17th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A – July 26th, 2020

This Sunday continues the parables of Jesus, focusing on three brief descriptions of the Kingdom of Heaven: a hidden treasure, a merchant searching for pearls, and a net catching all sorts of fish. A Sister opened our discussion with an intriguing insight about the first two parables. They are usually interpreted as two different metaphors for the same truth – that the Kingdom of God is so valuable that it’s worth selling everything to obtain. However, a closer look shows a subtle but significant difference. While the first parable describes the Kingdom as the hidden treasure, the second parable does not actually describe the Kingdom as the “pearl of great price.” Rather, the Kingdom is compared to “a merchant in search of fine pearls.” This slight shift in understanding suggests a new and beautiful level of meaning. Not only are we searching for God, but He is searching for us! And if we “sell everything we have” to embrace the Kingdom, it is only because He first “sold everything” in the Incarnation and Redemption to purchase the priceless “pearl” that is each human soul!

Building on this interpretation, another Sister pointed out the different ways in which the two parables describe the finding of the precious object. In the first story, we get the impression that the man was just walking in or plowing a field and stumbled upon a buried treasure. In the second, the merchant is actively searching for pearls. This, Sister suggested, could show how (in our blindness brought on by Original Sin) we often don’t realize that we are seeking God until we have found Him, while God for His part is constantly seeking us out.

What about the First Reading? How does the prayer of King Solomon connect with today’s Gospel? Perhaps the Church pairs these two passages because both highlight the importance of keeping our spiritual priorities straight. In the reading from 1 Kings, Solomon prefers wisdom to earthly power and riches; in the Gospel, we are urged by Christ to “sell everything” because gaining the Kingdom of Heaven is the most important thing we can do. Furthermore, if you continue reading the first passage after the Lectionary stops, God goes on to grant Solomon everything he didn’t ask for! In the same way, when we prefer nothing to Heaven, Christ assures us that we will be taken care of: “Seek first the Kingdom of God, and all these things will be given you besides!”

Finally, we reflected together on the beautiful Second Reading, with its words of assurance and hope in God’s providential care for us. By outlining the “step-by-step” process of God’s work in bringing us to glory, St. Paul highlights just how real this process is. It is something we can truly stand on – “We know,” as the Apostle writes, rather than “we hope” or even “we believe.” A life built on such a firm foundation is able to withstand all manner of storms. However, this does not mean that a person so well-grounded in God’s trustworthiness will not undergo suffering – quite the contrary! When St. Paul speaks about being “predestined to be conformed to the image of [God’s] Son,” we must remember that to be conformed to the glorious Christ, we must first be conformed to the Crucified Christ. It is one of the wonders of the Saints that they all come to see suffering not only as bearable, but as a great gift from God. For instance, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, as she was slowly dying, insisted that her overwhelming desire was to be conformed to the Crucified, to share in His bitter suffering. It is a great mystery, certainly, but one that has proven time and again to be the source of that “joy the world cannot give!”