Treasures New and Old

Today's Reflections

 

 

Treasures New and Old

Mt 13:44-52

[Jesus said to his disciples,] ⁴⁴“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. ⁴⁵Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. ⁴⁶When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it. ⁴⁷“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind. ⁴⁸When it is full they haul it ashore and sit down to put what is good into buckets. What is bad they throw away. ⁴⁹Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous ⁵⁰and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.

⁵¹“Do you understand all these things?” They answered, “Yes.” ⁵²And he replied, “Then every scribe who has been instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old.”

ONE TRULY FINE TREASURE. D. Williamson tells the story of a little boy who got his hand into a precious vase. All efforts to get it out were ineffectual. As the parents painfully came to the conclusion that they would have to break the costly vase, the father told the boy, “Now try once more. Put all your fingers out straight and try again.”

“But, then, I’ll drop my penny,” said the boy.

From this simple narrative, the author draws a lesson which has a bearing on today’s Gospel: The love of money, the pursuit of which may lead people away from the faith, holds any person who might be free if he were willing to pay the price.

The parable of the buried treasure and that of the pearl of great price give us a similar lesson: the kingdom of heaven is a treasure beyond price; we must renounce all that may hinder us from possessing it.

The kingdom of heaven, Jesus tells us, is the reign of God in our midst. We allow God to inspire and direct our lives, we live a life of communion with him, because we believe that God is the ultimate meaning of our existence. We have been created by God for himself, and our hearts will be restless and empty if, by our own free will, we choose to shut off God from our life.

Many things hinder us from having God at the center of our lives. There is the human tendency to be “a god unto oneself,” that is, to be answerable to no one but to one’s self. There are also the “treasures and attractions” of the world: money, power, pleasures. Many people are drawn to them because they easily satisfy the natural and physical cravings of human beings.

Earthly treasures, which we call “Mammon,” can become an end to themselves. Mammon can replace the true God in our hearts.

Mammon is a false god because it enslaves the human heart, just as the hand of the boy is imprisoned inside a vase because he chooses not to let go of his money. Mammon is likewise a false god because it is ephemeral and cannot give lasting happiness.