Wednesday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time

Entrance Antiphon Cf. Ps 68 (67):6‑7, 36 God is in his holy place, God who unites those who dwell in his house; he himself gives might and strength to his people.

Collect O God, protector of those who hope in you, without whom nothing has firm foundation, nothing is holy, bestow in abundance your mercy upon us and grant that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may use the good things that pass in such a way as to hold fast even now to those that ever endure. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Scripture readings: Jeremiah 15:10.16-21; Psalm 58; Matthew 13:44-46

Jesus said to his disciples: “The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.” (Matthew 13:44-46)

Freedom The animal acts by instinct. Indeed, it is driven by instinct and cannot help doing what it does. Its instincts can be shaped by its fellow animals or by man, to enable it to do many things it would not have done by following its instincts independently. For instance, the animal setting out on its life is trained by its parent to hunt — the parent itself acting on instinct. It learns to hunt skillfully by instinct. Alternatively, an animal in captivity may be trained by man to perform various activities by instinct, activities it would never have learnt to do by instinct on its own. In all, the animal does not freely set its own goals. It cannot choose among goals and devote itself exclusively to one of pre-eminent importance. Its goals are set for it by its instincts, whether trained or untrained. I mention this by way of introduction to man. Man too has instincts — for instance, he has an instinct to preserve his own life. Accordingly, he will react to threats with instinctive anger, fear or whatever. He has an instinctive sense of moral obligation. He instinctively apprehends and makes rudimentary judgements. While the instincts of the animal develop in their scope due to influences external to it — such as its own herd or parent — man may freely subject his own instincts to the governance of his reason. In fact, his chosen values may absolutely override his natural instincts, including his instinct for preservation of life. For that matter, his chosen goals may be so evil that they could override his instinctive sense of moral obligation. That is to say, his deliberate choice may lead to his flourishing, or to his degradation. While the animal is entirely subject to its instincts, man need not be. If he is overwhelmingly subject to his instincts — as is the animal — then he is in a reprehensible and culpable situation. Provided his conscience has developed according to right reason, it will summon him to subject his instincts to what he knows to be objectively true and good. All this is to say — and this is the purpose of this consideration — that when we set man against other “animals,” his pre-eminent characteristic is he can judge what is true and good and choose to act and develop accordingly.

Indeed, man’s power to select and choose morally is his principal natural resource. A person may prefer the life of a quiet scholar, given over to an intense investigation of important matters of religion and philosophy. However, he may sense a greater call to enter some political action and fight a looming threat to society. He judges that this is a superior need and a more worthy goal for his energies, and so he foregoes what otherwise he would prefer. He devotes his not inconsiderable talents to a life of political struggle. After many years he fails in his political goals, and he comes to wonder whether it would have been better had he devoted himself to scholarship. Perhaps, but the point here is that he has exercised his power of choice to devote himself almost exclusively to that which at the time he judged to be the more right and worthy. It was a truly moral choice, and doubtless he was the better man for it, even though other good things were lost in the process. This is what a man can do. It is his glory and his responsibility to choose morally. Most importantly, he may devote himself not merely to determining what in his judgment is the project in life most worthy of his efforts, but to what is the will of God. This is the supreme exercise of his power of choice. This is the highest possible goal in life, to determine what is the will of God, and then to devote himself to doing it, whatever be the cost. It is the principal purpose of freedom and its major fulfilment. The exemplar is Jesus Christ whose food, he said, was to do the will of his heavenly Father who sent him. I always do what pleases him, he said. Father, take away this cup, but not as I will, but as you will. Jesus Christ came to establish the kingdom of God here on earth, and that kingdom is nothing other than the lordship of God — his rule over the hearts of men. It is found and embodied in the person of Jesus Christ, and those are in the kingdom who are in union with him. Who are in union with him — who are my brothers and my sisters? he asked. Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven, that person is my brother and my sister and my mother. The choice of obedience to God is the noblest and true goal of life.

In our brief parables today (Matthew 13:44-46), our Lord speaks of the kingdom of God. It is the treasure of treasures, the one thing we should choose above all else. This “kingdom” is nothing other than God and his holy will, and man has the power to choose this — if, of course, he also possesses the grace of God. He must be like the merchant who foregoes all in order to possess that treasure. Let us then work at being totally attached to God and to anything else only insofar as it is pleasing to God. God wants us to love him with all our heart — this is the choice of life. Let’s make that grand choice, then. It will lead to our greatest flourishing.

(E.J.Tyler)

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A Second Reflection: (Matthew 13: 44-46)

The Very End There are not many things that are absolutely certain in life. We can't be sure how the job we have taken will turn out, nor, say, despite all our efforts, how we will go in the exams. We can't be sure how long we will live. In fact, when we think of it, the most certain things in life are those which God has revealed. Among the things God has revealed are the very last things we will all have to face — in particular God's judgment and its consequences. Each of us will in the final analysis find ourselves in one or two categories: either among the just or among the wicked. That is as certain as the day. Therefore it is imperative that every day we make it our business to be among the just, among those who are with Jesus then and forever.

At the heart of this dramatic alternative with its eternal consequences is the exercise of a radical personal choice which our Lord describes in his brief parable about the person who has found the treasure hidden in the field (Matthew 13: 44-46). That person sells all he has to buy the field. We have found the treasure, and it is ours for the taking if we are prepared to make the sale of all else. Let's make that sale in our daily life so that it is all for Jesus.

(E.J.Tyler)

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