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HOMILIES ARCHIVE
HOMILIES
Dear Audience,For better understanding of the spiritual message behind this homily I kindly remind you to first read and contemplate the biblical texts before reading or listening to my preaching - a human reflection on the Word of God!
Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year A)
166
4
0First Reading
A reading from the first Book of Kings (3:5, 7-12)
The Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night. God said, "Ask something of me and I will give it to you." Solomon answered: "O Lord, my God, you have made me, your servant, king to succeed my father David; but I am a mere youth, not knowing at all how to act. I serve you in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a people so vast that it cannot be numbered or counted. Give your servant, therefore, an understanding heart to judge your people and to distinguish right from wrong. For who is able to govern this vast people of yours?"
The Lord was pleased that Solomon made this request. So God said to him: "Because you have asked for this - not for a long life for yourself, nor for riches, nor for the life of your enemies, but for understanding so that you may know what is right - I do as you requested. I give you a heart so wise and understanding that there has never been anyone like you up to now, and after you there will come no one to equal you."
(P) The word of the Lord.(R) Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalms of David (119:57, 72, 76-77, 127-128, 129-130)
(R) Lord, I love your commands.
I have said, O Lord, that my part is to keep your words. The law of your mouth is to me more precious than thousands of gold and silver pieces. (R)
Let your kindness comfort me according to your promise to your servants. Let your compassion come to me that I may live, for your law is my delight. (R)
For I love your commands more than gold, however fine. For in all your precepts I go forward; every false way I hate. (R)
Wonderful are your decrees; therefore I observe them. The revelation of your words sheds light, giving understanding to the simple. (R)
Second Reading
A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans (8:28-30)
Brothers and sisters: We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined he also called; and those he called he also justified; and those he justified he also glorified.
(P) The word of the Lord.(R) Thanks be to God.
Gospel
A reading from the Gospel according to Matthew (13:44-52)
Jesus said to his disciples: "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. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind. When it is full they haul it ashore and sit down to put what is good into buckets. What is bad they throw away. Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.
"Do you understand all these things?" They answered, "Yes," And 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."
(P) The Gospel of the Lord.(R) Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Homily
Once in a Sunday school class, a teacher explained the parable of the "hidden treasure" and "pearl" and gave a detailed description of eternal happiness in heaven, and all the children listened intently. The teacher concluded her lesson by asking, "All those who are ready to go to heaven, raise your hands." Everyone raised theirs except one little girl named Mary. "Don't you want to go to heaven, Mary?" asked the teacher. "Not now," Mary replied, "My mom was baking apple pie when I left home!" The concept of heaven does not appeal to everyone. Many traditions view heaven as the ultimate end of suffering, pain, and sorrow. Others see "heaven" not as an afterlife destination, but as a metaphor for human connection, kindness, and deep presence in the current world.
During His earthly ministry, Jesus used direct teaching and parables as His main methods to share deep spiritual truths with people. In His direct teaching, He spoke clearly about God's love, the arrival of God's Kingdom, radical rules for daily living and faith, His own divine identity and His ultimate earthly purpose. Through parables and everyday images like farming, fishing, shepherding, and wealth, He primarily spoke about the Kingdom of Heaven or the Kingdom of God. He explained how God rules, how His grace operates, and how people should respond. Those with open hearts, that is, those who wanted to know more about the Kingdom would ask Jesus for explanations, while those with closed, hardened hearts, that is, those who refused to look deeper walked away.
Of the seven parables that Jesus used to describe the Kingdom of Heaven, each illustrating a different aspect of its nature, growth and value, we have so far read and reflected upon four parables - the Parable of the Sower, the Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds, the Parable of the Mustard Seed and the Parable of the Yeast. Today we hear three final, short parables about the Kingdom of Heaven, Matthew (13:44-52).
In the first parable, Jesus compared the Kingdom of Heaven to a hidden treasure in a field. In the ancient world, ordinary people lacked secure public banks or depositories, forcing them to bury and hide their wealth in the ground to protect it from thieves and invading armies. If a person who hid his or her wealth died in a conflict or sudden calamity without telling anyone, the treasure stayed lost in the soil. Under Jewish law halakha, a person who stumbled upon the buried treasure could not automatically get to keep it as his own. Now, in this parable, a man came across a hidden treasure in a field. But because the field did not belong to him, he covered it to protect his discovery, then joyfully sold everything and purchased the whole property to legally and honestly possess the treasure. Through this parable, Jesus taught His disciples that the Kingdom of Heaven is far more valuable than any earthly possession, status or achievement and therefore, they, as seekers, must be glad and willing to let go of everything else to obtain it.
