“The Kingdom is like finding treasure”
Chapter 13 of Saint Matthew’s Gospel is full of parables and today’s Gospel reading is the last of those parables. Jesus’ parables have layers of meaning that both people then and people now can seek to uncover. Jesus explains the meaning of many of the parables for the people who are listening. However, Jesus challenges the disciples to better understand these last parables dealing with a treasure, a pearl and a net.
Why does Jesus ask if they understand the parables? There is a key point in these parables that Jesus wants to get through. He shifts gears and instead of focusing on a collective, these parables look to the individuals. It is a single person going out and seeking the kingdom of Heaven in the pearl and coin. Jesus asks if they understand so they can be the new scribes to bring about the fulfillment of the new kingdom He was setting up. They were the ones who would help explain how Jesus fulfilled the old covenant with the new one.
Why are they in search of a pearl or treasure? During the time of Jesus, it was not unusual to guard valuables by burying them in the ground. [1] The Holy Land was also a main highway for armies and merchants. If war broke out it was not unusual for a person to bury their valuables. If that person died during the uprising, it could be possible that no one knew where the treasure was buried and an unrelated person could find it.
We go out and seek various treasures for many reasons, sometimes we find these treasures and sometimes we do not. When it comes to finding the truth, we will always find it but we must go out and look for it. The truth is so powerful that once it is found, we will do whatever it takes to obtain this truth. Jesus brings the fullness of the kingdom to us, but we can be blinded by our sin. When we finally see what He offers, we must be willing to take the treasures of the kingdom with open arms.
Jesus offers the truth and we seek the truth. Pontius Pilate asks the question that we all ask, “What is truth?” Pontius Pilate only asks the question, but does he really want the truth, does he seek the truth. In the Gospel of John, we hear Pontius Pilate’s response to meeting Jesus, “‘What is truth?’ When he had said this, he again when out to the Jews and said to them, ‘I find no guilt in him. But you have a custom that I release one prisoner to you at Passover. Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?’ They cried out again, ‘Not this one but Barabbas!’ Now Barabbas was a revolutionary.” (John 18:38-40)
Does Pontius Pilate really want the truth? No, Pontius Pilate does not want truth. He asks the question, but he does not do what the man in the parable does. The man in the parable “finds” the truth, then he “goes out with joy” to get the truth and he “sells all” to obtain the truth. We do not see Pilate “finding the truth,” he only asks the question and does not seek further. We also do not see Pilate “going out with joy,” rather he goes out with doubt and confusion and asks the “crowd” what he should do. We also do not see Pilate “selling all” but rather “selling out.” The verb “to sell out” means to compromise one’s integrity, morality, or principles in exchange for money or success. [2] Pilate compromises his search for truth and exchanges truth for falsehood.
How does he compromise the truth? Pilate compromises the truth by succumbing to the temptation to seek truth somewhere other than Jesus. We are tempted in the same way Pilate is tempted. We ask the question, “What is truth?” but then we ask the wrong source for the answer. Pilate asked the crowd. When we ask the question “What is Truth?” many times we ask our self, our friends, and the world, but do we ask Christ, do we ask the Church. The challenge for us and for Pilate is to go immediately to the source of truth. Jesus, the source of truth and in fact Truth Himself, is standing right in front of him, yet Pilate does not go to the source. Jesus is standing right in front of us and in the Blessed Sacrament is present near us in the tabernacle and yet many times we do not go straight to the source.
How do we know that Christ and His Church are the source of truth? Jesus says, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life.” (John 14:6) If we believe Jesus, then we must accept that He is the Truth. “Christ said, ‘I am the Truth;’ He did not say, ‘I am the custom.’” [3] Customs come and go, but the truth is forever. If we are accustomed to turning to the custom or what is popular rather than turning to the truth, we will be confused and lost in a world of lies. Pontius Pilate turns from the truth to the “custom” of the Jewish people. Christ promises the apostles to send them the Holy Spirit and says to them at the Last Supper, “But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth.” (John 16:13) We know that Christ and the Church are the source of Truth because the Holy Trinity is Truth, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God is both unchanging and the fullness of Truth, since God became man through the Incarnation, we must hold that the fullness of Truth became flesh in Jesus Christ. We must also accept that Truth has been sent to guide the Church through the Holy Spirit. Where else would we go? Like Saint Peter we can say, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (John 6:68)
Search: The Way, The Truth, The Life: Part I and Part II
In a Metro Station in Washington D.C. on a cold January morning in 2007, a man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, approximately 2,000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After about 3 minutes, a middle-aged man noticed that there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, and then he hurried on to meet his schedule. About 4 minutes later, the violinist received his first dollar. A woman threw money in the hat and continued to walk without stopping. At 6 minutes, a young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again. At 10 minutes, a 3-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head the whole time. Several other children repeated this action, but every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly. At 45 minutes, the musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32. After 1 hour, he finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed and no one applauded. There was no recognition at all. No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before, Joshua Bell sold-out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100 each to sit and listen to him play the same music. This is a true story. Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the D.C. Metro Station, was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities.
Is Christ, like the musician, right before our face, but we don’t see Him? Is the Word of God, like the sweet music playing, but we can’t hear it. Is that Word drowned out by the noise of the world? What keeps us from seeing Him, from hearing Him?
This story also says a lot about our perception and the dignity of the human person. When Joshua Bell is in a tux, on a stage, and people are paying $100 a seat to listen, they show him respect. When Joshua Bell looks homeless and is in the subway station and getting only a few coins, no respect is shown. Is it the same Joshua Bell? Yes. Many people during the time of Jesus and now, do not recognize Jesus or show Him respect, because He does not fit their perception. We must show dignity to all, regardless of our perception of them. There is only one lady in the video that stops. When she stops what happens? Others stop. If we stop to ask for Christ, seek Christ and knock on the door of Christ’s heart we will cause others to ask, seek and knock. People will see us stop, and it might inspire them to stop. To “stop” is to pray, to pay attention to Christ, who is the hidden treasure. In this video Joshua Bell is the “hidden treasure” in the field of the subway.
[1] footnotes Matthew 13:44 NAB
[2] Merriam-Webster Dictionary
[3] Saint Turibius de Mongrovejo