The Bible often challenges us to compare the good we find in the world with the good we find in God.

Today’s Scriptures focus on comparing God’s Word, law, commands, and will with earthly goods and riches. Psalm 119 tells us that while gold and silver are valuable, God’s wisdom is even more valuable. The relative good of precious metals pales in comparison with the good to be found in God. The Gospel reading also asks us to make a comparison between the wealth of the world and the wealth of faith. Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven is more valuable than anything in this world. Like the merchant searching for fine pearls or the man seeking a treasure buried in a field, we must be willing to give up all that we have in order to gain Heaven.

The fact is that the acquisition of Heaven comes at an incredible cost. If we are going to follow the Lord, we have to desire him more than anything the world offers: more than power, prestige, or wealth. If we are going to pursue God’s way of wisdom, we must place everything in this world below our desire to become saints. This lead us to the fundamental questions of life: What have you and I given up to become a follower of Christ? What are you and I willing to give up?

First Reading

Solomon prays for an understanding heart (1 Kings 3:5, 7-12).

King Solomon certainly made a good start to his reign, asking only for those gifts he would need to rule wisely and well. Pleased with his humble request, God gave him a matchless wisdom that is renowned still. But the great wealth and power that accrued to Solomon because of his gifts led him away from God. First Kings 11:4 tells us that “when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods; and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father" (RSV: 2CE).

Solomon’s heart was turned from the true God by other loves—loves that drew him away from that one love that he had first sought. In the end, Solomon’s story is not so much a lesson in the search for wisdom as a cautionary tale. From the heights of the divine favor, Solomon ended by building altars to gods that would eventually demand the sacrifice of the children of the kings of Israel and would lead to the division and eventual total destruction of Israel. This man to whom God had appeared twice (see 1 Kings 11:9) and who had been given every earthly and spiritual gift fell because of his pride, reminding us that we should never relax our vigilance in being single-minded for God and for the things of God. When we come to believe that what we have is due to our own powers, those powers themselves cease to be gifts and become a curse.

Second Reading

All things work for good for those who love God (Romans 8:28-30).

St. Paul reminds us that from start to finish, everything comes from God. He calls us into existence and then orders our lives in such a way that we have the requisite natural and supernatural gifts to make it home to him. He calls, justifies, and then glorifies those whom he predestined for his purposes. But Paul does not mean that we are locked into a mechanical process that leaves no room for the operation of human freedom. As he says, “All things work for good for those who love God.” Who or what we will love is the critical human question. When we love that which is below us, we fall. When we love that which is above us, we rise. The Church teaches that everyone receives sufficient grace for salvation. If we respond positively to that grace by loving God in return, that sufficient grace will flower into salvation. If we waste it, turning our love in the wrong direction, that attraction will lead us further away from our true purpose. Thus, our eternal destiny depends on who or what we love.

Gospel Reading

The one who knows of the kingdom of heaven brings new and old from the storeroom  (Matthew 13:44-52 [44-46]).

The Danish religious philosopher Sören Kierkegaard, in a book called Purity of Heart Is to Will One Thing, strives to convince us to reject spiritual mediocrity. We tend to want to make a deal with God. “If you don’t trouble me too much, I will confess faith in you and worship you ... on Sunday, that is.” Our modern culture, which has yielded untold numbers of conveniences and technologies, only reinforces our sense that God and his religion make nice decorative additions to a life that is largely of our own choosing and making. For many of us, what would really be changed if we chose not to be Christians, but rather ethical pagans?

Jesus's short parables, however, reveal that the problem with this kind of calculation is that it attempts to weigh finite things against something of infinite weight. God is the very foundation of all things, the Source and Sustainer of the whole material universe and spiritual realm. He is the ultimate treasure, the pearl of great price that any rational man would sell everything to obtain. Even the whole universe cannot outweigh him. In fact, innumerable universes would be nothing but dust in comparison. Every ounce of our energy ought to be expended in seeking him and striving for sanctity. After all, when we live that way, God supplies all the rest, or as St. Paul put it, “All things work for good for those who love God."

MEDITATION:
King Solomon was a successful and powerful king. And yet he begged God for greater wisdom to guide his life and his leading of the people of Israel. He prayed, “Give your servant, therefore, an understanding heart to judge your people and to distinguish right from wrong.” Meditate on these words, and prayerfully consider areas in your life where you, like Solomon, need more wisdom from God to guide you. Ask the Lord to help you.

RESOLUTION:
What can you do this week to seek God’s wisdom in a particular area where you sensed you needed his guidance more? Imitate Solomon’s desire for wisdom and ask the Lord to help you pursue the true spiritual goods in life, not just the goods of this world.

Reprinted from  Opening the Word at Formed.org .
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