Father Bill’s Sermon, July 27th, 2008

XVII Sunday in Ordinary Time

 How do you understand the parable of the pearl of great price, or the parable of the treasure buried in a field? Do you see them as metaphors for our discovery of God? That could be. It has a place in our Tradition. But, is it what Christ would have been talking about? I don’t think so.

 Christ came to let us know how much we are loved by God. His entire life is a testimony to that. His death on the Cross for us tells us that God would rather DIE than give us up....which, by the way, is why we put crucifixes in Catholic Churches! We know Christ is no longer on that cross...the resurrection has NOT escaped our attention for 2000 years! We put crucifixes in churches to remind us that God would rather DIE than give us up....they are a testimony in art to the love of God for us. THAT is what Christ’s life proclaims.

 I think what Christ would have meant by the parables, based on everything else He said, would be that YOU are the pearl of great price. In the sea of life, God found YOU, and literally gave up everything He had....the Kingdom of Heaven to die on a Cross...for YOU...because He had to have you.

 Or...likewise, God found YOU buried in the mud of the earth, hidden in the field of the world, and sold everything he had...Heaven’s Throne, to die on a Cross, to have YOU. That’s how much you are loved by God. And that is what the Good News of God is: You are loved, you are cherished, you are treasured by your God, and He is NOT going to trash you. So...you don’t have to worry about His wrath, simply come to Him, and lay before Him the mess that is your life, and let Him help you straighten it out, and make it into a benediction of peace in a world of war.

 The same thing is being said in the first reading. There King Solomon has built the temple in Jerusalem–the first “building” to house the worship of the God of Israel in the world. And in the part of the prayer that they left out of the reading—whoever puts these readings together, should be shot!— he asks God, how can this small house, a pin point in the universe, house the Glory of God? And he realizes, in the course of the prayer, that God is everywhere, and that what will be honored in this small house, is the Greatness of the God we so often MISS....and what is that greatness??? It is the Love of God for His creatures. And that is why Solomon prays for an understanding heart in the part of the prayer we heard read....he wants to see the beauty in each human being that God sees.

So....if you would take away the “spirit” of the readings this weekend....strive to see the BEAUTY of God in all the people you see. Go into a Border’s Book Store, or the World Market, and look at all the goofy people, there–the girls with purple hair and enough body parts pierced that they’d never make it through airport security! Look at the overweight fellow who’s standing at the pastry counter contemplating his next 8,000 calorie snack, look at the people half drunk coming out of the bar section of the your favorite restaurant. Each one of them has a “heart-breaking, and a heart-warming” story, and each one is SO special to God. Each one of them—like YOU— is trying to come to God, and trying to avoid God....all at the same time–and each one is SO lovely, so WONDERFUL.

 For each one is a pearl of great price, a treasure hidden under dirt, needing to be washed up and polished off, so it’s beauty can shine. And followers of Christ try to be the polishers of people. When we can, we try to help them SHINE, and when we can’t, we try to love the hidden beauty that isn’t quite visible, yet, to the naked eye. What we should not ever do is trash them. We help when we can, but we refrain from harm. For we know that we, too, are dusty treasures, with lots of dirt clinging to us, or pearls still covered in slime and seaweed, and we know how precious the “hidden” is.

 So...go forth and appreciate God’s creation, today. Love it as best you can. For that is the work of Eucharist, and that is the work of the Catholic in the world. And may God bless you all. +

-Father Bill Axe, O.SS.T.

Please Pray for Father's Bill's Health. God hear our prayers.