Word to the Wise
Wednesday, August 1, 2007 - St. Alphonsus Ligouri, CSSR, Doctor of the Church, founder of the Redemptorists
[Exodus 34:29-35 and Matthew 13:44-46]The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a peson finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Is there anything in the world that we would give everything we have in exchange for it? This is a constant challenge in the gospel. Put another way, what does it profit a person to gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his/her soul? The parables in today's brief gospel passage come at it from the viewpoint of "discovery." The treasure in the field or the really fine pearl (traditionally said, "the pearl of great price") so excite and urge the discoverer that he/she goes and "sells all" in order to have that treasure or pearl. The Kingdom is very attractive but it demands a TOTAL commitment. Remember the story of the young man who asks Jesus, "What must I do to gain eternal life?" After learning that the young man has been faithful to the commandments and still wants "more," Jesus challenges him to get rid of his earthly possessions and follow him. The man went away sad for he had many possessions. In today's parables, the emphasis is not so much on material possessions as on the relative weighing of values. How much is the treasure or the pearl (which represent the kingdom) worth? How do we recognize that it is worth everything we have? Religion for so many people has become less a treasure than a consumer item, meant to serve certain "needs" and has less to do with the Kingdom than it does with being a "church." No wonder surveys of young people show a consistent distrust of institutional expressions of faith. They offer nothing worth giving everything for! As with all things of great value, we have to continue to maintain our interest and understanding of them. Otherwise they become just another field or a pearl to be kept in a safe somewhere. The excitement and urgency of the Kingdom of God is not easy to maintain enthusiastically. It requires a long term commitment, like marriage or religious life. But is a lesser commitment really worth our lives? AMEN
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