This weekend, I spent part of my Saturday afternoon watching a fantastic movie called National Treasure. In seeking after a great hidden treasure amassed over centuries, and guarded by the Knights Templars and Freemasons, Ben Gates has to go through one of the United States's great national treasures, the Declaration of Independence, going so far as to steal the document from the National Archives. In so doing, he also recognizes the document's values, for what it represents, and especially for the ideas it contains that created the United States.
As I sat at Mass on Sunday morning, I couldn't help but think about how fitting it was to watch a movie about treasures with the readings speaking about treasures. Namely, they speak about the great riches of God. In light of who He is, all earthly riches treasures don't seem so valuable.
King Solomon senses this when God comes to Him in a dream and offers to grant him whatever he wishes. Solomon doesn't ask for any earthly pleasures, but asks for wisdom and a heart that can effectively aid him in ruling the great and vast people of God.
The people in Jesus's parables encounter treasures, small things in the realm of something larger. But they have such great worth, which compels them to sell everything they have to lay hold of those items of great worth.
So great is the Kingdom of God, that we give up everything else in life to lay hold of it, a constant effort throughout our lives. As St. Paul speaks of in the Epistle reading, we know that God has called us, and as we seek His Kingdom, He is transforming us into His great treasure. So even as we have to face evil and trouble in this world, we await the day God gathers the righteous into His fold, truly glorifying them.
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