Of Pearls and Treasures

Homily for Wednesday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time

As rare as buried treasure might be today, it was a different story in the time of Jesus. There were no banks or safety deposit boxes in which to safeguard valuables. It was not uncommon, therefore, for a man to bury his valuables whenever his home or he may have felt threatened. The law insisted that buried treasure belonged to the person who owned the plot of ground in which it was buried. Notice in the parable that Jesus tells us, the man who found the buried treasure hid it again and went off to buy a piece of property. Maybe he told the owner what he had found, maybe he didn’t.

The parable about the great pearl is markedly different. The man who wishes to acquire the pearl goes to the man who owns it and agrees to pay for it. While the instance of buying a piece of property in order to acquire a treasure that is buried there would be considered shady at best, the story about the great pearl suggests that this is the proper way to go about acquiring something of value.

The two parables illustrate an important point in Jesus' preaching. Oftentimes he will cite "shady" situations to illustrate the necessity to be actively involved in our spiritual life. We cannot simply let it happen to us. The parables often present us with undesirable characters such as the dishonest steward, the corrupt judge, the opportunistic prodigal. However, they all teach us the need to be industrious and creative in cultivating our relationship with God.

Whether we meet God accidentally or as the result of a search, we must be ready to engage God. This is why our life of prayer is so important. Setting aside time each day to commune with the Lord is the only way to insure that our relationship will remain healthy. Otherwise, the treasure might slip through our fingers.