The Pearl of Great Price - 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

Noted American novelist John Steinbeck wrote a famous novel entitled "The Pearl". He quotes the parable of the pearl of great price from the Gospel of Matthew to begin the story. It is set in a poor village of Mexico where a family has an infant son they adore so much. The child, however, gets ill and they are unable to afford the medicines due to their poverty and the corruption of those in power. The father of the family finds a pearl of great price in the ocean, but the corrupt pearl merchants conspire to cheat him out of a fair price for it. Desperate, the family flees to Mexico City in the hopes of obtaining a greater price. The pearl merchants chase after the family, and after a brief struggle, the husband and wife return to their poor village with the body of their dead son, shot to death in the skirmish with the bounty hunters.

The novel forces us to come to grips with social injustice, but it also forces us to consider what is of ultimate value in our lives. Certainly the child is their pearl, and no doubt the fate of their child is tied to the pearl of the ocean needed to pay for medicine to save the child. Yet, did they see their treasure correctly? The readings for today's liturgy force us to consider this question in our own lives.

In the Gospel text Jesus presents us with several images of the kingdom of God. All of these images combined show us that the kingdom of God is the greatest treasure we can possibly possess and that we should strive continually to possess this kingdom in our lives. Yet, how do we envision this kingdom? Do we see it in terms of power and domination, or do we see it in terms of service and building up the members of the kingdom of God? Jesus makes it clear that it is not for us to decide who belongs to the kingdom: we are merely present to be caught up in its path and allow ourselves to be taken into its mystery. At the end of time God will decide who belongs and who does not belong. As St. Augustine taught, the city of man and the city of God are intermingled on this earth until the end of the age. We can only remain faithful to the city of God by conforming ourselves to the teaching and example of Jesus.

Paul makes plain what was implicit in the Gospel text: the kingdom of God and our election into it is a gift from God. Our calling as members of this kingdom is also a gift and a great responsibility. Again we must ask ourselves how we envision this gift? Do we seek to keep this gift for ourselves and use it to the benefit of others? I remember overhearing a Catholic encourage a priest by saying, "Keep the faith!" The priest replied, "No, we must give it away freely to others." That exchange captures well these different views of this precious gift entrusted to us.

At the end of the day, we are all faced with the same choice Solomon has in the first reading. In baptism we have been anointed kings to share in that ministry of Jesus, but again how do we envision this kingship in our lives? We can certainly pray for long life, riches, and victory over our enemies. At face value these seem like fine things, until they are measured against what Solomon actually prays for: an understanding heart to help the people of God to distinguish right from wrong. He asks to be a servant king, not a domineering king - and God rewards him for making the correct choice and for having the correct view of kingship, gift, and the treasure entrusted to each and every one of us.

As we strive to follow the teaching and example of Jesus, to imitate Solomon as we live out our baptismal vocation in the midst of the world, and to ensure that our world is free from the injustices that lead to desperate decisions, let us unite our hearts with the Church in her opening prayer for today's liturgy: "God our Father, open our eyes to see your hand at work in the splendor of creation, in the beauty of human life. Touched by your hand our world is holy. Help us to cherish the gifts that surround us, to share your blessings with our brothers and sisters, and to experience the joy of life in your presence. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Creation and Redemption - 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

The ancient world clearly understood the connection between the human and divine. Even the pagan world saw human events intertwined within those of the divine. The Trojan War was seen in these terms by the ancient Greeks. The book of Genesis shows how creation became disordered from the fall of our first parents. Even in more modern times the notion of human frailty causing natural ruin is not a foreign concept. In William Shakespeare's play "A Midsummer Night's Dream" the king and queen of the fairy world, Oberon and Titania, are engaged in a lover's spat, fighting over the rights to an orphaned child. As the argument progresses, Titania reminds her lover that the storms and plagues of the natural world are the result of their arguments. She concludes:

And on old Hiems' thin and icy crown/An odorous chaplet of sweet summer buds/Is, as in mockery, set: the spring, the summer,/The childing autumn, angry winter, change/Their wonted liveries, and the mazed world,/By their increase, now knows not which is which:/And this same progeny of evils comes/From our debate, from our dissension;/We are their parents and original. (Act II, Scene 1)

These same sentiments occur in the biblical texts from today's readings. Paul's letter to the Romans clearly sees the whole created realm as being subjects to futility, and that creation is waiting in painful expectation as it waits for the redemption of our bodies. That full redemption will not take place until the eschatological times of fulfillment that remain unknown to us. The sufferings we endure - whether they be physical, moral, spiritual, or mental - are the pains of childbearing as we bring forth the reign of God in our lives. The patience required to endure the pains of labor is the same virtue we need to bring forth works of justice and peace in our lives.

