First Reading Ecclesiastes 2:1-15
Second Reading Galatians 1:1-17
Gospel Reading Matthew 13:44-52
Matthew 13:44-52
44“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
45“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; 46on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.
47“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; 48when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. 49So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
51“Have you understood all this?” They answered, “Yes.” 52And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”
People often act irrationally. Who would sell everything he has to buy one field—or to mortgage the house to buy something at the jewelry store? We’d be rightly worried if this was someone we knew. “Don’t you know this isn’t rational? You’re losing your mind.” –something like that would come out as friendly advice, which goes to show just how much stock Jesus puts into our regular considerations of a well-ordered life. The images are meant to shock us out of complacency. In the final consideration, the irrational ones are living in the way God intends. Why can’t we?
Encourage us by your Spirit, Almighty God, to live beyond our careful self-interest, but in the daring way of Jesus, who opens us to real life, discovered in you. We pray in Christ. Amen.
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