In today’s Gospel, we hear three parables, each starting with Jesus’ introductory words: “The kingdom of heaven is like . . .” The first parable is only one long sentence. In it, someone accidentally digs up a pearl in a field. But because legally the pearl belonged to whomever owned the field, the finder reburies it and somehow gets together enough money to buy the field. In the second parable, a merchant is deliberately searching for fine pearls, and when he finds a very special one, he also “sells all that he had” and buys it. In the third parable, a net thrown into the sea fills with fish, but then the fish need to be sorted, with the good put in buckets and the bad thrown out. Jesus’ introductory words tell us what’s valuable in these little parables: It’s not the pearls or the fish, but the kingdom.
When we catch a glimpse of the kingdom in our faith lives, we are filled with joy, as in the first parable, and we do anything to “possess it,” to “buy in” and be part of it. We change our lives because of it. But recognizing the kingdom is not as easy as recognizing a pearl. The kingdom is somewhat like that wheat hidden in weeds in last Sunday’s parable. We have to search for it. We have to devote efforts to buying the field or the pearl of great price. And we have to sort through things to find it and throw away glittering false treasures (the bad fish) in our worlds and in our lives in order to possess the kingdom. Becoming “kingdom people” depends on us making these internal efforts. For Jesus was really clear about how human life should be lived, but knowing that and living it are, of course, two different things!
— Blog entry by Sister Mary Garascia
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