The Incomparable Treasure

HOMILY: Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Matthew 13:44-52

30 July 2023

Fr. Ricky Cañet Montañez

I was amazed at what I found on Instagram recently.  Lee Wilkins posted a reel that declared: “You work 8 hours to live 4. You work 6 days to enjoy 1. You work 8 hours to eat in 15 minutes. You work 8 hours to sleep 5. You work all year just to take a week or two vacation. You work all your life to retire in old age, and contemplate only your last breaths. Eventually you realise that life is nothing but a parody of yourself practicing for your own oblivion. We become so accustomed to material and social slavery that we no longer see the chains. Life is a short journey. Live it! Collect memories! Not material things!” This post makes us take stock of how we spend our time and where our life is leading to.  What do we really value most in life?  There is so much wisdom in taking the time to discern what has true worth; to sort out what is lasting from what are simply passing things of this world. 

On this Sunday’s gospel, Jesus uses parables to teach us that the greatest priority His followers ought to pursue in life is the Kingdom of Heaven. Through very relatable scenarios, Jesus describes the heavenly Kingdom’s incomparable value. He likens it to a buried treasure, the pearl of great price or an abundant catch which one endeavours to have at all costs. What is it that we work hardest to acquire? What is it that we want more than anything else in the whole world? What are we willing to do and what lengths would we go so that we may acquire it?  Some people endanger their lives by scouring the depths of the seas to recover treasures from sunken ships.  Similarly, as followers of Jesus, we have to exhibit this same dedication to relentlessly search for this treasure of incomparable value. We must give our all to become part of the Kingdom of Heaven.

There are times that what has true value escapes our attention because we are easily fooled by the lure of the things of this world that promise to elevate our status or boost our worth.  Some people skip meals, and sleep little to gain fame or success only to end up so sick that they either die young or that they must live the rest of their lives limited by health problems. They work themselves close to death, oblivious of their loved ones, as they are thinking that it is more important to afford their dream car or build their dream house.

It was somewhat consoling to learn that some millionaires like Dolly Parton would rather write checks to put 150 million books on the hands of children. The example of King Solomon who requested wisdom and an understanding heart emphasizes that only those whose “hearts so wise and understanding” can sort through life’s distractions that we may distinguish and pursue the treasure Jesus speaks of. God’s gift of wisdom gives us a roadmap to guide our path forward and save us from taking false steps along life’s journey. Our pandemic experience, although difficult, opened our eyes to what is truly essential in life. We really ought not to forget. But human as we are, we have the tendency to do so and be distracted by the next big thing or whatever it is that fills our mind with thoughts of getting rich, becoming famous and pursuing our wants at any cost.

It is never easy to pursue what is just and true in life.  Possessing the buried treasure or the pearl of great price comes at a cost and we must be ready to pay for it. At times it will entail denying ourselves, delaying personal gratifications, and enduring some suffering. Non-believers will take us for fools for investing our whole being in something we can not see taste or touch nor determine when it will finally come into our possession.  However, as people of faith we trust in the promises of Jesus. As children of God destined for the heavenly Kingdom, we have all been promised God’s assistance and sustenance in our pilgrimage through this life. We have to strive to walk in the presence of the Lord and gain wisdom of heart so that we may attain our eternal reward!

St. Paul challenges us to look beyond the trials and difficulties of this world to the destiny promised by God to all of us whom He has called. As we are often told, “this world can only be a place of temporary refuge; a world of passage and not a world of permanence.” As Christians, our eyes are on a different prize than the world’s. We can’t be reminded of that too often. May we order our priorities correctly and fix our gaze on those things that last! May the Lord Jesus gift us with the courage to resist the superficial consolations of the world as we feed our deep hunger for the eternal— for what is of the Lord’s, and fulfill what is needed to be with Him.