Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time Read more
Homily
The Gospel this Sunday finishes the collection of parables presented by Matthew in Chapter 13. One could say that the evangelist wants to take stock of the situation after the harsh clash Jesus had with Judaism, as described in Chapters 11 and 12, and before the rupture is consummated when Jesus is rejected in his “own region,” as described in the closing verses of chapter 13. The three parables in today’s passage (13:44-52) are presented as an urgent invitation to the hearers: choose to commit to the mystery of the Kingdom of heaven, a very precious reality. Jesus compares it to a true and real treasure, a very rare pearl. The images in the parables are taken from the Old Testament tradition. The Book of Wisdom says: wisdom “is an unfailing treasure for mortals; those who get it obtain friendship with God” (7:14). And in the Book of Proverbs, one reads, “if you indeed cry out for insight, and raise your voice for understanding; if you seek it like silver, and search for it as for hidden treasuresthen you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God” (2:3-5). In addition to recalling the wisdom tradition, the first two parables underline not the discovery of the treasure and the search for the precious pearl, but rather the decision of the farmer and of the merchant to sell everything in order to stake it on what they have discovered. In the first instance, it is about a farmer who accidentally comes upon a treasure hidden in the field where he is working. Not owning that particular field, he must purchase it to be in possession of the treasure. He makes the decision to risk everything so as not to lose this rare opportunity. The protagonist of the second parable is a rich merchant with an eye for appraising precious objects. He recognizes the great value of a pearl in a store and likewise stakes everything on this pearl, selling all the others to buy it. In both unexpected cases, the choice is decisive and clear. Certainly it is about selling all of their possessions, but their acquisition is incomparable in value. It requires a “sacrifice,” as for example the Gospel of the rich young man suggests, but the gain is greatly superior. The Kingdom of Heaven is worth the sacrifice. Besides, how many times are we ready to give up everything, even our soul, to possess something that is interesting to us? The issues are whether we care about the Lord and His friendship, and whether we are able to comprehend the joy and fullness of life that are unexpectedly presented to us, as unexpectedly as the treasure and the pearl are presented to the farmer and to the merchant.
John Chrysostom’s commentary on this Gospel passage is splendid: “With these two parables we learn not only that it is necessary to divest oneself of all other things in order to embrace the Gospel, but that we must do this with joy. Whoever gives up all that he possesses must be convinced that this is a bargain, not a loss... Those in fact who possess the Gospel know they are rich.” Riches for the disciple do not consist in possessing things but in being a friend of God. It is what is suggested to us by young Solomon’s choice in the first reading (1 K 3:5, 7-12). When he assumes the highest responsibility for his people, he asks God not for a long life, nor for this world’s riches, but for a heart docile to God’s will so that he will be able to “govern your people, [will be] able to discern between good and evil.” Fishing inspires the last parable: the catch of fish and their sorting by the lakeside. It echoes the parable of the weeds: good and evil are commingled while this world turns; only at the end will God separate good from evil. The separation will involve each one of us, because no one can say he or she is free of sin. What counts is not boasting of one’s own righteousness, but of the friendship of God who draws near not to the strong but to the sick, who seeks out not the just but sinners. To make God's friendship grow within and around us, is the great choice that the Gospel asks of us: it is the treasure for which it is worth selling everything.
Prayer is the heart of the life of the Community of Sant'Egidio and is its absolute priority. At the end of the day, every the Community of Sant'Egidio, large or small, gathers around the Lord to listen to his Word. The Word of God and the prayer are, in fact, the very basis of the whole life of the Community. The disciples cannot do other than remain at the feet of Jesus, as did Mary of Bethany, to receive his love and learn his ways (Phil. 2:5).
So every evening, when the Community returns to the feet of the Lord, it repeats the words of the anonymous disciple: " Lord, teach us how to pray". Jesus, Master of prayer, continues to answer: "When you pray, say: Abba, Father". It is not a simple exhortation, it is much more. With these words Jesus lets the disciples participate in his own relationship with the Father. Therefore in prayer, the fact of being children of the Father who is in heaven, comes before the words we may say. So praying is above all a way of being! That is to say we are children who turn with faith to the Father, certain that they will be heard.
Jesus teaches us to call God "Our Father". And not simply "Father" or "My Father". Disciples, even when they pray on their own, are never isolated nor they are orphans; they are always members of the Lord's family.
In praying together, beside the mystery of being children of God, there is also the mystery of brotherhood, as the Father of the Church said: "You cannot have God as father without having the church as mother". When praying together, the Holy Spirit assembles the disciples in the upper room together with Mary, the Lord's mother, so that they may direct their gaze towards the Lord's face and learn from Him the secret of his Heart.
The Communities of Sant'Egidio all over the world gather in the various places of prayer and lay before the Lord the hopes and the sufferings of the tired, exhausted crowds of which the Gospel speaks ( Mat. 9: 3-7 ), In these ancient crowds we can see the huge masses of the modern cities, the millions of refugees who continue to flee their countries, the poor, relegated to the very fringe of life and all those who are waiting for someone to take care of them. Praying together includes the cry, the invocation, the aspiration, the desire for peace, the healing and salvation of the men and women of this world. Prayer is never in vain; it rises ceaselessly to the Lord so that anguish is turned into hope, tears into joy, despair into happiness, and solitude into communion. May the Kingdom of God come soon among people!
For the sick, in memory of the dead, for peace
