This Gospel reading for Wednesday of the 17th Week in Ordinary Time (Year II) consists of only two sentences (Matthew 13:44-46). However, in these verses, St. Matthew records a direct teaching from the Lord Jesus that helps us to find meaning in our seeking of God. Where do we find great value? What do we put our value in? Is value to be found in the thing at hand or in the content of the thing? What do we consider to be of value? It is certain that great value is to be found in the strangest of places. Also, what we see/find as value depends on how you define the term value. As a noun, value is the regard that something is held to deserve. It is the importance, worth, or usefulness of something. It is how we judge something to be of importance in life.
God’s Value System vs Our Value System
The teachings of the Lord Jesus reveal that mankind’s system of values does not align with the Lord God’s value system. How so? What the Lord God classifies as significant and highly prized is profoundly different from ours – God values humility, we respect arrogance; God values our recognition of reliance and dependence, we admire rugged, self-made individuality; God values selfless submission, we honour self-governing independence. God values mercy, we value human rights and justice. God’s currency is righteousness, our currency is fleeting, temporal, momentary things. Clearly, ours is a warped value system that needs to be drastically remedied.
Of Colossal Worthiness
This is the reason the Lord Jesus teaches these two parables to His disciples only – the Kingdom is of colossal worth in the Heavenly Economy.
First, He says,
The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells everything that he has, and buys that field (Matthew 13:44).
In lands very familiar with conflict and war, where uncertainty and insecurity loom, and people are called away to war, family valuables and treasures are kept buried somewhere in anticipation of recovering these items when the threat has passed, and life has returned to normal. Sometimes someone discovers treasure that had been left by someone who does not get to return. The treasure finder must move urgently, quickly negotiate terms of sale, and close the deal on the field of purchase. The seller and perhaps the friends and family of the finder might be surprised at the urgency of the buyer. What they don’t know is precisely what is driving the finder – a burning passion to possess the treasure.
Secondly, the Lord says,
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold everything that he had and bought it (Matthew 13:45-46).
This parable is like the first one in outcome and motivation, but it has a man deliberately and intentionally surveying items of value that are being presented to the surface from the floor of the Sea. This guy knows what he is looking for – fine pearls. He searches until he finds one which is of great value. Then he goes away, sells everything he has, and returns to buy it.
The Hidden Treasure and the Pearl of Great Value
The two parables both deal with the Kingdom. This could have different applications. It could refer to the reign of God (Matthew 21:43); or, to the final abode of the saints (2 Timothy 4:18); or, closer to home, it might just refer to the Church (Matthew 16:18-19, Colossians 1:13, Revelation 1:6 & Revelation 1:9). I suppose this latter one is the one that Mother Church wants to emphasize in picking this reading for this day. The Lord Jesus compares the exceeding great value of the Kingdom ((Matthew 16:18) to a hidden treasure and a pearl of great value because:
- It has an inestimable value
The Kingdom of Heaven comes at the cost of the very life of the Son of God. He gave His Blood to purchase the church (Acts 20:28 & Ephesians 5:25). We cannot ever minimize the Lord’s spiritual body (the Church). The Kingdom is a treasure because it represents the state of salvation. Salvation is found in Christ (2 Timothy 2:10). We are in the Lord by being in the one body (Ephesians 2:15-16). And being in the one body is being in the Church (Ephesians 1:22-23), which as a matter of fact, is the kingdom (Matthew 16:18-19). We constitute enemies of the Kingdom (Ephesians 5:26) when we reject citizenship in Christ’s Kingdom (Luke 19:14 & Luke 19:27).
- It provides a peace-filled environment
The Kingdom provides an environment where we may find peace with God and peace with ourselves. Peace is a state that we cannot simply go out and purchase. However, the Apostles teach that finding justification through Heaven’s faith system yields for the believer a profound sense of peace (Romans 5:1 & John 16:33). As St. Paul asserts, the peace of God which surpasses all understanding shall guard our hearts and thoughts in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7). Superficial emotionalism does not guarantee true peace; but being grounded in a solid, bible-based relationship with the Lord Jesus does.
- It has people value
There are many lonely souls surviving utterly without companionship. Yet, the Kingdom of Heaven presents a precious blessing to all the kin that we need. It was the Lord’s teaching that those who follow Him have it all (cf. Mark 10:31). There is no price tag that can befit such spiritual companionship that we find in the kingdom.
