Gospel (Mt 13, 44-52)
At that time, Jesus told the crowd these parables: “The kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field; the man who discovered it hides it again. In his joy, he goes to sell everything he owns, and he buys this field. Or again: The kingdom of Heaven is comparable to a merchant who searches for fine pearls. Having found a pearl of great value, he goes to sell everything he owns, and he buys the pearl. The kingdom of Heaven is still comparable to a net that is thrown into the sea, and which brings in all kinds of fish. When it is full, we drag it to the shore, we sit down, we collect in baskets what is good, and we throw away what is worthless. So it will be at the end of the world: the angels will come out to separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the furnace: there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. » “Did you understand all this? » They answer him: “Yes. » Jesus added: “Therefore every scribe who becomes a disciple of the kingdom of Heaven is comparable to a master of a house who brings out of his treasure the new and the old. »
Other readings: 1 Kings 3, 5.7-12; Ps 118 (119); Rom 8, 28-30
To understand
A hidden joy
“The kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. » “The kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant who searches for fine pearls. » Two little parables, in the form of a secret and confidence to whoever wants to hear them. Two comparisons full of hidden joy, reserved for those who can understand them. This is what the Gospel makes us hear here, with astonishing brevity, since these two parables are the shortest in the New Testament. As if Jesus were saying: listen carefully, I’m talking to you about the essentials. I won’t make a novel out of it, but stories that take two steps. Lightning stories, it’s up to you to seize them.
In fact, the light of these texts is that of a flash. It’s so strong that everything becomes clear, but so brief that we remain dazzled. This matter of buried treasure, of precious pearl, we sense its meaning, but it escapes us. It’s like a check for 100 million that we pass before our eyes and say: “It’s for you… Grab it!” »
Meditate
Make the donation you receive grow
So let’s freeze the image, and first on the person who finds treasure in someone else’s garden. By chance and luck, since it is not said that he was looking for anything, here he is in the presence of the loot of a great explorer, the jewelry chest of an unknown princess. We imagine him stunned, ecstatic…
But back home, he is not going to make the imprudence of shouting his happiness everywhere. Like the most cautious of those who win the jackpot, he remains discreet and thoughtful. At the bottom of this garden, there are perhaps many other wonders to discover: isn’t the first thing to do, then, to become its owner?
For this, says the Gospel, he sells everything he has. Interesting reversal: instead of filling his pockets, he dispossesses himself to have something to buy. Every good speculator knows that you have to dare to lose to win. He who invests all his fortune in the right place and at the right time will one day find it multiplied.
Thus the kingdom of Heaven is an extraordinary “investment”, open to those who pay the price. But initially it is hidden. He who realizes its existence is very lucky, but later, he will need a lot of daring and patience to taste its fruits. It’s a bet, Pascal would say, a wise folly…
We are thinking here of the newly baptized, more and more numerous in our country. What magnificent grace, for them and for us! They have found the treasure, they themselves are a treasure in the Church. But after the time of wonder, comes the time of investment. They, and we with them, have to make the gift they receive bear fruit.
These neophytes are the lucky man of the first parable. We must be experienced traders of the second. Will they really put the One they discovered at the center of their lives? And we, long-time Christians, will we be able to rely on them in such a way that they energize the entire ecclesial body? This is the whole point of this renewal: not to be a flash in the pan, but the beginning of a great spiritual rebirth. Let’s hope and pray.
Pray
Lord, I found you as the treasure of my life, as the rare pearl. I was very lucky. I thank you with all my heart.
I want to hold this wonder in my arms, penetrate it so that it transforms me. I want to acquire it as the most precious thing I have.
During this vacation, help me detach myself from the accessory and get back to the essentials. Make me find even more hidden treasures.
And may more and more of us, in France and everywhere, taste the joy of the Kingdom.
