All That We Have

A Reflection on the Gospel for Sunday, July 30th, 2023:
Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Matthew
13.44-48

​Jesus spoke to the crowds: “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.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad."

Pause. Pray. Reflect

This Gospel passage always makes me wonder what the best metaphor for the Kingdom of Heaven would be from my own life. Is there anything for which I would give up everything I own, in order to possess or keep it? Certain objects in my home are very special to me – mementoes from my childhood, gifts from my parents, piles of handwritten creative writing that haven’t been typed up yet – but they’re not so special that I wouldn’t give them up. Besides, the most important things in my life are not objects at all – they’re people, relationships, faith, and music. 

Jesus deepens the metaphor throughout this parable. At first, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, worth so much that you would sell everything that you have in order to buy that field. I’ve never quite been able to figure out why the person in the parable finds the treasure and then hides it before buying the field, but have always figured that he thinks the treasure is so wonderful that he doesn’t want to lose it or let someone else find it before he has a chance to buy the field, so he hides it first. Next, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a most valuable pearl. Pearls are beautiful gifts of nature, and exceptional ones have been highly sought after all throughout history. Lastly, Jesus describes the Kingdom of Heaven in a way that probably made a lot of sense to his listeners, many of whom were surely fishermen: like a net thrown into the sea, full of all kinds of fish. The line about throwing out the bad fish always worries me – I don’t want to be thrown out of the Kingdom of Heaven like a bad fish!

In all of these instances, Jesus makes it clear that the Kingdom of Heaven is incalculably valuable – more valuable than anything else on this Earth. He shows this in three different ways, pitching each metaphor so that it meets the lives of each part of his audience – the farmers and labourers in the fields, the merchants, the fishermen. Simply put, the Kingdom of Heaven is for everyone.

In exchange, we will be asked to give all that we have. 

“....in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” 

“...on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.”

Note that Jesus doesn’t say, “in his joy, he goes and sells all that he has, but it’s not enough to buy the field or the pearl and he has to wait several paycheques until he has enough saved up to buy it.” No. All that we have and all that we offer is enough. Jesus is telling us that if we give Him our hearts, our efforts, our trust, and our best, wholly and completely, it is enough. Yes, we still have to strive to live good, Christian, loving lives; yes, we have to keep our eyes fixed on heaven and be prepared to look beyond worldly things; and yes, we may be afraid that we’ll be thrown out with the bad fish…but we can trust in the immensity of God’s mercy. The Kingdom of Heaven is waiting for us all.

As a closing reflection, I’ll leave you with the words of the hymn “All That We Have” by Gary Ault:

All that we have and all that we offer
Comes from a heart both frightened and free
Take what we bring now and give what we need
All done in His name.

(Text and music by Gary Ault, © 1969, 1979, Damean Music.)




Kim Tan

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