Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year A
The Treasure Worth Everything
Rev. Mr. James Fourcade
There is a story about a man who bought a metal detector because he was convinced there was treasure buried somewhere in his backyard. Every evening, after work, he would walk slowly across the lawn, headphones on, listening for that exciting beep. One day, the detector finally went wild. He called his wife outside and said, “Honey, this is it! We are about to be rich!” He dug and dug until he hit something solid. With great excitement, he pulled it out of the ground. It was not gold. It was not silver. It was the sprinkler head he had installed two summers earlier and completely forgotten about.
His wife looked at him and said, “Well, congratulations. You found your own property.”
That little story makes us smile because sometimes we spend so much time searching for treasure somewhere else that we miss what is already close to us. We look for happiness in possessions, approval, success, comfort, or control, and then the Gospel reminds us: the real treasure is the Kingdom of Heaven. It does require a heart wise enough to recognize it.
Jesus taught in parables to help his disciples understand what he means. “The kingdom of heaven” is like a treasure of great value buried in a field or a pearl of great price is found by a merchant. Jesus is comparing the stories to us as the persons finding the treasure. He wants us to recognize the value of Him, His Kingdom and to see it as MORE VALUABLE.
In our first reading Solomon is granted anything he wants from God. We might expect Solomon to request riches, power, or maybe even victory over their enemies. Solomon asks for none of these. I believe he is aware of his own limitations: his youth and inexperience of being a leader. He is being called to follow in the footsteps of his great father, King David. We hear him ask for an understanding heart, the wisdom to know right from wrong, and the grace to lead God’s people well. Solomon understands the gift God is offering, the value and asks not for something that simply makes life easier, but for something that makes life holy. When reading this, I could not help but think how intelligent and unselfish he was.
Wisdom is not the same as intelligence. Intelligence can help us win an argument. Wisdom helps us know when the argument is not worth winning. Intelligence can help us make money. Wisdom helps us know what money is for. Intelligence can tell us how to get what we want. Wisdom teaches us to want what is good.
That is the wisdom Jesus is describing in the Gospel. The Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field or a pearl of great price. When someone truly discovers it, everything else changes in value. The person in the parable sells all he has, not because he is miserable, but because he has found something better. The merchant gives everything away, not because he hates his possessions, but because he has discovered the one thing worth more than all the rest.
This is important: Christianity is not mainly about giving things up. It is about discovering someone so valuable that everything else finds its proper place. We do not follow Christ because we have nothing better to do. We follow Him because He is the treasure. We come to Mass not simply out of habit or obligation, but because here we encounter the living Lord in His Word, in His people, and most especially in the Eucharist.
Saint Paul gives us another piece of this treasure in the second reading: “We know that all things work for good for those who love God.” That does not mean all things are good. Sickness is not good. Grief is not good. Betrayal, failure, addiction, violence, and suffering are not good. Paul is not asking us to pretend pain does not hurt. He is telling us that God is so powerful, so faithful, and so loving that even what is painful can be gathered into His saving plan.
That is why wisdom matters. Without wisdom, suffering can make us bitter. With wisdom, suffering can make us compassionate. Without wisdom, success can make us proud. With wisdom, success can become service. Without wisdom, possessions can possess us. With wisdom, everything becomes a gift to be used for love.
Jesus also compares the Kingdom to a net thrown into the sea, gathering fish of every kind. This image reminds us that the Church is not a museum for the perfect. It is a like a field hospital, a net full of all kinds of people: saints and sinners, strong and weak, faithful and struggling, those who pray beautifully and those who are just trying to make it through the week. The Lord gathers us in His mercy, but He also calls us to conversion. At the end, what matters is not whether we looked religious on the outside, but whether our hearts belonged to Him.
So today the Lord invites us to ask a very simple question: What is my treasure? Not what do I say is my treasure, but what do my choices reveal is my treasure? Where do I spend my time, energy, worry, and love? What am I afraid of losing? What am I willing to sacrifice for?
If Christ is our treasure, then prayer is not a burden. If Christ is our treasure, coming to Mass is not a burden. If Christ is our treasure, the Eucharist is not a routine; it is food for the journey. If Christ is our treasure, forgiveness is not weakness; it is freedom. If Christ is our treasure, serving others is not an interruption; it is how the treasure of God’s love becomes visible.
This week, let us make Solomon’s prayer our own. Before making decisions, before speaking in anger, before reacting to bad news, before judging another person, let us pause and say, “Lord, give me an understanding heart.” And if we find ourselves digging in the wrong places, chasing treasures that turn out to be nothing more than old sprinkler heads, may the Lord gently redirect us. Let us pray that God gives us wisdom to see what truly matters. Give us courage to choose the treasure that lasts. May He help us discover again the treasure already offered to us: His Kingdom, His mercy, His wisdom, His Eucharistic presence, and His love that is worth everything.
