THE TREASURE AND THE PEARL

This Sunday’s Gospel passage presents us with three other small parables on the Kingdom; we have the parable of the treasure hidden in the field (cf. Mt13:44), then that of the precious pearl (cf. Mt 13,45-46) and, finally, that of the net (cf. Mt 13,47-50). Matthew then presents us in conclusion with the figure of the scribe who became a disciple of the Kingdom. He must discern between the old and the new, showing how God’s promises became “yes” in Jesus Christ (cf. Mt 2:23). The parable of the hidden treasure revolves around a verb: to find (v. 44). A man, by chance, finds a treasure in a field, not uncommon in those days, and for a precise reason: where insecurity (wars and banditry) usually reign, many people prefer to safeguard their possessions by hiding them (in this case, underground). The man in the parable therefore immediately runs to buy that field because, according to the legislation of the time, coming into possession of the land he became, by right, the owner of what lay on it. This man is therefore shrewd and knows how to do his business well and profitably. The Fathers, who re-read these parables, saw in the treasure of the field Jesus Christ himself, the
discovery of whom must mobilise the disciple to the point of selling what he possesses to acquire it (cf. Phil 3,7-8). The little parable of the precious pearl instead revolves around two verbs: to seek (v 45) and find (v 46). If the man finds the treasure by chance, the merchant moves intentionally in search of the pearl, willing the effort that this entails, even willing to sell everything he owns to buy it. The pearl was also seen as an image of Christ. And if it is true that Christ is the pearl, Mary is the shell that gave birth to it. As the pearl is then hidden in the shell so the divinity of the Son of God is hidden in her flesh. The two parables (treasure and pearl) then remind us that the Kingdom of God has a value that infinitely surpasses the goods of this world and that can give meaning and fullness to our life.

Commentary by b. Sandro Carotta, osb
Abbazia di Santa Maria – Praglia (Italy)

Translation by f. Mark Hargreaves,
Prinknash Abbey