7/26 - 17th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Dear Parish Family,

The first reading tells us how the young King Solomon opted for the great treasure of accepting God to rule his life by doing God’s will. The idiom, ‘As wise as Solomon’ comes from the request that young Solomon makes to God to grant him the gift of prudence: “an understanding heart to distinguish right from wrong, so that he might govern God’s people properly”. Yahweh was pleased with his request and granted him a wise and discerning heart which enabled him to surpass everyone in wisdom. In the second reading, Paul teaches that wisdom to perceive God’s grace and use it, is essential for those who want to follow Him and to do His will, thus remaining in His Kingdom. He assures Rome’s Christian community that “all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose.”

In the Gospel, using mini parables and simile, Jesus teaches us that God’s Kingdom (the rule of God in us, accepting Jesus as our God and Savior, putting our Faith in God and doing His will), is something of extraordinary value, like a hidden treasure or a costly pearl, and that possessing it calls for a total commitment to preserve it. The Kingdom of God is God’s reign in our hearts, in our lives, in our homes, in our society, and in our world.

We should live every moment in view of our precious goal. Life understood as a pilgrimage with a definitive goal is being proposed to us. Most of the time, we are chasing false treasures such as money, social status or worldly pleasures.   Thus, the really valuable “pearl” of sharing in God’s life through Jesus here on earth and later in Heaven, is never found. Let us always remember that Heaven is within the reach of all of us who try to do the will of God, following the ordinary vocations of life and enjoying this world’s joys and pleasures within the framework of God’s Commandments. When we do this, we are already living in the Kingdom of Heaven while we are still on earth.

The Christian call is not a ‘joyless pursuit’. In St. Philip Neri we have an example of a very happy saint who lived life to the full, enjoying pranks and sharing great moments of laughter and mirth with all categories of people. Anthony De Mello tells a story about some people who were on a raft off the coast of Brazil. They were perishing from thirst, for as you know, ocean water is undrinkable. What they did not know, however, was that the water they were floating on was fresh water. The Amazon River was coming out into the sea with such force that it went out for a couple of miles, so they had fresh water right there where they were. But they had no idea. “In the same way,” says De Mello, “we’re surrounded with joy, with happiness, with love of the kingdom of God in our midst. Most people,” he concludes, “have no idea.” Anthony De Mello, Awareness (New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell 
Publishing Group, Inc., 1992).