Homily For The 17th Sunday In The Ordinary Time (YR A). July 26, 2020
“My little children, reflect on these words: the Christian’s treasure is not on earth but in heaven. Our thoughts, then, ought to be directed to where our treasure is. This is the glorious duty of man: to pray and to love. —St. John Mary Vianney
Sunday Readings
My dearest friends in Christ,
With joy I welcome you to another moment of encounter with God through His divine, transforming, and inspiring words. A very important word “TREASURE” underlies the readings of today, reminding us of the urgency and the great need of possessing this treasure – the Kingdom of God.
Today, we classify things like gold, diamond, silver, human persons, or possessions as treasures. Our lives have been marked with zealous and often over-ambitious searching to find and possess whatever we classify as a treasure to us. To one it could be to buy a new house, to another it could be to buy a car, and yet to another to marry a beautiful lady or shop for expensive pieces of jewelry and designer’s collections. I do not know what you currently have in mind or what you are searching for. Unfortunately, dearest friends, many kill and steal to possess these earthly treasures. But come to think of it, all these we labor for in this life do not really last and worse still, do not follow us to the world beyond. So why spend all our life pursuing them?
Solomon Desired For A Lasting Treasure
In the first reading from the first book of Kings, Solomon had a wonderful opportunity to ask for silver, gold, military might, or riches, but he asked for none of those. He asked for an understanding to make the right judgments and to know right from wrong. God was impressed with him and gave him the treasure of wisdom that no one on earth could ever match. Solomon received a treasure that would draw Him closer to God and enable him to live according to God’s plans. My dearest friend, anything that you seek that does not align with God’s plan for you nor draw you closer to Him can hardly be a treasure for you. If you were Solomon what would you have asked? God often gives us the right things, when we have the right intention and desire the right things in life. Wisdom is a treasure. Jesus is Divine Wisdom. Whoever seeks Him will surely find Him. God gave Solomon the gift of Himself.
Finding and Possessing God Is The Greatest Treasure
The Gospel presents us with two parables that speak of treasure and a last one that reminds us of judgment.
The parable of the Treasure and the Pearl concern the inestimable worth of the Kingdom and imply the need for urgency and sacrifice in entering it. Finding the Kingdom of Heaven is like finding a treasure hidden in a field, for the sake of which one will sell everything. In this parable, Jesus is not suggesting that entry into the Kingdom of Heaven can be purchased, in the sense of giving up all to buy the prize. Salvation is not by works alone. These parables simply proclaim the immediacy of the Kingdom and the worth of gaining it.
In these parables, Jesus draws our attention, particularly to what should occupy our earthly pursuit amid all other things we desire in life. The Kingdom of God, as it were, should be our primary preoccupation. The Kingdom begins here on earth when we do the Will of God and seek Him in our daily life. These two parables underscore the need for urgency in seeking the Kingdom and the joy that it brings into our lives when we find it. In both parables, there is a selling of everything to possess the treasure. Did you note that? What does it mean to sell everything? It means that when we find God, Who is the greatest we can possess, we do not need to reason, think, or reflect, but realize immediately the incomparable value of what we have found, and be willing to lose everything to have it. St. Paul has this to say when he found the treasure, “Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as loss, so that I could gain Christ” (cf. Phil 3:8)
Like Solomon, we need to make the right decisions and the right choices in life to possess the treasure that only God can offer. If your life is dominated by things that lead you away from the narrow road that leads to the Kingdom of God, then begin now to retrace your steps before it is too late. Many have lost their lives, their joy and peace pursuing shadows in the name of treasures. Whoever finds God finds a treasure and whoever has God has everything. “Seek the LORD while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near;” (cf. Isaiah 55:6)
In a World of Good and Bad Things, Choose Wisely
Lastly, do not forget that the Kingdom of Heaven is like the situation where a net is dragged between two boats, catching all kinds of fish, both good and bad, which are then sorted, with the bad thrown into the rubbish bin. With the Kingdom at hand, that situation is now upon us – the day of judgment, the day of sorting. Even now the angels are preparing to sift humanity, the righteous from the unrighteous, with the fires of hell stoked for the unrighteous. So, repent and believe. Quit pursuing earthly treasures at the expense of the Kingdom treasures. “Seek you first the Kingdom of God and every other thing shall be added unto you.” (cf. Mathew 6:33).
May everything work unto good for you as you strive daily to discover this inestimable treasure and may your joy be complete in finding it. Amen
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Mathew 6:19-21)
There is Power in God’s Word. It’s An Everlasting Treasure!
I keep you and your family always in my prayers. ©Clem C. Aladi (2024)