In the second parable, Jesus compared the Kingdom of Heaven to a merchant actively searching for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he willingly sold everything he owned to buy it. Through this parable, Jesus taught that the Kingdom of Heaven is so precious and valuable that it is worth giving up everything else one owns to gain it. Although these two parables appear almost identical, there is one difference. One man stumbled upon the hidden treasure by accident, representing people who find God unexpectedly, while the other actively searched for fine pearls, representing those who seek God or spiritual truths intentionally and earnestly.
In the third parable, Jesus compared the Kingdom of Heaven to a large net thrown into the sea that catches all kinds of fish. When full, fishermen drag it ashore, gather the good fish into the baskets, and throw the bad fish away. Jesus then explained that at the end of the age, angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous, throwing the evil into a blazing furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Here, the sea represented the restless, chaotic, and rebellious domain of humanity outside or within the reach of the Gospel message. The large net represented the outreach of the Kingdom of Heaven. All kinds of fish represented a diverse mix of people who responded or were exposed to the gospel message, including believers and unbelievers. The shore represented the final destination and arrival point at the end of time where the sorting occurs. The sorting of fishes represented angels separating the wicked from the righteous and casting the wicked into a fiery furnace of deep sorrow and pain and granting to the good eternal life and peace. Thus, this parable shares the exact same core message as the Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds.
Jesus concluded his parables on the Kingdom of Heaven by asking if they understood everything, to which they answered "yes," prompting Jesus to compare a teacher of the law (or scribe) trained in the Kingdom of Heaven to a homeowner who brings out of his storage both new and old treasures. Here, the "old treasures" refer to the rich historical foundation of God's work, including the Law, Psalms, and Prophetic teachings of the Old Testament. The "new treasures" point to the fresh revelations and teachings brought by Jesus concerning the Kingdom of Heaven. So, by comparing His trained disciple to a homeowner bringing out valuable things from storage for his household, Jesus exhorted them to use their spiritual training and knowledge to benefit and teach others, blending God's foundational past messages with the fresh insights from His ministry.
What is the message for us?
Having faith in God, knowing Jesus, understanding the Bible, living for a higher purpose, finding joy and peace in the promise of eternal life, allowing faith to shape everyday choices, actions, and character, relying on God's promises, goodness, and grace even during difficult times, building intimacy with Jesus through prayer, scripture, and sacraments, belonging to a Christian family and community, and living out our faith together with others are some of the most valuable parts of our Christian life and precious treasures of the Kingdom of Heaven. So, whether we have found any of these treasures by accident, or after a long search, the Lord Jesus wants us to joyfully give up everything so as to possess them forever for they are worth more than any worldly thing.
The spiritual journeys of St. Paul and St. Augustine, mirroring the Parables of the Hidden Treasure and Pearl are great examples for us. While Paul met Christ in a sudden flash of light on the Damacus road, Augustine arrived at faith after years of a long, restless, intellectual, emotional, and moral struggle. Both acknowledged their experiences in their writings. In his letter to the Philippians (3:8), Paul wrote that he counted everything in the world as loss compared to the great value of knowing Jesus Christ as his Lord. He stated that he gave up all his past religious achievements and status, treating them as rubbish or garbage, just to gain Christ.
In his spiritual memoir, Confessions, Augustine wrote, "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you." He further described his spiritual awakening by writing, "Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new; late have I loved you! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you. In my weakness I plunged into the lovely things you created. You were with me, but I was not with you. You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness... You touched me, and I burned for your peace." He also asserted that "Christ is not valued at all, unless He is valued above all," meaning Christ cannot be reduced to a mere moral checklist or priority among others. We too must echo the words and experiences of these great saints to mean that Christ is far greater than all worldly possessions, human wisdom, and temporal desires combined. However, while we strive to preserve the heavenly treasures - whether found through diligent seeking or unexpected grace or generational heritage - we must actively guard against elitism, pride, and a spirit of superiority.
Remember that the Kingdom of Heaven is "already but not yet", Matthew (6:10) and Mark (1:15). In other words, God's rule has begun through Jesus, but it is not yet fully finished. It is an ongoing spiritual reality. It is a long and gradual process rather than an immediate change or transformation. So, the Kingdom of heaven is both present now and waiting for the future, containing a mixed group of people until it is finished, when God will send angels at the end of the world to separate the wicked from the righteous, like harvesters separate the wheat and the weeds and fishermen sort the good and the bad fish. In the meantime, we must understand the truth of the Kingdom, live it out daily, share testimonies of how faith changes lives, both from history and from our own days to draw people closer to the light of heaven, and leave the final judgment to God in His own time.
God Bless You!
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