Isaiah the prophet also uses the image of creation to make the same point. The rain and snow have a natural purpose of watering the earth and bringing forth life for the earth. In the same way, God's work is never done in vain. The word of God goes forth to produce the fruits God wills for it. As with the rain and seeds of creation, we need to have patience with ourselves and others in seeing the effects of God's word among us. Our lives, individually and communally, seem to make little progress in the life of the spirit. We struggle with our weaknesses, fall again and again into sin, and continually make the same failures. Yet, we live with the hope that in continuing to follow the promptings of God in our lives we will overcome these failings and succeed in living a life of holiness.

The gospel text too teaches us this same lesson, again within the context of images from creation. The futility of growth amid the imperfect elements of creation is all to evident: growth cannot take place on rocky ground, shallow soil, or in the midst of thorns. Only in the rich soil disposed for growth can we find success in producing fruit. Yet, God continues to sow in areas where we might not think wise. The fact that the word of God fails in these areas is not the fault of God or his word, but rather in the imperfections of the soils that receive them. As cooperators in God's work of creation and redemption, we have the opportunity to make these imperfect soils a fitting place for God's word to take root and produce a great deal of fruit.

If the storms and groanings of creation are the result of human sin and failure, then it follows that only a life of radical holiness and justice will result in the full redemption of creation we all desire. Poor soil can be changed into good soil, and sinful human beings - both individual persons and the community of the Church - can be made into worthy vessels that are fit dwellings for God that bring forth the reign of God on earth. As we seek to follow our common vocation, we pray together with the Church: "Let us pray to be faithful to the light we have received, to the name we bear. Father, let the light of your truth guide us to your kingdom through a world filled with lights contrary to your own. Christian is the name and the gospel we glory in. May your love make us what you have called us to be. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen."

Spirit, Soul, and Body - 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

We are accustomed to thinking about the human person in terms of a duality: soul and body. This dualism is the inheritance of Greek philosophy that passed into the Christian tradition from the time of St. Augustine to St. Thomas Aquinas. While the distinction has been helpful at times, it leaves us at a loss in trying to understand how the biblical writers understoon the human person. Today's readings present us with such a struggle.

The second reading from Paul's letter to the Romans at first glance appears to present us with the duality of the flesh and the spirit at war with one another. However, we have to consider what part of the human person decides whether we follow the promptings of the spirit or the desires of the flesh. In Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians he describes the human person as spirit, soul, and body - a Trinitarian image that helps us better understand his vision of the human person. God dwells within the deepest recesses of the human person in that part called the spirit. The soul is the bridge that links the spirit to the body, and it is the soul where the struggle exists. In Paul's view, the proper functioning of the person is the soul listening to the promptings of God in the spirit and thus directing the body to carry out the will of God discerned from the listening to the Spirit of God dwelling within our spirit. In the reading today, Paul presents us with the opposite vision: a dysfunctional person is one whose soul follows the desires of the flesh and not the spirit. Such a person cannot at all be said to be a follower of Jesus.

In the Gospel text Jesus provides us with an idea of those who live according to his yoke, according to the spirit of God. It is often the least ones, the poor and oppressed, who often know the will of God far better than the wise and powerful of the world. The least ones don't live in the flesh because they lack the means to do so, whereas the wise and powerful have the means to live a life of the flesh. Thus, while they are poor in matters of the flesh, the least ones are rich in the spirit of God. They know that the will of God is not found in having more but in being more. They know that ruling comes not from conquest and institutional power but rather in ruling oneself by following the promptings of God in the spirit.

It is interesting to note that the yoke of Jesus is easy to those who are heavy burdened and downtrodden, but is yoke is very hard for the wise and powerful. The first reading from the prophet Zechariah provides us with the key to understanding this difficulty. The prophet outlines for us the identity of the Messiah: a just savior, meek, and riding on an ass. The coming Messiah will outlaw the tools of war: peace will be the hallmark of his reign. And yet we find the world continually at war, and we are told to "support our troops" - code language for telling people not to question war at all, an implicit charge of disloyalty against those who oppose the current wars. Indeed the Messiah has come, but he has yet to be received and accepted by our world. The least ones continue to find the yoke of Jesus easy but that of the world harsh, while the wise and powerful have an easy time in the world and neglect entirely the life and message of Jesus.

In seeking to follow the yoke of Jesus let us return to the image of the human person that St. Paul provides us. May we attune our soul to listen to the promptings of the spirit where God dwells within us and so direct our bodies to do the will of God we encounter in the spirit. In this way we will reject the desires of the flesh and avoid becoming one of the wise and powerful of the world. We pray with the Church for this grace today: "Let us pray for greater willingness to serve God and our fellow man. Father, in the rising of your Son death gives birth to a new life. The sufferings he endured restored hope to a fallen world. Let sin never ensnare us with empty promises of passing joy. Make us one with you always, so that our joy may be holy, and our love may give life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen."