When we love our neighbor, we give to our neighbor. If we love our neighbor, we store up treasure in Heaven. As we love, we feel joy. Energized by the joy we know when we realize that God is love,* we become empowered to let go of all we have. As we become detached from what we have, and give it out of love, we prepare ourselves to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
We hear what the Kingdom of Heaven is like in today's Gospel reading. There we hear that
Jesus said to his disciples:
"The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure buried in a field,
which a person finds and hides again,
and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant
searching for fine pearls.
When he finds a pearl of great price,
he goes and sells all that he has and buys it."**
The Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure buried in a field. In Heaven we find what is most valuable.
When we realize the joy we will have in Heaven, we feel great joy now. Once we taste merely a tiny morsel of the love of our Heavenly Father which we will feel in Heaven, we are joyous now.
Feeling the love of our Heavenly Father, we are empowered to do as Jesus says, and go and sell all we have from love of God and our neighbor. Some people might wonder whether all of us are called to give up everything we have and live with nothing. We are all called to be completely detached from what we have. If we are totally unattached to what we own, then we can do as we are called to do, and thus love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength,*** and love our neighbor as ourselves.**** Thus we are called out of love to let go of what we have if our neighbor needs it. When we can live out such relinquishment of what we possess, we can enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
We give up all we have to gain Heaven. If, out of humility, we can become nothing for ourselves, then we can become something of great value to our neighbor.
When we let go of things which we mistake for ourselves, then we can find our true selves. As we gradually discover that our true identity rests in giving up ourselves for our neighbor, then we will be able to do as Saint Therese of Lisieux explained she was able to do: then, like her, little by little we are able to sacrifice ourselves more easily and without hesitation. Bit by bit we can come to realize that what we think we have is not ours alone.
As we release our hold on what we think is ours, we find we share it with others. With every little thing, when we loosen our grip on it, we come to gain a grasp of the reality of love that binds us together with our neighbor.
When we perform little acts of love for our neighbor, we plant seeds of love in our neighbor's heart. As we act with love, we are sowing love in the world. In every little loving choice we make, in time we can come to bear a rich harvest of love in our neighbor's heart.
When we give up all we have from love of our neighbor, especially those amongst us who are most in need, we store up treasure in Heaven. Upon letting go of what we have had, with our hearts emptied of all we thought we had had, then we can be filled with what God wants to give to us. Having given up all we have had, then we can follow Jesus.*****
Jesus told us that where our treasure is, there our hearts will be.****** When we fully give ourselves to our neighbor out of love for our neighbor, we live with transformed hearts: we reside in the hearts of our neighbor, and, residing there, we can love our neighbor as ourselves. Having planted seeds of love in our neighbor's heart, we can come to find a rich harvest there. Having given away all we have out of love of our neighbor, we can come to realize that, in the love we find in our neighbor's heart, we have treasure buried in the heart of our neighbor. Having placed our love in our neighbor's heart, we can find our love abounding there if we cultivate it there. Those who sow in unrestrained love reap rich rewards.
Let us reap a rich harvest. Let us give away what we have, and thus love God and love our neighbor, so we may find buried treasure. Amen.
* 1 John 4:8,16
** Matthew 13:44-46
*** Deuteronomy 6:5; Deuteronomy 10:12; Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27
**** Matthew 22:39; Mark 12:31; Luke 10:27; Leviticus 19:18; Romans 13:9; Galatians 5:14
***** Matthew 19:21; Mark 10:21; Luke 18:22
****** Matthew 6:21; Luke 12:34
We hear what the Kingdom of Heaven is like in today's Gospel reading. There we hear that
Jesus said to his disciples:
"The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure buried in a field,
which a person finds and hides again,
and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant
searching for fine pearls.
When he finds a pearl of great price,
he goes and sells all that he has and buys it."**
The Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure buried in a field. In Heaven we find what is most valuable.
When we realize the joy we will have in Heaven, we feel great joy now. Once we taste merely a tiny morsel of the love of our Heavenly Father which we will feel in Heaven, we are joyous now.
Feeling the love of our Heavenly Father, we are empowered to do as Jesus says, and go and sell all we have from love of God and our neighbor. Some people might wonder whether all of us are called to give up everything we have and live with nothing. We are all called to be completely detached from what we have. If we are totally unattached to what we own, then we can do as we are called to do, and thus love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength,*** and love our neighbor as ourselves.**** Thus we are called out of love to let go of what we have if our neighbor needs it. When we can live out such relinquishment of what we possess, we can enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
We give up all we have to gain Heaven. If, out of humility, we can become nothing for ourselves, then we can become something of great value to our neighbor.
When we let go of things which we mistake for ourselves, then we can find our true selves. As we gradually discover that our true identity rests in giving up ourselves for our neighbor, then we will be able to do as Saint Therese of Lisieux explained she was able to do: then, like her, little by little we are able to sacrifice ourselves more easily and without hesitation. Bit by bit we can come to realize that what we think we have is not ours alone.
As we release our hold on what we think is ours, we find we share it with others. With every little thing, when we loosen our grip on it, we come to gain a grasp of the reality of love that binds us together with our neighbor.
When we perform little acts of love for our neighbor, we plant seeds of love in our neighbor's heart. As we act with love, we are sowing love in the world. In every little loving choice we make, in time we can come to bear a rich harvest of love in our neighbor's heart.
When we give up all we have from love of our neighbor, especially those amongst us who are most in need, we store up treasure in Heaven. Upon letting go of what we have had, with our hearts emptied of all we thought we had had, then we can be filled with what God wants to give to us. Having given up all we have had, then we can follow Jesus.*****
Jesus told us that where our treasure is, there our hearts will be.****** When we fully give ourselves to our neighbor out of love for our neighbor, we live with transformed hearts: we reside in the hearts of our neighbor, and, residing there, we can love our neighbor as ourselves. Having planted seeds of love in our neighbor's heart, we can come to find a rich harvest there. Having given away all we have out of love of our neighbor, we can come to realize that, in the love we find in our neighbor's heart, we have treasure buried in the heart of our neighbor. Having placed our love in our neighbor's heart, we can find our love abounding there if we cultivate it there. Those who sow in unrestrained love reap rich rewards.
Let us reap a rich harvest. Let us give away what we have, and thus love God and love our neighbor, so we may find buried treasure. Amen.
* 1 John 4:8,16
** Matthew 13:44-46
*** Deuteronomy 6:5; Deuteronomy 10:12; Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27
**** Matthew 22:39; Mark 12:31; Luke 10:27; Leviticus 19:18; Romans 13:9; Galatians 5:14
***** Matthew 19:21; Mark 10:21; Luke 18:22
****** Matthew 6:21; Luke 12:34
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