One pearl of great price

 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, which, when it was full, they threw to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away.  So it will be at the end of the age.  The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire.  There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth."

Jesus said to them, "Have you understood all these things?"  They said to Him, "Yes, Lord."  Then He said to them, "Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old."

- Matthew 13:44-52

On Saturday we read that, after having taught with several parables (see this reading with the parable of the tares of the field, and this one), Jesus sent the crowd away and went into the house.  And His disciples came to Him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field."  He answered and said to them:  "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.  The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one.  The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.  Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.  The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire.  There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.  Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it."   These parables illustrate the incomparably precious and singularly rare quality of the Kingdom for human beings.  My study bible comments on the desire shown us in these two parables.   The parable of the treasure hidden in a field illustrates those who unintentionally stumble onto Christ and His Church, but yet receive Him with great eagerness.  The parable of the pearl of great price illustrates, on the other hand, those who have been searching in their hearts for Him and finally find Him and His Church.  The other pearls, it says, represent all the various teachings and philosophies of the world.  These treasures, moreover, are hidden in that they are neither recognized nor valued by those immersed in worldliness.  In both parables, receiving the treasure requires that everything else must be sold.  That is, a person must surrender all things to receive Christ.

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, which, when it was full, they threw to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away.  So it will be at the end of the age.  The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire.  There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth."   In this image of the fishing net which gathers the good and wicked together, we find again Jesus' reference to good and bad together, as in the parable of the wheat and the tares (see Saturday's reading, above).  My study bible says that the parable further emphasizes that even those gathered into the Church are subject to judgment.

Jesus said to them, "Have you understood all these things?"  They said to Him, "Yes, Lord."  Then He said to them, "Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old."  St. John Chrysostom comments that Jesus does not exclude the Old Testament, but rather praises it as a treasure, my study bible says.  To truly write or speak about the kingdom of heaven means one draws upon the unity of both new and old Testaments.  Both are holy, and the New is fulfillment of the Old.  This is how Matthew composed his gospel, and we frequently read the formula that it might be fulfilled which was spoken (2:15, 23; 4:14; 8:17; 12:17; 13:35; 21:4; 26:56; 27:35).

Jesus has spoken of Himself as one who has come to fulfill the Law and the Prophets (5:17).  In John's Gospel, we learn that He is the Word (John 1:1-18).  The Bible itself is called the living Word, as it is inseparable from our understanding of Christ, and in His teachings today He gives us a sense of the incomparable treasure we have in Him, in the Scriptures, and in the living Kingdom that truly comprises the Church.  Also in John's Gospel, Jesus tells the Samaritan woman that "the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:23-24).  Therefore this living treasure, the Kingdom which is with us and within us (Luke 17:20-21), lives and works and is present to us in all of these things, in ways that permeate our lives and are at work in the world, particularly through the Holy Spirit, who speaks not of Himself but gives us the truth of the living Word (John 16:13-15).  Therefore the reality of this treasure is ever-present to us; what was working through the events of the Old Testament comes to us today in spirit and in truth, what Christ taught to the disciples is ever with us in our own lives and as it may nurture and feed us in spirit and in truth.  When we forget that this treasure is living and present, and assume that it is something merely of the past, we lose sight of what we need and the reality of true worship.  What we can see and observe of the world around us,  moreover, teaches us about the significance of love for every human being.  Psychology shows us that even animals need a sense of belonging or they are damaged as creatures, terribly wounded in their own capacity for survival and self-care.  John the Evangelist also gives us the essential understanding that God is love (1 John 4), that the reality of the Church is love, that whatever spirit is against love is that which is against God.  Ultimately, this living treasure that lives through love in spirit and in truth, calls us to love.  It gives us what is good for us in the love of God.  We are called back to Creator, because whatever is going to truly heal and make us whole is that from which we are created in the first place -- and that Source is love.   It is our treasure, because without it we are incomplete, unhealed, not whole.  So Christ calls us to the kingdom of heaven as the great and incomparable treasure, worth every other sacrifice it may ask of us.  This treasure offers us a living love with which we are connected, even when the love we receive in the world is imperfect or damaged or even absent.