- It is worthy of our sacrifices
The parables place emphasis on the deep sacrifice we must make to obtain the blessings that come with the Lord’s Kingdom. In both parables, one was willing to sell all that he had to embrace the treasure or the pearl. In order to partake of the blessings of the Kingdom, we must make the initial sacrifice of ourselves. As the Lord Jesus taught us, if we are to follow Him, we must deny ourselves (Luke 9:23). It is not an easy feat to push our interests into the background and seek the Kingdom first (Matthew 6:33), but this is what is required of us. To achieve it, we must sacrifice. No wonder St. Paul urges us to emulate him in being crucified with Christ so that it is no longer we that live but Christ living in us (Galatians 3:20). Membership in the Body is no joke. It is not a civic organization event or a hobby or a mere weekend exercise.
- It is a commitment.
This is the one thing that demands we sacrifice family and friends for the cause of Christ. The Lord Jesus declared,
The one who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and the one who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me (Matthew 10:37).
To what lengths would you go to serve the Lord God without restrictions? Genuine Christianity demands that we sacrifice our time, talents, and treasures (monies) in the interest of the kingdom of God. We must not fail to use that which the Lord has placed at our disposal (Matthew 25). We must expend our effort. Once we determine that we truly give ourselves to God, everything else certainly falls into place (2 Corinthians 8:5).
The End Justify the Means if….
Two different means are depicted in the two parables as being used to find the Kingdom. In the first parable, the man accidentally finds the hidden treasure. In the second, the merchant purposefully seeks the pearl of great value. The first one represents many people who even today do not know the existence of the Treasure. They go about their everyday lives, engaging in activities totally unaware of what they are missing by ignoring spiritual realities. Hopefully, a time will come when they are exposed to the Truth by one means or another and thus come to be thrilled with a new discovery. May they in that moment that they stumble upon the Word of grace be able to recognize its value, readily receive it, and take measures to ensure they keep it (The Samaritan woman at the well – John 4).
On the other hand, we have those who know how messy their lives are. Keeping in mind that the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, they find themselves so unhappy (Romans 14:17). They, therefore, resolve to go out searching for something to bring their souls to contentment. In their hunger and thirst for righteousness, perhaps with divine providence at work, they discover the purity of the Gospel and forsake all else so that they come to possess it (Nicodemus came to Jesus under night cover – John 3).
The parables encourage us by showing how the Lord Jesus considers the circumstances that we face and makes available the most appropriate means for us to enter the Kingdom. The onus is upon us to find the meaning and to recognize the value of what the Lord God has in store for us.
The Son is most Highly Cherished
The Kingdom of Heaven is the Kingdom of God. It is the saving reign of God that is here (present) and is to come (future). This Kingdom is so valuable that losing everything on earth to get the Kingdom is such a befitting trade-off. It is a joyful sacrifice to lose everything to have it. It is the worth of having the Lord God rule over you and for you, over everything else. When the omnipotent God rules over all things all for your joy, everything works for your good no matter how uncomfortable or painful it is. St. Paul beautifully expresses this when he counts whatever things that were a gain to him as loss because of Christ. Even more, he counts all things to be lost in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus as Lord. It is for the Lord that he has suffered the loss of all things which he now counts as mere rubbish so that he may gain Christ (Philippians 3: 7-8). The point is that the loss of all things is not sad if we gain Christ.
Suffice to say that the Kingdom of Heaven is not something we buy or barter for or negotiate for. The Kingdom of Heaven is received without pay (Matthew 5:3), and we must also give it without pay (cf. Matthew 10:18). You get the kingdom because you want it more than you want anything else. The condition to get it is that you prize the Kingdom more than you prize anything else; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also (Matthew 6:21). And if your heart’s desire is to have the Kingdom above all things, then it is your Father’s good choice to give you the kingdom (Luke 12:32).
Take-Home Message
The Lord God has placed great worth on the Lord Jesus. And I cannot but help ask myself how my value system in any way reflects that of the Lord God. The things I treasure must undergo an evolution to more closely resemble what He esteems as valuable. Where have I placed my treasure? Where is my heart? Where is my passion? How do I expend my spiritual energy? Do I daily embrace the truth of the command of the Lord Jesus? Happy searching!
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