17^th Sunday of Ordinary Time (A); July 30, 2023

1 Kgs 3:5,7-12.  Ps 119.  Rom 8:28-30.  Mt 13:44-52

Deacon Jim McFadden

            The Christian existentialist Soren Kierkegaard once said, “The saint’s life is about one thing.”  The Dane didn’t mean that a saint’s life would be a monotonous existence; rather, he meant that a truly holy person is in perfect union with the Ultimate Reality. 

            So, we ask ourselves: what is the “one thing”?   That’s the question that was posed to a young King Solomon in our first reading.  Solomon, the successor to his father King David, began his reign in typical fashion by offering God a solemn sacrifice.  Then the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night and was told, “Ask something of me and I will give it to you” (1 Kgs 3:5).  Here we see the greatness of Solomon appear.  He did not ask for a long life, more wealth, adulation from his subjects, elimination of his enemies.  Instead, he said to the Lord, “Give your servant…an understanding heart to judge your people and to distinguish right from wrong” (v. 9a).  Of all the things that could have been asked for, he asked for “an understanding heart.”  That’s what was so important to Solomon that nothing else could trump.  What would you say if you heard that invitation?

            In the 1991 film City Slickers, starring a young Billy Crystal, explores this question in a fascinating, cinematic way.  The adventure begins in the heart of New York City, where a thoroughly urbanized, stressed out, and jaded executive is struggling to find meaning in life.  His two best friends have the perfect cure: a “fantasy vacation” where they can be cowboys in a real-life cattle drive.

            The drive is led by a delightful, no nonsense, in-your-face cowboy by the name of ‘Curly,’ played by Jack Palance, who played the quintessential bad buy in the classic 1953 Western Shane.  On the trail, Mitch (Crystal’s character) asks Curly, who seems to have his act together, “What is life about?”

            Curly’s reply was, “None of you city slickers get it.  You know what the secret to life is?  He then raises his index finger.  “What?  Your finger?” the perplexed Mitch replies.

            “One thing.  Just one thing.  You stick with that and everything else means ‘rubbish’” (not the exact word, but you get the point).

            Raising his index-finger, Mitch asks, “What is the one thing?”  to which Curly responds, “That’s for you to figure out.”

            Brothers and sisters, have we figured it out?  Would we ask for an understanding heart that could address this question?  That’s the point of today’s Gospel reading, which focuses on the Ultimate Good—the Kingdom of God, which was the theme and content of Jesus’ Mission.  The Kingdom means a state in which God is king and consequently rules, which we hear in the Lord’s Prayer: “Thy kingdom come, they will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”  This is the most valuable good, which is made perfectly present in Jesus because “He is the image of the invisible God” (Col 1:15). If you want to know what Kingdom living is about, listen to Jesus’ teachings and observe how he lived.  Jesus is the hidden treasure; he is the pearl of great price.  He is the fundamental discovery, who can make a radical sea-change in our lives, filling our hearts with joy.

            Sadly, for many of us, the Triune God does not rule over us, but we allow other things to dominate our lives.  Pope Francis in his Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium put it poignantly when he wrote, “The great danger in today’s world, pervaded by consumerism, is the desolation and anguish born of a complacent yet covetous heart, the feverish pursuit of frivolous pleasures, and a blunted conscience.”  The upshot is that “God’s voice is no longer heard, the quiet joy of his love is no longer felt, and the desire to do good fades” (#2).

            How can we reverse this trend?  We can do what the farmer and the merchant did in today’s Gospel: to have a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ.  They were facing a unique opportunity, which they weren’t going to let slip away.  Hence, they sold everything they owned.  In order to participate in the Life of Christ, that lead them to sacrifice everything, to practice detachment, and to renounce the goods of the world as their raison d’etre.  When the treasure and pearl are discovered,  we must not let this discovery become barren, tepid, lukewarm.  Rather, we must sacrifice everything in order to acquire it.  This is not a matter of disdaining the goods of the world or our relationships, but everything is subordinated to our relationship with Jesus, putting him in the center of our lives: his Word, his grace is THE ONE THING.

            When we make this commitment, what happens?  Again, Pope Francis puts it succinctly, “With Jesus Christ, joy is always born and reborn” (#1).  When we make the Kingdom of God, perfectly personified in Jesus, our center of gravity, then the power of his Being enters into our soul, which renews our life every day and leads us to our destiny.  Those who have found their treasure in Jesus have a creative and dynamic heart, which does not repeat the same old patterns but sets them off to new paths which leads to a deeper love of God, to love others, and to truly love themselves.  Jesus becomes the reason and goal of everything we do.  When we “move, live, and have our being” in Christ Jesus (cf. Acts 17:28) our soul will experience the Risen Christ who will permeate every dimension of our lives. He is the One who not only leads us to Eternal Life, our ultimate destiny, but he alone, here and now, gives the most insignificant act its intrinsic justification and meaning.

            When we contemplate the joy of the farmer and the merchant, we, too, will experience God moving into our lives, in which his Love will fulfill our destiny between God and ourselves.  It’s right here, People of God: we, too, can share in this joy when we discover the closeness and presence of Jesus.   It’s a presence that transforms our heart in which we conform ourselves to the Risen Christ.  In so doing, we discover the meaning of our lives, the joy of feeling committed to the adventure of holiness.

            May the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God and the Mother of the Church, help us to search every day for the treasure of the Kingdom of Heaven, so that the love God has given us through Jesus may be manifested in our words and gestures.  Amen.