Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 26, 2020 - 1 Kings 3:5, 7-12, 16-19; Romans 8:28-30; Matthew 13:44-46

Yesterday afternoon at 12:30 we had a funeral here. The person was brought into the church … for what reason? Because he is going for the final stage of his life and we are saying farewell, for him to get his recompense.

The good. The bad. The ugly. Whichever one he gets, that is what he merits. And it is a treasure we started building here on earth. It doesn’t come by chance, you have to sacrifice like this man, going to sell everything he has all just for that pearl, all for that treasure.

We have so many, so many Christians in the world, even in the United States, and we have so many of them in the House of Representatives and the Senate. They’re all Christians, 99.9% of them. But what do they do? They’re not thinking about the treasure. They’re not thinking about the pearl. They’re thinking about what the opening prayer says - things that don’t matter - things that don’t matter at all. That’s what they’re thinking about. And that’s what most Christians think about.

Enjoy, we tell ourselves. Enjoy what? When God asked Solomon what he asked for, he didn’t ask for jet planes. He didn’t ask for sports cars. He didn’t ask for anything else on earth. But he asked for wisdom. Which is the beginning of the love of God. The beginning of the knowledge of God is wisdom they say. And God gave it to him.

God still chose Solomon to be the wisest person, even though he fell out of favor with God.

What we do in our lives as Christians matters so much. Christians, we are very few of them who are active Christians. We have so many nominal Christians who are not following the treasure, who are not even seeking the pearl. They don’t care about heaven. They don’t care about any goodness. They don’t care about anything that is forthright. They only care about those things their ego, selfishness, all those things that drive them crazy – to hate, to maim, to destroy, to be violent. Like you see in our country nowadays has become so violent. And we clap for them, we yell, “That’s my man!,” which means you’re not even looking for the treasure. If you are violent, if you are lawless, if you are an accomplice, you know what those laws are.

And so, today we hear these three parables about this kingdom. And the third one is so important. Where do we find ourselves? The good, the bad, or the ugly? Are put in the bucket or are we thrown out? Or it doesn’t matter? After all, nobody has been there and come back to tell us how this, that and the other. These rules are frightening us, let us enjoy ourselves. Don’t care about them, they don’t matter.

But Christ asks us one simple question today, “Do you understand all this?” What will be your own answer, yes or no?  See that’s the problem. They have ears to hear, but they don’t understand. They have eyes that see, but they can’t understand what they can’t see.

Yes, we hear the word of God every day from the radio, from the TV, from televangelists, from everywhere. How much of it do we understand? How much of it do we implement in our lives? Unless you’re politically correct, nobody cares about you. But that is not the end of it.

The most important thing is God. And the first two about the hidden treasure or the field of great value demonstrate the joy that belongs to those who have found the kingdom. Their willingness to sacrifice so much. Sacrifice. How much do you sacrifice for this kingdom? Is this kingdom real, or is it fake? You have to answer that question because, however, even if our lives and all our possessions are not required of us, we all have to give up our selfish, self-centered egos in order to have hearts open to God and for others. So many people are so self-centered. Their ego…they haven’t sold anything; they haven’t sacrificed anything. It’s all about them. The world starts and revolves around them, so they think.

So let us think about these readings, they are for all of us. They are not meant to frighten us. They are only meant to bring us close to God. So, we have heard it in many different forms – that to enter the kingdom of heaven is difficult. The road is narrow. The gate is narrow. It is like a camel trying to go through the eye of a needle. So those things we have heard. It has never been easy.

We have to make a conscious effort to understand what God wants from us. We have to sacrifice a few things, like not going to sell everything you have, but at least you can sell some for the sake of the kingdom of God. By loving your neighbor. By caring for those who are more vulnerable than yourself. And by extending your hands in fellowship, more so during this Covid-19. Look at the number of you who are here in the church. They are afraid.

But Christ shows us always, “Do not be afraid.” You can sacrifice, do not be afraid. But we are so afraid. It is only Jesus who saves. Not we. We can’t save ourselves. We have an advocate, who is the Holy Spirit, who can give us everything we need. We can sacrifice and still feel so happy for this kingdom of heaven.