(1 Kings, 3, 5.7-12; Romans 8, 28-30; Matt 13, 44-52, 17th Sunday of Year A)
Two Sundays ago, we mentioned that the Kingdom of God can be understood as the offer of salvation, which God makes to mankind through his Son, Jesus Christ. It is an opportunity given to man (as a gift) to uncover and appreciate the benevolence of God and to enter into, and be a part of, God’s project of salvation. The Kingdom of God or Kingdom of heaven becomes a reality when the Good News is preached to, and accepted by, people. It exists in the measure this Good News is welcomed by people.
The welcoming of the Gospel or the Good News is the means through which God wishes to save humanity and for that reason has sent his Son so that people may become his adopted sons and daughters, in and through Christ, is illustrated in the parables of today. The kingdom of God is compared to a treasure hidden in a farm land, which a farmer discovers and sells all he has, out of joy, to buy and possess the land. Similarly, the Kingdom of God is compared to a costly pearl, which a business man who trades in precious stones finds and sells all he has to buy and own the pearl.
The meaning of these two parables are clear. To know Christ and welcome his words are gratuitous wealth, gifts, which God offers us freely. We only discover that. They are gift that are priceless, and has incomparable and absolute value. They are wealth that are worthwhile sacrificing everything one has for in order to possess; they are so precious that the most costly thing ranks second to them; every other thing is considered relative. It is therefore necessary to decide, without any delay and without giving in to any obstacle, to take possession of these supreme good.
Why is the acceptance of Christ and his message of salvation a supreme goodand an absolute value? This is because it is not something that is purely human like adhering to an idea in philosophy or following a political ideology which one can drop as he wants. It is a fact or an event that changes the whole life of a person; it does so radically, ontologically (in the persons inner being or interior life) and in the depth of his soul. Indeed, to accept Christ and his Gospel of salvation would mean (a) entering into vital communion with the Blessed Trinity by means of grace (b) entering into the providential design/plan of God the Father who according to Paul has predestined that we conform to the image of his Son (c) having God’s optics, that is to say, seeing things as He sees them, by means of faith. In this way, ones life acquires a different depth, and meaning (d) entering in the cycle of love that unites all people, where one sees others as brothers and sisters and loves them as such. We have to pray so that we do not disregard the gift of salivation, which God the Father has offered us through his Son, Jesus Christ. We have to seriously examine ourselves to find out if we have, in any way, devalued the treasure and the pearl of the Kingdom of God or if we have left ourselves to be deceived by the fake/counterfeit peals and treasures of this world.
The third parable of today’s gospel indicates that the Kingdom of heaven is similar to a fishing net that is cast into the sea which catches all types of fish, good and bad. The separation of the good from the bad fish does not occur as the fishermen were still fishing in the high sea, but later, when the net is pulled to the shore. This parable is very similar to the parable of the wheat and darnel of last Sunday. Here the separation of the wheat and the darnel took place at the harvest time. The parable of the net cast into the sea also underlines the patience of God who welcomes those who follow His will and at the same time awaits the wicked ones, who has not accepted his plans, to eventually open their hearts to His divine gift. Besides, the parable underscores the fact, like the parable of the wheat and the darnel, that at the end of time there is going to be judgement, separation of the good people from the bad ones and that there will be great reward for the good ones and punishment for the wicked ones. Therefore, the occasion in which God offers salvation should not be left to slip off our hands in vain, but rather should be promptly and vigorously utilised.
Let us with Solomon (in the first reading) ask for a listening heart to be disposed always to welcome the word of God, the wisdom to understand what is good and what is evil, what is useful and what is not, in life; the humility and simplicity because it is to the little ones that the mysteries of the kingdom are revealed (Matt 11,25). Let us pray to be able to say with the Psalmist: The decrees from your mouth, O Lord, are more precious than many pieces of gold and silver; I love your commandments more than gold, than pure gold; I hold your precepts with respect and I hate all sorts of deceit. Amen! (May it be so!).
+John I. Okoye
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