Sunday, July 27, 2014

There's something "fishy" about this pearl...



Whenever I hear the parable about the pearl of great price, I think about a book I read when I was a teenager called The Pearl, by John Steinbeck.  The book is about a poor young Mexican-Indian pearl diver named Kino, his wife Juana, and their baby Coyotito.  The baby gets stung by a scorpion, but the doctor won’t treat him, because they don’t have any money.  One day while diving, Kino finds a pearl, the likes of which no one has ever seen...“a pearl of great price,” if you will.  Kino believes that this pearl will solve all of their problems, and will allow them to pay for education for their son, and ultimately, a better life for them all.  Unfortunately, possessing this pearl leads to heartache, tension between he and Juana, violence, and ultimately, the death of their child.  Early on, Juana senses that the pearl is evil, and tries repeatedly to get Kino to throw the pearl back into the sea, but each time Kino fails to recognize the pain and suffering it brings to his family—only seeing its extreme earthly value.  Finally, after his son is killed by would-be robbers who were after the pearl, Kino and Juana walk to the shore where Kino hurls the pearl as far as he can and watches it sink back into the sea.
     Steinbeck’s book, and the Gospel today, both use a pearl to teach us a valuable lesson about life, and what truly is important.  As early as the Middle Ages, a pearl has been used in literature to represent spiritual purity, chastity, and goodness.  Steinbeck reverses this symbolism in his book by having the pearl represent evil, and only by casting it away can Kino regain a spiritual sense of well-being.  During the course of the story, a simple family, through no fault of its own, and seemingly just trying to have a better life, is torn apart by tragedy. Their pearl is supposed to be used to bring their child out of darkness and into the world of light, where he can learn to read and write, and help others in his community.  Instead, the pearl becomes the direct instrument of the child's death.  Kino learns, the hard way, that there are more important things in life than earthly riches.
     What is your pearl of great price in your life today?  IF what we seek, what we value above all else, is something of THIS world, and not of God’s kingdom, then my brothers and sisters I suggest we have our priorities all wrong, and we are headed down a path that leads to sadness, emptiness, and maybe even eternal separation from our creator.  We must realize that the only pearl of great price for us is the Kingdom of God; it is THIS that we should sacrifice all of our earthly belongings to obtain, to possess.  This was Jesus’ message in the Gospel today.  Strive not for the things of this world, but strive rather for the Kingdom of God.  Simple, but not easy.
     And what of the parable of the fish and the net?
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind.  When it is full they haul it ashore and sit down to put what is good into buckets.  What is bad, they throw away.”
     On one level, this parable is a continuation of Jesus’ teachings about good and bad.  Two weeks ago we heard Jesus teaching in a parable about good and bad soil.  Last week, Jesus talked of the wheat and the weeds growing together until harvesting.  Today, we hear about good fish and bad fish.  And so, are you a good fish, or a bad fish?  That’s not really a fair question.  What I should have asked is:  are you a good fish, or a bad fish...right now?  Because, we can change...if we choose to.  It’s like that old joke:  how many psychiatrists does it take to change a light bulb?  The answer is one, but the light bulb has to want to change.  To combine these two parables, you could be a fish that covets the things of this world, and is only interested in material wealth—you know, a bad fish.  But, at any moment, you can change.  We can change. Through prayer, by opening our hearts to God’s word, and with the healing forgiveness that we receive in the sacrament of reconciliation, we can all become better people; people who are focused on Jesus and his gospel of love.  That’s our pearl.                                                                                                                 But there’s another level to the parable.  What about the net?  Drag-nets of those days were a common way to fish.  A large net was lowered into the water and dragged behind the boat.  As the boat moved through the water, the net was drawn into the shape of a great cone, which indiscriminately took in whatever was in its direct pathway—good fish, bad fish, whatever.  What is Jesus' point here?  Just as a drag-net catches every kind of fish in the sea, so the Church acts as God's instrument for gathering in everyone.  Just as the drag-net does not or cannot discriminate, so the Church does not discriminate between the good and the bad.  Like Father Francis said last week, it is not our job to judge; that’s God’s job, and his alone.  We are just to spread his Good News to everyone we meet; because, God's kingdom is open to all who will accept and believe.  And we are called to bring that kingdom to others, not to keep it to ourselves.  This treasure, this pearl of great price, must be shared.  And, unlike earthly goods that, when you share them with others your value is lessened by the number of people with whom it is divided, the more we spread God’s kingdom, the more valuable it becomes—to others and to us.  Jesus tells us though, that there will come a time of separation, at the close of the age, when he will send his angels to separate the good from the bad.  Our duty is to gather in all who will come. God, in the end, will give the good and the bad their respective rewards.  God offers the treasure of his kingdom to all who believe.  Because he has given us free will, we can choose either to love him and follow him, or turn our backs on him.  We must understand that, in the end, we will be held accountable for our actions, and the choices we’d made, throughout our lives.
    This past Tuesday we celebrated the feast day of St. Mary Magdalene.  According to tradition, she had been possessed by seven demons. Through the healing power of Jesus, the demons were cast out, and she became one of his greatest disciples.  St. Augustine labeled her the apostle to the apostles.  Mary was even allowed the distinct privilege to be the first person to see Jesus after his resurrection.  Why?  Because she recognized Jesus as her pearl of great price, and dedicated her life to following him and spreading his good news.  It’s never too late to change.  It’s never too late to exorcize our own demons, to put behind us the so-called treasures of this world—or whatever distracts us and keeps us from focusing on our one true treasure—everlasting life in heaven with God, and all the angels and saints.  The time is now to be a good fish.

 



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