XVII Sunday in OT:[A]: 1 Kgs 3:5, 7-12; Rom 8:28-30; Mt 13:44-52

XVII Sunday in OT:[A]: 1 Kgs 3:5, 7-12; Rom 8:28-30; Mt 13:44-52

Introduction:  In the gospel text of today, Jesus elaborated by means of two parables his own injunction to seek first the Kingdom of God.  The Kingdom of God is like  treasure hidden in a field, you cannot attain it unless you sell all you have in order to take possession of the field, thus you show how much you value that treasure (Mt 13:44).  The Kingdom of God is like a precious pearl, you cannot possess it unless you sell all you have in order to be with it, thus you show how much the pearl is important for you (Mt 13:45).  There is also mention of another parable, the parable of the dragnet thrown into the sea, of the similar to one about the wheat and the darnel that we saw last Sunday, and the separation process at the end of time.

Exegesis:  In the parable of the hidden treasure, Jesus compares entering the Kingdom of Heaven to a person who unexpectedly stumbles upon a hidden treasure buried in a field while tilling the soil. He buries it again for the field where it is hidden does not belong to him. He does not tell the owner of his discovery, but goes and sells everything he has in order to get ownership of the field and hence of its buried treasure. The idea obviously is that when one really discovers Jesus and his vision of life everything else becomes secondary.

In the parable of the pearl, Jesus tells of a merchant in search of fine pearls. When he finds one of great price, he also sells everything he has in order to acquire it. Both these parables are more or less the same but the difference is in the poor laborer and the rich merchant. Kingdom of Heaven is all-inclusive, available to rich and poor alike. Still, the merchant like the laborer must risk everything to succeed. The Reign of Jesus in our hearts is the buried treasure or the pearl of great price. It is for this that Jesus is asking us to search, and once discovered and its value fully appreciated, sacrifice everything to possess it.  Discipleship is open to all but entails sacrifice. And the outcome of the disciple’s quest is a joy that exceeds imagination when he has found the only truly valuable thing in life.

Jesus compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a fishing net which when thrown into the sea collects all sorts of fish. The net could not and does not discriminate. It is left to the fishermen to do the dividing and the separating process. While the first and second parables speak of the total commitment and dedication which are the ideal of every follower of Christ, this third parable try to explain the presence of those evil ones who seem unfit for the Kingdom. The invitation of Jesus to be part of God’s reign is open to rich and poor, good and bad; in fact, many of all sorts are collected into the community of disciples. But at the end there will be a sorting out of those who are worthless and those who have been proven valuable, and reward and punishment will be administered accordingly.

Joke:     A child asked his father, "How were people born?" So his father said, "Adam and Eve made babies, then their babies became adults and made babies, and so on." The child then went to his mother, asked her the same question and she told him, "We were monkeys then we evolved to become like we are now." The child ran back to his father and said, "You lied to me!" His father replied, "No, your mom was talking about her side of the family."

Practical Applications: 1) Live every moment in our life aiming at our precious goal. Most of our activities are oriented to false treasures such as money, social status or worldly pleasures.   Thus, the really valuable pearl of sharing in God’s life through Jesus here on earth and later in Heaven, is never found. Let us always remember that Heaven is within the reach of all of us.  And it should be our priority in life than the worldly pleasures.

2) Keep our greatest treasure safe: priority in using time, talents and valuables should be given to the Kingdom of God. How much time we spend for God? How much of our talents we use for God? How much we spend our valuables for God? How much we keep God’s presence in our lives? Think on these questions for reflection and grade our grade of priority towards God.

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Introduction

Message:  The person with true wisdom, like Solomon, will seek the reign of God and treasure it above all else.  It is more precious than gold and silver.  Thus one becomes conformed to the image of Christ, the Son.     

Saints and Events in this week: 29-Twenty Ninth-Tuesday-Saint Martha; 30-Thirtieth-Wednesday-Saint Peter Chrysologus, bishop, Doctor of the Church; 31-Thirty First-Thursday-Saint Ignatius of Loyola, priest; August 1-First-Friday-Saint Alphonsus Liguori, bishop. Doctor of the church; 2-Second-Saturday-Saint Eusebius of Vercelli, bishop Saint Peter Julian Eymard, priest;