17th Sunday in Ordinary time

All Jesus’ parables about the Kingdom of Heaven are open to different complimentary explanations because the Kingdom of Heaven is that place where God’s loving will is accepted, done and comes to fruition. In the end the Kingdom of Heaven is fully present in Jesus, in Jesus God’s will is so fully accepted, so fully done, bears such abundant fruit that Jesus is indistinguishable from God, in fact Jesus is God. How can you put God into words?

So some interpretations speak of the treasure being Jesus, finding him we are filled with joy, we leave everything and follow him. Or the treasure is hidden again because we have to guard and protect the faith which can be damaged by exposure to the world . Or the fact that the merchant is actively searching for pearls means we must apply ourselves in prayer and in good works and study if we wish to find Jesus the truth.

All good explanations- and there is another which is very encouraging. Especially in uncertain times when perhaps we are not so sure about ourselves or our future. We are the treasure. You, me, we are the pearl and the man, the merchant is Jesus. Finding us He is overjoyed. Jesus recognises how precious, how valuable we are. And he sells everything, leaves everything, gives up everything. He leaves behind his glory as God, he becomes man, he gives up his life on the cross, all so that he can buy us, rescue us, save us.

We should never forget how valuable, how beautiful how precious we are. Not because of anything we have done but simply because Jesus, who is God, considers us valuable, beautiful and precious and gives everything to possess us.