Scripture Reflection, July 27: Pearl of Great Price
 

Scripture Readings:
I Kings 3: 5, 7-12
Psalm 119
Romans 8: 28-30
Matthew 13: 44-52

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Every now and then we encounter situations that seem to illumine for us what is most important in life. Recently I was on vacation, traveling in New York and New England. I spent a couple of days at a large house of my religious order, the Passionists, that is located in Queens. This house includes a retreat center, a thriving parish and a residence where about twenty-five priests and brothers live. I served as the director of the retreat center a few years ago.

During my stay there, I spent some time visiting with the retired pastor of the parish. He served as pastor of that complex, multi-ethnic parish for twenty-five years, until he was forced to retire a year ago because of the progression of Parkinson’s Disease. He is in his mid-sixties. Tom was a very dedicated, competent pastor who helped his parish community flourish through many years of change. When I was retreat director there we never really spent much time talking with one another, mostly because we were both so busy. Sometimes it seemed as if we were ships passing in the night. But now Tom is struggling from the attacks of a very debilitating disease, and he spends most of his day in his infirmary room. He still has a keen mind and is usually quite alert, but his physical abilities are in sharp decline.

One Sunday evening we watched the ESPN game of the week together. It was the Yankees versus the Red Sox. Tom is an avid Yankees fan and I am a fervent disciple of the Red Sox. In the past, many barbs have been exchanged between us concerning the fortunes and misfortunes of these two perennial rivals. But, for once, the game did not really matter very much. We had an opportunity to talk a bit about life in general, about the community to which we both belong, and about what it’s like to live with Parkinson’s disease. We may have shared more personal reflections during those nine innings than during the four years that we had lived and worked together. As I left his room that evening, I had to wonder why I had not made more time for this kind of interaction before that night.

Sometimes life has a way of forcing us to look more closely at what is most important – what is really of enduring value. It may be the onset of a serious illness in ourselves or someone we care about, the loss of a loved one, a financial setback, an anniversary or other form of celebration, or any number of other events. When we encounter those situations, we are invited to pay attention, to remember the lessons we have learned from them, and to allow what we have learned to inform the way we live.

The Scripture readings for this Sunday speak to us about recognizing what is of enduring value and committing ourselves to it. Solomon, the biblical paradigm of wisdom, is given quite an invitation by God: “Ask something of me and I will give it to you.” How would you like to hear those words in your dream tonight? What would you ask for? (I must admit that a Cubs-Red Sox World Series in 2008 would be a tempting option). Solomon, conscious of the demands of leading God’s people, is presented as making a simple, straightforward request: “Give your servant, therefore, an understanding heart to judge your people and to distinguish right from wrong.” Solomon is concerned about the mission that he has been given as leader of Israel, and so he asks for the one gift that will most enable him to fulfill that mission – a heart that is wise and understanding.

In the gospel we listen to a few more of Jesus’ parables that Matthew brought together in the thirteenth chapter of his gospel. The first two communicate the extraordinary worth of the kingdom of God. Jesus compares this kingdom to a treasure buried in a field and to a pearl of great price. The one who discovers such a treasure sells everything that he or she owns in order to possess it. When Jesus talks about the kingdom (or reign) of God he is pointing to God’s drawing near to his people in order to establish his rule of love. Where the kingdom of God is present, God’s will is done. The kingdom of God is all about the presence and activity of the faithful God, the God who passionately desires life for every person, especially for those who have had the life drained out of them. We experience that reign of God even now when we strive to discover God’s will in our lives and to carry it out as best we can. That is the pearl of great price. It leads to what the Opening Prayer for Sunday’s liturgy articulates when it speaks of experiencing the joy of life in God’s presence. As we seek to live more consciously in God’s presence and to do his will, we do in fact experience a deep joy.

Most of us become so busy and distracted that we easily forget what is most important. The stress and simply the noise in our lives often drown out the music of the kingdom of God. And each one of us grapples with the conflicting desires that we find within ourselves. Our desire for God, and our desire to become authentically loving people, clash with other passions within us, like the desire for immediate satisfaction, for status and prestige, for power and control over others, or just the desire for security, which at times can become excessive. Keeping the values of the reign of God before our eyes is a distinct challenge for all of us.

And so we come to the Eucharist. It is there that we are reminded of who we are and whose we are – the One to whom we ultimately belong. There we discover, time and time again, that it is Christ who is our real treasure. Christ himself is the pearl of great price in our lives. He is the one who reveals to us the will of God and manifests to us the values of the reign of God. Christ shows us what it is that we should most care about. He is also a faithful friend, who knows how distracted and lost we often become in life. So he invites us to come to the table to be nourished with his very presence and to have our eyes opened once again. As we approach the table of the Lord this Sunday, may we ask him to keep our hearts and minds attuned to what is of enduring value in our lives.

Fr. Robin Ryan, cp