Homily for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
1 Kings 3:5,7-12; Psalm 119; Romans 8:28-30; Matthew 13:44-46
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For the third Sunday in a row, we hear Jesus’ parables about the kingdom of heaven in Matthew Chapter 13. This Sunday we hear the two briefest parables: the labourer in the field who discovers a hidden treasure, and the pearl merchant who finds a pearl of great price. They both sell everything they own. Then they are free to go all out for what they most want. The labourer having hidden the treasure again in the field buys the field; and the merchant buys the pearl.
Scripture scholar Brendan Byrne says that the common point of the two parables ‘is that neither the labourer nor the merchant can gain immediate possession of what each so eagerly desires. There is a “gap” between finding/seeing and possessing. But the mere sight of what each so dearly longs to possess relativises the value of all else, giving each one the freedom to sell all. Having sold all they at last have the wherewithal to gain possession of the thing they really desire.’[1]
We all desire to enter the kingdom of heaven though we have no real idea of what that entails. We all desire that signs and aspects of that kingdom will break in for us, here and now, despite the troubles of our world. What’s the treasure or pearl of great price we seek here and now to help us on that path to the kingdom of heaven? What is the treasure that helps us discern that path? What is the pearl that lights the way for us on that path? We are given a clear indication in today’s first reading from the first book of the Kings.
The Lord invites Solomon to ask for whatever he wants. Solomon, being groomed for high office, asks for ‘an understanding heart to judge…and to distinguish right from wrong’. He doesn’t ask for riches, fame, power or a long life – the usual shopping list of the undiscerning, worldly person, the usual wishlist of the unscrupulous political leader. The Lord gives him a wise and understanding heart – the wisest and most understanding heart of any person before or since.
Is this not what you have sought for yourselves and your children – an education to prepare them not only for life in the world but also for life in the kingdom to come, an education putting them on the right path through life here and on to the kingdom to come?
In the first year of his papacy, Pope Leo had cause to reflect on the 60th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council’s Declaration on Christian Education (Gravissimum Educationis). He published an Apostolic Letter entitled ‘Drawing New Maps of Hope’.[2] Having listed the trials and tribulations of the present age, he wrote: ‘[P]recisely here, Catholic education can be a beacon: not a nostalgic refuge, but a laboratory of discernment, pedagogical innovation and prophetic witness. Drawing new maps of hope: this is the urgency of the mandate.’
He asked us to disarm words, raise our eyes, and safeguard the heart:
- ‘Disarm words, because education does not advance with polemics, but with meekness that knows how to listen.
- ‘Raise your eyes. As God said to Abraham, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars”: know how to ask yourselves where you are going, and why.
- ‘Safeguard the heart: relationships come before opinions, people before programmes.’
Pope Leo was head of the Augustinians for twelve years. There are fewer than 3,000 Augustinians. This meant that Leo was able to spend time frequently visiting all Augustinian communities and works including their schools. This gave him a real feel for the qualities of a good faith-filled education.
Seeking that which we most want in this life and the next, let’s proceed with meekness, asking ourselves why we are set on this path, valuing relationships with those who are ‘other’ rather than the opinions of those who think just like us, and placing people first – before systems, structures, programmes and policies. Free to pursue the greatest treasure, we delight in the assurance Paul gives us in today’s second reading from his Letter to the Romans: ‘We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.’
Lord, I love your commands.
For I love your commands
more than gold, however fine.
For in all your precepts I go forward;
every false way I hate.
Lord, I love your commands.
Wonderful are your decrees;
therefore I observe them.
The revelation of your words sheds light,
giving understanding to the simple.
Lord, I love your commands.
Fr Frank Brennan SJ AO, Adjunct Professor of Thomas More Law School at ACU and Adjunct Research Professor at the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture, is a former Rector of Newman College, University of Melbourne, and CEO of Catholic Social Services Australia (CSSA). His latest books include Pope Francis: the Disruptive Pilgrims Guide (ATF Theology, 2025), and Equality, Reconciliation and Social Cohesion: The Inspiration of Sir William Deane (Connor Court, 2026).
[1] Brendan Byrne, Lifting the Burden, St Pauls, 2004, 114-5.
[2] https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/apost_letters/documents/20251027-disegnare-nuove-mappe.html
