Matthew 13:44-52
Dear Friends, Today is the third Sunday of parables in chapter thirteen in the Gospel of St. Matthew. Many scholars of the Bible say today’s parable of the treasure is the most important of all the parables.
It begins with the statement, “The kingdom of heaven is like…” (Mt. 13:44). In the three Synoptic Gospels this phrase, “the kingdom of heaven” or “kingdom of God” in Mark and Luke, is at the center of Jesus’ teaching and ministry. It is God’s plan in Jesus to overcome evil with love. It is a process of liberation from all the consequences of sin. It is the restoration of the total harmony and goodness of Paradise. Jesus’ miracles all manifest God’s saving presence bringing wholeness and freedom. The ultimate expression of the inflowing of divine power is in the conquest of death in the Resurrection.
The kingdom is God’s gift. We do not earn it but we need to be open to its call. The kingdom allows us to enter and participate in the very life of God. The kingdom is walking with Jesus letting the values of the gospel message fill our heart and life.
The kingdom is not something we do. It is God calling us to participate in God’s saving action in human history. The threefold action of today’s parable is finding-selling-buying. It is basic method of how we share in the life of God. It is the process of our personal transformation. This means moving from the deceiving world of our self-absorption to the truthful world where God is the center of reality. This affects everything that we experience in a new way. The threefold action of finding-selling-buying unveils our experience of God in our daily life. The treasure before us is the Good News of Jesus. It is the wonder of being able to love and be loved. This invites us into an entirely new world of service and compassion, reconciliation and healing, mercy and justice.
In chapter thirteen of Matthew the phrase “kingdom of heaven” appears nine times. So, the question for us is, how does the simple little story of the found treasure connect us to this great saving and liberating action of God revealed in Jesus? The parable of the treasure, more clearly than most other parables, tells us how we experience God and what we need to do to respond to this glorious call.
The finding is the very common human encounter with someone or something. The encounter touches the deepest hunger in the human heart. It might be an event as profound as falling in love, having a child or losing a loved one. Or it may be a bit more mundane like deciding to go to college or becoming more active in the parish or community. Endless expressions of this finding fill our human journey. They all, simple or profound, are the action of God’s grace. God is never finished in his calling and coming into our life.
To get hold of the gift, we need to sell. We need to make space in our heart. We need to die to our comfort and control. Our responsibility is to accept the fact that our little world needs a real change. We need to expand our horizons. In the end, selling costs no less than everything because I makes space for God and space for us to operate according to God’s will.
When we accept the challenge, we become free and empowered to enter into a new world, a new reality where God takes a more prominent place of honor that leads us to action for the kingdom. This is the buying.
The finding-buying-selling process is an essential part of any authentic spiritual life, our search for God. The most critical part is this. All creatures either help us to seek God or they are an obstacle. Our joy is to bring all these relationships to people, things ideas and whatever else occurs in our life into proper order. All either help us or hinder us in our quest for God. When we have our finding-selling-buying in order, we are on the road to the kingdom.
The threefold process never ends. It is all leading to a personal and social transformation called the kingdom of heaven in the Gospel of St. Mathew.
The parable of the treasure with its simplicity exposes how we experience God in the normal course of our daily life. It is an unending call that comes from a gracious God to tap the deepest hunger in our restless hearts. The ultimate and most complete expression of the treasure is Jesus.
It begins with the statement, “The kingdom of heaven is like…” (Mt. 13:44). In the three Synoptic Gospels this phrase, “the kingdom of heaven” or “kingdom of God” in Mark and Luke, is at the center of Jesus’ teaching and ministry. It is God’s plan in Jesus to overcome evil with love. It is a process of liberation from all the consequences of sin. It is the restoration of the total harmony and goodness of Paradise. Jesus’ miracles all manifest God’s saving presence bringing wholeness and freedom. The ultimate expression of the inflowing of divine power is in the conquest of death in the Resurrection.
The kingdom is God’s gift. We do not earn it but we need to be open to its call. The kingdom allows us to enter and participate in the very life of God. The kingdom is walking with Jesus letting the values of the gospel message fill our heart and life.
The kingdom is not something we do. It is God calling us to participate in God’s saving action in human history. The threefold action of today’s parable is finding-selling-buying. It is basic method of how we share in the life of God. It is the process of our personal transformation. This means moving from the deceiving world of our self-absorption to the truthful world where God is the center of reality. This affects everything that we experience in a new way. The threefold action of finding-selling-buying unveils our experience of God in our daily life. The treasure before us is the Good News of Jesus. It is the wonder of being able to love and be loved. This invites us into an entirely new world of service and compassion, reconciliation and healing, mercy and justice.
In chapter thirteen of Matthew the phrase “kingdom of heaven” appears nine times. So, the question for us is, how does the simple little story of the found treasure connect us to this great saving and liberating action of God revealed in Jesus? The parable of the treasure, more clearly than most other parables, tells us how we experience God and what we need to do to respond to this glorious call.
The finding is the very common human encounter with someone or something. The encounter touches the deepest hunger in the human heart. It might be an event as profound as falling in love, having a child or losing a loved one. Or it may be a bit more mundane like deciding to go to college or becoming more active in the parish or community. Endless expressions of this finding fill our human journey. They all, simple or profound, are the action of God’s grace. God is never finished in his calling and coming into our life.
To get hold of the gift, we need to sell. We need to make space in our heart. We need to die to our comfort and control. Our responsibility is to accept the fact that our little world needs a real change. We need to expand our horizons. In the end, selling costs no less than everything because I makes space for God and space for us to operate according to God’s will.
When we accept the challenge, we become free and empowered to enter into a new world, a new reality where God takes a more prominent place of honor that leads us to action for the kingdom. This is the buying.
The finding-buying-selling process is an essential part of any authentic spiritual life, our search for God. The most critical part is this. All creatures either help us to seek God or they are an obstacle. Our joy is to bring all these relationships to people, things ideas and whatever else occurs in our life into proper order. All either help us or hinder us in our quest for God. When we have our finding-selling-buying in order, we are on the road to the kingdom.
The threefold process never ends. It is all leading to a personal and social transformation called the kingdom of heaven in the Gospel of St. Mathew.
The parable of the treasure with its simplicity exposes how we experience God in the normal course of our daily life. It is an unending call that comes from a gracious God to tap the deepest hunger in our restless hearts. The ultimate and most complete expression of the treasure is Jesus.
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