Again, let me congratulate those of you who will soon be receiving the Eucharist for the first time; you’ve waited a long time for this and I’m sure you’re excited. Receiving our Lord in Holy Communion here on earth is one of the first fruits of the kingdom of God that Jesus came to establish while he was among us in the flesh. Have you ever seriously pondered the kingdom of God? Have you ever spent time just reflecting on where and what it is? We hear Jesus talk about it often and we have heard a lot about it over these past few weeks. It’s important to think about it because it’s already in our midst and that’s where we all hope to go at the end of our lives here on earth. A lot of us spend a great deal of our time and energy trying to make our kingdom here and now but, as the coronavirus pandemic has certainly taught us all, we don’t have a lasting kingdom here and, no matter how hard we work at it, it’s uncertain what we end up with. It’s only in God’s kingdom where we find lasting – in fact, everlasting – peace and joy, the fulfillment of our deepest desires. In both Matthew’s and Mark’s Gospels, the announcement about the kingdom of God is the first thing we hear Jesus say: “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand!” Last week, we heard Jesus teach about the Kingdom of God in the parable of the wheat and the weeds. In that parable, we were reminded that we, who strive to be the fruitful wheat, struggle in this life to thrive despite the weeds that grow around us. This week, we hear three parables about the Kingdom and they teach us some important lessons for our reflection about the Kingdom of God. Let’s examine them.
In the first two parables, we hear about two men who discover great treasure. The first man is out in a field when he stumbles upon a treasure buried there. Remember, this was before banks were to be found on every corner and people were often subjected to thieves and marauding tribes so they buried their wealth underground. The laborer realized that this unexpected find could change his life, giving him financial security so he wouldn’t have to struggle day by day to survive. Since it was often impossible to find the original owner of such a treasure, the law dictated that buried treasure belonged to the person on whose property it was found. So, the man carefully buried the treasure again and bought the land. The purchase had cost everything he had. But, the treasure, which was now his, was worth far more.
The man in the second parable is in a different situation. He is a merchant looking for treasure. Years of buying and selling has sharpened his eyes, and refined his taste. One day, walking through the bazaar, he saw a pearl so large and flawless that it took his breath away. Buying it would mean the sacrifice of all that he owned. But, no matter. When you have found perfection, no price is too high to pay. “God’s kingdom is like that,” Jesus tells us. Neither of these two men were stopped by the sacrifice they were making. Both thought only of the joy they would have with their new possession. One happened upon it by chance, the other was looking for it. But, when they found it, they were willing to pay the price because they knew the great joy it would bring
Must we pay a price to enter God’s kingdom? Of course. And, sometimes that price is high. When we think only of the cost of discipleship, our religion sounds grim and forbidding. In these two brief parables, however, we hear Jesus emphasizing not the cost, but the infinitely greater reward. And, the third parable reminds us that, in the end, our decision to be a disciple or not is critical. We want to be among the ones the angels separate from those thrown into the fiery furnace; we want to be the ones who are welcomed into the kingdom of heaven.
And, what is the kingdom of heaven like? One of my favorite images is the one our Lord offers in other parables: the parable of the king who offers a wedding feast for his son and the wealthy man who throws a banquet for his friends and neighbors. Of course, we are here invited to share in the Eucharistic banquet. As I mentioned earlier, this is one of the fruits of the kingdom that Jesus came to establish and there is special joy today as some among us will come to the Table of our Lord for the first time in Holy Communion; it’s so good to have you and your families here!
But, it takes a certain wisdom to recognize the great treasure that is the Kingdom of God. In today’s first reading, we hear that God was pleased when Solomon asked for wisdom, for this showed that he realized that wisdom to govern his people well was more important than long life, wealth or power. Such wisdom would help him bring the people to love God and seek his kingdom. And, in his day, Jesus appealed to the spiritual seekers in the crowd to develop the wisdom to know that finding God brings every other gift, and that life without God, even with wealth and power, would be empty and pointless. Possessing the true treasure of God’s love enables us to give of ourselves freely in building up God’s kingdom.
We all spend our lives trying to figure out what will make us truly happy. The Gospel message offers a path that often seems paradoxical – that to find our life we must lose it, that only love given away freely comes back to us in joy, and that seeking first the will of God is the secret of finding everything else we need as well. The truth of the Gospel affirms that peace of mind and true happiness come to those who bear and abundance of fruit by developing and using their gifts to serve others. Wisdom is to know how to apply this truth to our choices day by day. The choices we make in life will determine our outcome at the Final Judgment. Blessed are they who find the treasure of God’s Kingdom and spend their lives showing it to others!