by Fr. Tommy Lane
There is only one treasure that brings happiness and that treasure is Jesus and finding the kingdom of God. The man in the first parable in our Gospel today found the treasure (kingdom of heaven) and went off happy. If we’re not happy we still haven’t found Jesus or the kingdom of heaven. If you’re not happy, my advice is turn to Jesus and then you will find the happiness you seek. Do we have to set out on a journey to find this treasure and do we need a map? Yes, we do! The journey is the journey into our own hearts, and the map has been given us by Jesus himself.
In our first two parables the men sold everything they had to acquire either the treasure or the pearl. Searching for Jesus and the kingdom of heaven means we face choices and have to make decisions, sometimes hard decisions that we would prefer not to have to make. There will be passing treasures that in the short-term are tempting but don’t offer us the happiness we really want, and there is the real treasure, Jesus, for whom we sometimes have to carry our cross in order to find the treasure that gives real happiness. By carrying our cross well we will discover a pearl inside us, and that pearl is Jesus.
A pearl is formed in an oyster which secretes mother-of-pearl to form its shell. When a foreign body, such as a grain of sand, enters the oyster, it is surrounded and cut off from the remainder of the oyster by mother-of-pearl building up around it forming a pearl. This is the way an oyster naturally defends itself. What began as a disaster for the oyster has, in fact, turned it into a most beautiful jewel. Sometimes it is like that for us too. What we thought was a disaster turns out for our benefit. As our second reading said, “We know that by turning everything to their good God co-operates with all those who love him…” As I said, There will be passing treasures that in the short-term are tempting but don’t offer us the happiness we really want, and there is the real treasure, Jesus, for whom we sometimes have to carry our cross in order to find the treasure that gives real happiness. By carrying our cross well we will discover a pearl inside us, and that pearl is Jesus.
Do we have to set out on a journey to find this treasure, to form this pearl, Jesus, within us and do we need a map? Yes, we do! The journey is the journey into our own hearts, and the map has been given us by Jesus himself. How should we begin? By praying and receiving the sacraments frequently and getting to know our Bible. I believe that none of us is praying enough. That’s why there are so many problems. If we all prayed more I believe we would all be far happier, and many situations would work out much better. So let us pray more, and receive the sacraments more often, and get to know our Bible so that the pearl, Jesus, may grow within us, a treasure that won’t let us down. Then we can go off happy.
This homily was delivered when I was engaged in parish ministry in Ireland before joining the faculty of Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, Emmitsburg, Maryland.
More homilies for the Seventeenth Sunday Year A
Finding the hidden treasure and pearl of great value
Related Homilies: Happiness