My Dear Friends,
What do you value most in life?
If God appeared to you tonight, as he did to Solomon, and said, “Ask something of me and I will give it to you,” what would you ask for?
In the first reading for this Sunday, Solomon is given that opportunity. He could have asked for wealth, power, success, long life, or victory over his enemies. Instead, he asks for wisdom. He asks for an understanding heart, the ability to know what is right and to lead well. God is so pleased with Solomon’s request that he grants it.
What makes Solomon’s prayer so remarkable is not simply that he asks for wisdom. It is that he recognizes wisdom as the most valuable thing he could receive.
That theme runs through all of the readings this Sunday.
Solomon values wisdom.
The psalmist values God’s word more than “thousands of gold and silver pieces.”
Paul reminds us that God’s purpose is to shape us into the image of Christ. More than comfort, success, or ease, Paul values becoming who God created us to be.
In the Gospel, Jesus tells of a merchant who discovers a pearl of great price. Once he recognizes its value, he gladly sells everything else in order to possess it. The treasure is worth more than everything he leaves behind.
Each reading asks the same question: What do you value most?
Most of us spend our lives pursuing things that are good but not ultimate. We seek success, security, approval, comfort, control, pleasure, and recognition. There is nothing wrong with these things in themselves. Yet the readings challenge us to look deeper. Have we recognized the treasures that truly matter?
Solomon asked for wisdom because wisdom teaches us what is worth pursuing in the first place. Wisdom helps us distinguish between what is merely attractive and what is genuinely life-giving. It teaches us to recognize the difference between temporary satisfaction and lasting fulfillment.
The treasure in the field and the pearl of great price are not merely objects in a parable. They are images of a life centered on God, a life grounded in what is most important, a life shaped by Gospel values.
The greatest gift is not getting everything we want. The greatest gift is learning what is truly worth wanting.
Perhaps that is the question these readings leave with us this week:
What am I treating as my treasure these days? And is it worth as much as I think it is?
Love, Peace and Blessings,
Father Jerry