernment, the capacity to reject that which leads nowhere, the capacity for renunciation of self.

In the first reading, we hear of the dream of Solomon. Though he is only a young man, the time has come for him to begin his mission and rule the kingdom of his father David. The Lord asks him in the dream to request whatever he wishes. Solomon does not ask for a long life, riches, or for victory over his enemies. Instead he asks for a heart with understanding, a heart capable of discerning. It is very interesting to examine the Hebrew term used by Solomon. It does not refer to a capacity for great erudition or intelligence. Rather it indicates a heart that is capable of listening. Wisdom does not derive from a superior possession of facts but involves a constant openness to reality. It requires a person to place themselves before reality and learn from it. The wise person is not the one who has already learned something from reality in the past but the one who is still open in a constant and humble way to that which the Lord wishes to say to them. An understanding heart is a heart that allows itself to be permeated by the word that it receives.

In the Gospel, those who are wise renounce everything in order to possess the one thing that matters. This is the kind of discernment that is necessary if we are to be able to truly love someone, if we are to be good parents, if we are to fulfil the mission that the Lord gives us.

What do we encounter in the Gospel passage for Sunday? We encounter instances of wise discernment. A man discovers a hidden treasure and sells everything he has to possess that treasure. Wisdom involves discernment. It involves being able to discriminate between that which must be retained and that which must be let go. A wise person does not accept everything. The wise person selects only that which is right. He realizes that the hidden treasure is greater than all of his possessions. Our lives are exactly like that. We must seek to discern where the work of God is located and get rid of everything so that we can be where the hidden work of God is situated. Similarly, the merchant in search of fine pearls sells all that he has in order to possess the greatest pearl. There is something that is worth more than anything else! There is something that we should be willing to do anything in order to possess that thing! In life we must discern where this precious pearl is and do everything in order to have it. How often we try to hold onto other treasures as well! We must learn to renounce everything in order to have one thing only. Only in this way can we be capable of loving a person, of being faithful to our family, of fulfilling our mission, of leaving everything in order to do what is right. This is how life can be lived to the full, by renouncing all that is not the pearl of great price.

As long as I remain attached to things, then I am unable to discern what is good among those things. I must attain independence from the things of this world if I am to have the capacity to discern the things of heaven

A curious path to wisdom appears in this Gospel passage. In order to be rich, one must make himself poor. In order to have the great pearl, one must give up all other pearls. All other goods must be renounced in order to have the only good that really counts. This is how one develops the capacity of discernment: by being no longer a slave of possessions we become oriented to the one true good. When the treasure in the field is discovered, when the pearl of great price appears, then one learns how to renounce all else. There can be no true discernment while one remains attached to his possessions. I cannot choose between different goods if I have made myself dependent on some of those goods. In order to discern from among things, I must have attained independence from everything. In order to receive the true pearl, which is Our Lord Jesus, the disciples and many saints had to leave everything in order to possess him. It is not that love can be bought by selling all that we have. Rather, in order to become disciples of the kingdom of heaven then we must be capable of abiding by the things of heaven and them alone. Saint Philip Neri had a famous saying attributed to him, “I choose Paradise” (“Preferisco il Paradiso”). The road that leads to Paradise is a different one to the road that leads to hell. The path that leads to beauty is not the one that leads to destruction. If we wish to take the path that leads to Paradise then we must avoid the path that leads to hell. The things that are not the true treasure must be thrown away.

Ironically, the one who neglects Christ in order to go after the things of this world will neither possess Christ nor the things of this world! Ultimately these worthless things are illusory. But if I renounce these things then I actually acquire treasure beyond price

In the first reading, Solomon chooses the one thing that matters and as a result everything else is given to him as well. He who decides to attach himself to the worthless things of this world and neglects Christ, will possess neither Christ nor the things of this world because the things of this world are illusory! Curiously, to him who has more will be given. The one who chooses to be seriously connected to Christ will live happily in this world. The few things he has in this world will be enjoyed in their fullness because he is detached from them and does not depend on them. The possession of the true treasure, the precious pearl, indicates that one is free. Thousands of times in life we are required to make this act of selection, of self-abandonment, of renunciation. But in reality this renunciation is in fact acquisition! When something is truly worthwhile, then we must give everything in order to have it. When the Lord presents us with a mission, with something beautiful to do, then we must not turn away towards other things. With our minds fully operational, and in a gradual and prudent fashion, we must take possession of that which the Lord has shown us is truly important. One thousand times we ought to ask ourselves, is this anger worthwhile? Is this anxiety worthwhile? Is this thing really what is best for me? We must direct ourselves to that which is best, that which is deepest, that which is not passing, but which saves me authentically. For this I must renounce everything.