Homily for 17th Sunday of Ordinary Time
“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field which a person finds and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” Mt 17: 44
How many people walked across that field without seeing the treasure? How many people looked at that pearl without noting its incredible value? How many times do you and I go about our daily routine and completely miss the kingdom that is right here before us? How many times do we look at the kingdom of God and don’t see its incredible value?
My questions: What is this kingdom? How shall we find it? If we answer these two questions, we will indeed find the treasure in the field. We will certainly see the value of the pearl.
What is the kingdom? In short, the kingdom of God is anywhere the will of God is done. The kingdom can be hidden in small acts of kindness or experienced in the magnificent acts of God. The kingdom is in your heart. The kingdom is in the world around you. The great Christian hope is that one day we will be the “good fish caught in the net” and live in this kingdom forever.
Imagine a world where everyone is valued for who they are, where everyone bears fruit like the wheat in the field, where everyone contributes freely the unique gifts God has given them, and like a tiny mustard seed, grows to be a place of joy and peace the world, where everyone ‘leavens’ the world with love. Then the prayer that Christians recite daily around the world, “Thy kingdom come,” shall be answered. That kingdom exists right here, right now, yet we still walk right past the treasure, we ignore the value of the pearl.
How shall we find this kingdom? There are two ways illustrated in the parables. Like the merchant of fine pearls, one way is to devote your life to searching for Jesus above all other things. Once found, make a place for him to dwell forever in your heart. Like the man who finds the treasure in the field, the other way is to open to the surprising treasure of the kingdom in all of your activities.
Let me illustrate the two ways we discover the Kingdom. One Saturday, my wife and I had a “Yard Sale”. The many people that came to my house could be grouped in two types. One group was the people that were looking for something specific: jewelry, carnival glass, tools. Upon finding the object of their search, they would appraise its value and make an offer. The other group would come and look around, always open to finding a ‘treasure’. To be part of the kingdom, we must fit into both types. Our life must be an intentional search for Christ, all times, all places. We must also be open to the surprising twists and turns in which this search will take us.
The question for you and me: Am I searching for the kingdom and my place in that kingdom? Or am I searching for something else?
Let me offer another example, very sad. I was talking to a woman recently. Her forty year-old son is addicted to crack cocaine, a wicked and powerfully addicting substance. It has been very sad for her to watch her son fall deeper and deeper into this world where he would do just about anything to obtain the drug. First he lost his job, then his house, then his car, then his friends, and lastly has betrayed his family. She said, “Drugs are the only thing I know that will cause a person to give up everything.” But we know that the pleasure is only temporary, like costume jewelry. The true joy of the kingdom is like a solid gold bar.
My question: Do you and I search for the kingdom of God with the same intensity and focus with which that man searches for drugs? I can think of only a few people that have that commitment to Christ. Certainly Mother Teresa is the most well know example. Her entire life was devoted to searching for Jesus and the kingdom of God there in Calcutta. We may not have the focus, but we must try to bring about the kingdom in our own way.
A better example for us might be Therese of Liseaux. She was best known for seeing the kingdom of God in the little things and the daily activities. She tells a story of her about washing dishes next to another nun. The nun would occasionally splash her. This greatly annoyed Therese, yet after a while her attitude changed. Instead of letting the splashes annoy her and cause her to think unkindly of her fellow sister, she changed her perspective. She said, “I imagined each drop of water was a drop of holy water, and allowed me to renew my baptismal grace.” The Lord was teaching her patience and forgiveness, and the water coming up from the sink was a sign of the grace.
Just like many people walked across that field and not seen the treasure, many people could also wash dishes next to St. Therese and never see the grace of God’s kingdom.