July 26^th 2020. The Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

GOSPEL: Matthew 13, 24-43

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

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Don Fabio’s homily follows the Gospel

GOSPEL: Matthew 13, 24-43

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 . . . Sunday’s Gospel calls on us to open our eyes to what really matters in life, to discern wisely, to consider what is really valuable. If we reflect on the riches that the Lord is offering us, then we will joyfully do whatever we can to receive those riches. But Christianity is often presented in a way that suffocates this joy! Sometimes our faith is presented as something that primarily involves denial and sacrifice. But a more balanced view emphasizes that Christianity is all about receiving much more than we give. It is pride and egoism that causes us to present sanctity as if it were all about our efforts. Our faith is first and foremost about liberation and salvation, not arbitrary penance and sacrifice. The Gospel passage challenges us to discern the riches and the beauty of what Christ is offering us. For that which is really valuable, we will willingly and joyfully renounce everything because we receive much more than we give. Our efforts, our renunciations, only serve to acquire the box in which the treasure is hidden. The value of the treasure is infinitely greater, but we spend too much time thinking about our efforts to acquire the box! Christian discernment focusses on the treasure. It is only then that everything acquires its real value.

Sometimes Christianity is presented as something that involves denial and sacrifice. But a more balanced view emphasizes that Christianity is all about receiving much more than we give.

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field; a man finds it and hides it; then he goes, full of joy, sells all his possessions and buys that field”. The act of giving away all one's possessions is normally understood as an action of self-denial and renunciation, something that is done in an attitude of detachment and sacrifice ... but nothing could be further from the Gospel! The Lord never proposes any renunciation except with the view to receiving something much greater and more valid. In this passage, for example, the man gives away everything he has full of joy, because what he has found is much greater. There is no denial in Christianity that does not lead to something superior. If God asks us for something, it is always because he is offering us much more. Whoever loses his life for the love of Christ, does it because it is precisely in this way that he finds the life that can never be lost. In this way, we obtain a treasure in heaven where thieves do not break in, where rust and woodworm do not consume. Christian discipleship is never a question of losing, but, on the contrary, of acquiring.

It is pride and egoism that causes us to present sanctity as if it were all about our efforts. But our faith is primarily about liberation and salvation, not arbitrary penance and sacrifice.

Why has Christianity been presented so often in an exclusively negative way, as if self-deprivation was the central thing? For the usual reason: because we are fixated with our ego. We focus our attention on what we do, not what God does. When we describe the holiness of saints, or of the Church itself, we make it sound like a celebration of works by exceptional, individuals. We make holiness into something based on human qualities, instead of being an encounter with grace that permits the power of God to emerge in men and women. In this way, Christianity is presented as something involving blood, sweat and tears, not liberation and salvation.

The Gospel passage calls us to discern wisely between that which is really worthwhile and that which is worthless. For that which is really valuable, we will willingly renounce everything because we receive much more than we give.

This Sunday's Gospel gives another perspective: we hear of the man who sells everything to have the field with the hidden treasure and the pearl merchant who leaves everything to have the most beautiful pearl.  Then we are presented with images of the process of selection: the fishermen who throws away the bad fish and keeps the good; the master of the house who brings from his storeroom things old and new. This points to the importance of discernment, of the wise choice, of the selection of what is really worthwhile and the rejection of that which is inferior.

Our efforts, our renunciations, only serve to acquire the box in which the treasure is hidden. The value of the treasure is infinitely greater, but we spend too much time thinking about our efforts to acquire the box! Christian discernment focusses on the treasure. Then everything acquires its real value.

All of that man's possessions served only to buy the field containing the treasure. Everything we have is only enough to acquire the treasure chest, but there is endless wealth inside the chest! If you win the lottery, you soon forget the envelope where the ticket that won the lottery was stored. All of our renunciations are aimed only at the purchase of the envelope. The issue here is appreciating the value of the treasure, understanding the value of the pearl, instead of spending all our time thinking of our efforts to acquire the box. When does Christian discernment begin? When we get to know the treasure! Then everything acquires its real value.